How To Get Fit In Your 40’s and Beyond

With your vibrant youth becoming smaller every year, your 40’s can be a troublesome time for health. Here’s how to get fit in your 40’s and beyond… (the TOUGHEST decade of your life!)

The phrase “mid-life crisis” wasn’t coined to describe fat, bald men in their 40’s who purchase a BMW.

(Or a hooker……)

The phrase “mid-life crisis” was coined to describe the point where most adults look around at their lives and collectively inquire……..

Is this it?

With your vibrant youth becoming smaller and smaller in your rear-view mirror, your mid-30’s can be a troublesome time.

You may have young kids who are slowly turning into adolescents, sucking the energy and life directly out of your soul.

You may have had a few promotions by now and as a result have a job which renders you a corporate zombie for 60+ hours each week.

Your risk-taking, adventurous, out-all-night early 20’s seem like a facade. These days, you prefer “Netflix and Chill” to pretty much anything.

That’s not a euphemism for sex, either – you actually want to watch Netflix, chill out, and go to bed at 9:30.

This doesn’t mean your fitness levels need to take a hit, however.

Many of our successful transformations and our online clients are in their mid-30’s and beyond.

But a half-assed approach will no longer work. You can’t simply avoid a few carbs, hit the pavement a few times each week and watch the fat melt from your mid-section any more.

All that nonsense from your MLM friends on Facebook? It might help a bit.

Deep down inside, however, you know jumping around to Team Beachbody DVDs a few times each week probably won’t cut it.

You’ll need to get serious in your mid-30’s if you want to get some serious results.

Getting The Most Out Of Your 40’s and Beyond

So, how do we make your 40’s count?

How do we make this crazy and tumultuous time the most productive time it can be and set us up for long term health and longevity from here on out?

Here are a few recommendations to begin to take control of your expanding waistline, and make you a stronger person than ever before.

by: Jason Helmes

Embrace Strength Training

The relative ease of our lives and the high likelihood that you have an office job requiring little physical activity makes strength training a must.

Picking up a barbell, dumbbells, or even nautilus machines and striving to gain strength during this time will set you up for maintaining your muscle mass as you age.

Sure, cardio is great for the heart and should be included in your training regimen, but to preserve and (possibly) build the muscle you have, you need to be doing a bit more than jogging.

If you are not exactly sure what kind of training you should be doing, here’s What Guys Over 40 Are Doing To Get Ripped

As a bonus, when your kids see you becoming a stronger version of yourself, you’ll be setting an excellent example for them to follow.

Control Your Drinking

Your days of pulling all-nighters should be firmly in your past.

In your 40’s, hangovers aren’t just one-day affairs.

A good drinking session can easily set you back a good 3-4 days before you fully recover.

If you consistently drink to get drunk, it’s time to re-evaluate yourself and your priorities.

Everyone goes through various phases in life. Your 20’s were likely a time for bar trips and night clubs.

If you’re still stuck in that mindset, and you’re having trouble getting the results you want, eliminating (or at least cutting back) on your drinking is an easy way to improve your workouts, enhance your recovery, and drop extra calories (and likely pounds) quickly.

Get Your Sleep

We all know how important it is to get our solid 8 hours of sleep each night.

We also all know how difficult it can be to make those 8 hours of sleep quality and uninterrupted.

Keep your smartphones out of the bedroom, and make reading a book a priority for the last half-hour of your time awake.

Supplement with some zinc, melatonin, and magnesium to give your sleep a much deeper and potent quality.

Make your room cool and dark, and purchase some high quality sheets.

And buy a muzzle for each of your children.

It’ll be the best $10 you’ll ever spend.

Stop Skipping Workouts

It’s tough to get to the gym 3 times per week with a busy work schedule.

There are always tasks and responsibilities which can take you away from your workouts.

Make your workouts non-negotiable.

To properly train, you need to be making progress on a regular basis.

It’s nearly impossible to make proper progress without being in the gym religiously.

Training consistently will improve your mood, your confidence, and cause a ripple effect into all other aspects of your life.

The time you spend in the gym is an investment in your future. In order for it to provide you with dividends, you need to be a regular contributor.

Push Yourself Harder

With the wisdom you have acquired in your life so far, you should understand what it will take in order for you to make positive changes.

Are you aware of what your body is capable of?

If you’ve never pushed yourself to the limit in your workouts, you’ll never realize your full potential.

In order for you to make a transformation, you must provide yourself with enough of a stimulus to force adaptive, physical changes.

Warm up properly, be sure to show good form, and don’t do anything which could cause injury – but be sure you’re giving it all you’ve got during your training sessions.

Eat Like An Adult

In your 40’s, you are probably finding out your metabolism is changing.

Foods you used to pound back without any adverse effects are now causing digestive issues, energy lulls, and poor performance in general.

You should be eating whole foods, ample produce, and supplementing properly.

Avoid the takeout nonsense, learn how to cook, and make eating real foods – like a true grown-up – a priority.

Dining out is for social events and special occasions.

Every diet in the world that actually works emphasizes eating real food.

That alone should tell you something.

Have A Work-Life Balance

Admittedly, this could be the most difficult item on this list.

In your 40’s, you’re nearing the time of your life where your earnings potential is rapidly rising.

As a result, often your work responsibilities will increase as well.

Your boss will never tell you to work less hours or take on less responsibilities.

If you always say “Yes”, you may be setting yourself up for burnout and unwarranted stress.

Looking back on your life, you’re far more likely to wish you had worked less and spent more time enjoying the life you had created for yourself.

Spend time with your loved ones, reflect and enjoy the fruits of your labor, and laugh often with those you are closest to.

Properly Record Your Progress

If you’re still using the scale as the only means of measuring your progress, it’s time to jump into the 21st century.

Scales are notoriously faulty for recording your progress.

Take pictures on a regular basis wearing the same clothing and in the same lighting.

Measure your waistline, your extremities, and your hips each week.

Be aware that fluctuations are normal. View your progress in one-month chunks instead of worrying about day-to-day, or even week-to-week variances.

True progress takes years, not months. Keep a level head and push on. If you’re consistent with your diet, your training, and your recovery, you’re likely making solid progress.

But you’ll never see it if you’re not recording it effectively.

Keep Track Of Your Workouts

Same as with your progress, your workouts need to be quantified and analyzed.

Do you have people in your gym that don’t write their workouts down?

Over the years, they often stagnate in progress.

Are you progressing over time? The easiest way to ensure you are progressing is to write down what you’re doing on a regular basis.

Keep a notebook, a Post-It note, or record them on your phone.

And after you do that…

Beat Your Training Log Every Day

When you walk into the gym, you should have a plan.

You should know exactly what you will be doing – and you should know exactly what your goal is.

Writing down your training sessions ensures that your goal will be simple and straight forward.

Beat the numbers from your last session.

This might mean do the same workout with more weight, do a few more reps than last time, or include a couple of extra sets to your workout.

It may also mean doing the same workout with shorter rest periods.

No matter the method for progressive overload, if you’re consistently beating your training log, you’re consistently improving.

Which is pretty much the whole idea.

Your 40’s can be what you make of them.

If you don’t take the bull by the horns and prioritize your health and well-being, your health issues will likely catch up to you soon.

Start by making positive decisions a priority and begin creating good habits you can use for the rest of your life.

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Believe it or not, Men everywhere are enjoying a lean body with the stamina to go all day long without a crash.