How to Maintain Muscle, Strength and Health After 40

A man’s 30s could be his most critical life period in regards to his health. Within this decade, you will experience tectonic lifestyle shifts, the most important of which could be the switch from a bachelor to a family guy. It is also a well known fact that athletes’ strength peaks in their 20’s and slowly begins dropping after the age of 40.

Is it harder to build muscle after 40 ?

Science says that somewhere between the age of 30 and 40 the average individual will slowly start losing their muscle mass at a rate of 5 percent or more, every decade. It’s a process called sarcopenia that comes naturally with aging.

That doesn’t mean you should let yourself go and neglect your fitness and overall health. You will still need to take proper care of yourself and maintain a healthy lean muscle mass. Resistance training and a proper diet, have the ability to slow down this process.  

That’s exactly why in this article we have provided you with 3 sample workout tactics designed to achieve your fitness goals and lead a healthy life.

Here’s the top 3 types of workout tactics designed for those aged 35 or more:

Aerobics and cardio

When you have kids to take care of, spare time to go to the gym will be reduced greatly. However, you can still do a productive cardio training on the treadmill or try jogging on the streets. The benefits of cardio include enjoying good cardiovascular health and burning excess calories.

Nowadays, with smartphones you can download any popular fitness application available and can try a variety of jogging programs or make your own. If you develop a habit of jogging for at least three times a week you’ll be able to build a solid health foundation for the upcoming twenty years.

Best Type of Cardio for Building and Preserving Muscle?

Weightlifting

If you are one of those privileged enough to spend time in the gym on a regular basis, it is perfectly feasible and effective to base your training regimen on three compound lifts only. We are talking about the bench press, deadlift and squat. These are the exercises that will ensure  you the momentum you’ve built up from your younger days.

Using these exercises and incorporating some assistance exercises, will keep the muscles strong and sculpt an athletic physique. For naturals, probably the best split would be the upper/lower split.

Diet and supplements

In order the get the best results from your strength training you will need to start a diet that will provide you with adequate nutrients and energy, especially protein needed to build and maintain muscle mass. The best way to make sure that you consume adequate amounts of protein is to take protein supplements in addition to your healthy diet.

The best energy supplement would be creatine monohydrate which will be supplying energy to your muscles and assisting in building lean muscle. These two supplements will speed up your progress in regards to muscle and strength gain.

Two additional supplements for maintaining your health would be multivitamin/mineral as well as fish oil.

Balance and flexibility training

As the years go by, your body becomes more rigid and the need to keep it flexible and balanced increases and becomes even more important. You should be doing simple exercises and postures while at home, at your workplace if the environment allows it and even in the bus, while you are traveling.

Flexibility exercises will help you improve your blood circulation, optimize your nervous system performance and your overall health. Being in your mid 30s makes your body less efficient at storing large mineral amounts such as calcium which can lead to increased wear and tear. That’s why by doing these exercises you can slow down the wear rate and have a healthier future.

And another thing – It’s been proven that past the age of 40 testosterone levels begin to slowly drop, which means that you should start applying strategies that will increase those levels naturally.

It’s not impossible to build muscle after the age of 40, but you do need to pay attention to your diet and training. Think about your health, your body is the only place where you HAVE TO live for the rest of your life.

Photo Credit : Kane Sumabat