About Anna McGee: Women's Fitness and Nutrition Coach for Women Over 45
I am not the coach who’s always had it figured out. I am the coach who had to fight to get it back. That is why I know how to help you do the same.
I Was Not Always the Coach. I Was the Client First.
I am Anna. I am 63 years old. And I did not start out strong.
For years, I was a hairdresser who smoked, ate whatever I wanted, and slowly gained 35 pounds without fully realizing what was happening. I was tired. I was uncomfortable in my body. And I was embarrassed, because I used to be fit, and I knew better, and I still could not seem to stop the slide.
When I finally decided to do something about it, I did not go back to the big gym where I used to feel capable and confident. I went to a small women's gym instead. It felt safer. Less exposed.
The first Sunday class I took — they called it a "super class" — made me throw up on the way home. I spent the rest of the day in bed.
But here is what I didn’t do: I did not tell myself “never again”. I told myself: Anna, THIS is what you did to your body. And you are getting your ass back there next Sunday.
I went back. And the Sunday after that. And the one after that.
Over time, I quit smoking. I started lifting seriously. And then I discovered something that changed everything. Something women were never told back then, and still are not told enough today:
If you feed your body enough and you strength train, you can lose fat, keep your muscle, and feel powerful, even as you age.
I was not starving myself. I was eating 2,300 to 2,500 calories a day. I was losing fat slowly and keeping my muscle. My body changed even when the scale did not move. I went on to compete in bodybuilding. Not because I needed to prove something, but because I finally understood what my body was actually capable of.
That lesson has never left me. And it is the foundation of everything I teach.
I Have Lived Everything You Are Walking Into.
I have been pregnant twice. I have been through menopause. I have had two hip replacements.
I know what it feels like to have a body that does not cooperate the way it used to. I know what it feels like to look in the mirror and not recognize yourself. I know the exhaustion of trying to do everything right and still feeling like you are falling behind.
And I know — from my own body, not just from coaching — that strength training and real nutrition are what protect you through all of it. They are what allowed me to recover from surgery. They are what kept my metabolism working when menopause tried to shut it down. They are what I still show up for, at 63, because the alternative is not acceptable to me.
You do not have to shrink as you age. You can become stronger. I am living proof of that. And I am here to show you how.
What I Believe and How I Coach
I believe that most women over 45 have been failed by the fitness industry. Not because they lacked discipline or effort. But because the advice they were given was never designed for their body, their hormones, or their stage of life.
Eat less. Do more cardio. Shrink yourself. That is the message women have been handed for decades. And it does NOT work; not for pre-menopausal women, not for menopausal women, and not for women who have spent years doing everything they were told and still feel stuck.
My approach is different, because here is what I actually believe:
You need to eat enough to support your muscles. Not less, but enough.
You need to strength train. Not just move more, but lift.
You need a plan that is built around your body as it is right now. Not someone else's body. Not a younger body. Yours, today.
And you need support that feels educational and honest, not intimidating or judgmental. The women who come to me are often not longtime gym women. Many have never strength trained before. They are overwhelmed, unsure where to start, and a little nervous about walking into a fitness space. That is exactly who I built my programs for.
My job is not to make you work harder. It is to help you work smarter, in a way that is safe, sustainable, and built for the long haul.
30 Years of Experience. A Lifetime of Living It.
I have been coaching women in Duluth, Minnesota and online across the United States for over three decades. In that time, I have worked with women at every stage of life and every starting point, from complete beginners who have never set foot in a gym, to competitive athletes looking to get stronger, to women rebuilding after surgery, illness, or years away from exercise.
I specialize in pre-menopausal and menopausal women over 45. This is not a niche I fell into. It is the work I chose deliberately because it is where I can make the most meaningful difference, and because it is the stage of life I understand most personally.
My coaching covers both fitness and nutrition. Not because I hand out meal plans, but because you cannot separate the two. How you eat directly affects how you train, how you recover, how your hormones function, and how your body changes over time. I address both together because that is how real results happen.
Over 30 years, I have helped hundreds of women build back muscle they thought they had lost for good. Women who came in nervous and walked out strong. Women who came in with limitations and left with capabilities they did not think were possible anymore. That is the work I show up for every day.
The Women Who Come to Me
Who I Work With
The women I work with are not all the same. But they tend to share a few things.
They are tired of starting over. They have tried things before — programs, classes, diets — and they are done with the cycle of beginning and quitting and beginning again. They want something they can actually build on.
They feel like their body has changed in ways they do not fully understand. Perimenopause and menopause bring real hormonal and metabolic shifts, and most fitness advice does not account for them. These women know something is different, they just have not been given the right information for what to do about it.
Many of them have never strength trained before. Walking into a gym feels intimidating. They are not sure they belong in a fitness space, or that they are capable of this kind of work. They need an environment that is welcoming and educational, not competitive or overwhelming.
Some of them are on GLP-1 medications and are watching the scale move but worried about what they are losing in the process. They want the weight loss to actually mean something — to leave them stronger, not just smaller.
All of them are ready to do something real. They just need the right guide.
If any of that sounds like you, you are in the right place.
-
Anna McGee is a women's fitness and nutrition coach based in Duluth, Minnesota, with over 30 years of experience helping pre-menopausal and menopausal women over 45 build strength, protect their metabolism, and feel confident in their bodies. She coaches women both in-person at her Duluth studio and online across the United States through three signature programs: Fit 4 Life, Built 2 Last, and Fit 4 U.
Anna's coaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that women over 45 have been underserved and misdirected by mainstream fitness culture. Her approach centers on progressive strength training, adequate protein and nutrition, and programs built specifically around the hormonal realities of perimenopause and menopause, not generic advice recycled from programs designed for younger women.
Her personal story is inseparable from her coaching. Anna gained 35 pounds, quit smoking, rebuilt her body through strength training and real nutrition, competed in bodybuilding, and has since navigated two pregnancies, menopause, and two hip replacements, all while continuing to train and coach. That lived experience is what distinguishes her from coaches who understand aging and menopause only theoretically.
Anna McGee Coaching serves women at every starting point, from complete beginners who have never lifted a weight, to women returning after years away, to experienced athletes navigating hormonal changes that are affecting their performance and body composition. Her in-person programs in Duluth, MN include private 1-on-1 training, semi-private training, small group classes, and her signature 8-Week Strength Training Program for Women Over 45. Her online programs are available nationwide and include group fitness, fully custom 1-on-1 coaching, and a 12-week weight loss program for women seeking fat loss, including those on GLP-1 medications.
Ready to Stop Starting Over and Start Building Something That Lasts?
I would love to help you figure out where to begin. Fill out the form and I will reach out personally.
Stay ready. Love ya. — Anna