Optimal health and fitness training for over 40s.
Let’s get straight to point for all you over 40s who want and know you need to get healthier and stronger now.
Making note of a few action points now and addressing the following points in your 30s will only make your physical health and fitness in your 40s, 50s and beyond, better… and will probably see you frequent the doctor and physio less often too.
When you’re in your 40s and 50s, there really is no time to waste faffing about. Don’t take that to heart or too personally – it’s just an honest fact. Random workouts, thrashing it out in group exercise classes, following a ‘killer online program’ that the sexy celebs follow; is all just too general and not for you if you want real results. Yes, it may be good fun and a great way to hang out with other humans, but if you want results, a progressive program will deliver, not a sweaty hobby.
Results are the outcome of following a program, not a hobby workout
By the time you’re in your 40s and over, you really are the very special version of yourself. That’s not necessarily the good kind of special though. You’ll have your own habits like maybe late nights, comfort snack foods, too much alcohol, high mileage, injury history and a bad case of the ‘used to’. The “I used to squat 200kg and live on pizza and keep my body fat at 15%”!
I turned 51 last October (2025) and on reflection, I’ve spent 30+ years as an athlete and a trainer of others and I have consistently tried to figure out what matters in training and especially for those who are stuck in the, ‘I’ve no time to train’ mindset.
I’ve tried the gadgets and different gym equipment, and whilst some are legitimately beneficial, they pale in comparison to the important overarching principles. I have in fact within the past 10 years become a principles based trainer rather than a barbell, or a kettlebell or a CrossFit based trainer.
Principles
Pursuing health, strength and fitness in our 40s + comes down to practicing the skills of what I’ve broken down into 5 keys areas.
The big 5 keys:
- Sleep
- Aerobic fitness
- Relative strength
- Body composition
- Flexibility and mobility
For long term results we really need to focus on these 5 key areas and plan our lifestyle and exercise with that in mind. Short term gratification needs to step aside in favour or longer term achievements.
“You’re an adult, eat like one”. I refer to this line from coach Dan John I heard him discuss in a podcast a few years ago. It rings true for most adults who commiserate, celebrate or generally cushion their emotions with food, and not great food.
Results begin with the end goal in mind. We then start to create a plan to build the base strength and fitness you’ll need. If you truly want to live a healthier, strong, fitter life, a life where you feel capable of joining in any activity without risk of embarrassing or injuring yourself; we start with a progressive plan.
Sleep is paramount to recovery and adaption to the physical demands of exercise. Crappy food and alcohol will disrupt this process. We start with little steps towards improving nutrition and cutting back on the booze to allow for better sleep and hence recovery.
A healthy aerobic system starts with the simple task of just getting your heart rate up to a comfortable rate for a few hours week. The specifics depends on your very special self right now. With more information I often give heart rate values to clients, but for the most part, the gaol is to just get moving.
I talk of relative strength. You are most likely not a powerlifter or bodybuilder right now, so training maximal strength is superfluous but building up a wide base of relative strength will logically improve your maximal strength. You just don’t need to train to failure or maximal efforts to get stronger. Paul McIlroys phrase of stretching your comfort zone has become the mainstay of the transformation results that his Amazing 12 program delivers. I do coach the Amazing 12 Limerick too, and we see every day people turning their 5 repetition maximums into comfortable 15 rep training sets within 8-10 weeks all without maxing out or training to failure.
Strength movements should stay pertinent to safely building healthy strength that will benefit your life moving forward.
The body is required to maintain a few key movements and these should be considered when planning a weekly program. These are not unlimited, but exercises in the following categories should be planned: a push, a pull, a squat, abdominal bracing and a quick, explosive movement.
Body composition and fat loss goes back to eating like an adult. Whilst we may have our favourite dishes, we shouldn’t lock ourselves into the same ingredients… or portion sizes. Unprocessed meats and carbohydrates, unlimited vegetables and suitable flavourings like sauces, herbs and spices are on the cards along with a tried and tested method of simply portioning our meals.
No one should have to torturously weigh food, or count calories. You can, but there is a better use of your time when time is limited.
I have tried and practiced many of the movement systems taught in the fitness industry over the past 18 years or so (since mobility started to become a focal point). Whilst I enjoyed them, many have not ticked the boxes of being a reasonable practice for everyday people. These days I prefer a flexibility and movement practice that anyone can join in and complete without feeling like a fool.
If a routine is reasonable, it will more than likely be practiced often and that is the goal. It’s common that I ask clients to practice their mobility / flexibility routine daily and in most cases, this happens without hesitation.
Change is difficult, especially if we have become stuck in our ways, but if we can get out of our way and let in a few reasonable changes, we can allow the positive changes to happen, and that feels good.
Making little changes like walking a few times a week, following a guided strength and flexibility plan won’t rob the time bank.
A healthier, stronger life is achievable. It requires some guidance at times but be thinking you have to crush yourself or take time away from your already busy life.
#Sleep #Aerobic fitness #Relative strength #Body composition #Flexibility #mobility #results