Tired Of Playing The Fitness Game? Here’s How To Level-Up Body And Mind
You’ve made high fitness gains in your 40’s here’s what’s next to maximise results for every workout.
THE BRIEF
Read: 3 minutes
Action: 15 minutes
Mantra: 'Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.' Aristotle
Message: Push to gain, don’t fall into apathy
Stat: If you stay health happy, you’re already 13% more productive in almost every other area of your life.
When we talked about putting together a site devoted simply to the best health advice for anyone 40+, it was always underpinned by the hope that we could get more people exercising more easily. We never want to take that for granted. It’s a huge step. So, if you are new to the world of health and fitness, much love to you and huge congratulations for getting started. Once you pass through the initial barrier of uncertainty and self-consciousness it starts to become second nature. Then eventually, you hit ‘what's next?’.
It’s all about identifying your game plan. You’ve started, some gains are there, so what happens now? As always, we’ve tried to answer all your questions - with some questions of our own. We asked our in-house experts and their networks to give us the best questions and efficient answers to help you get to the next stage of your fitness goals.
So, tell us…
Have you hit your fitness high score?
You’ve been strength training so you are now more able to move more weight over a short range of reps as well as use big compound movements such as deadlifts, squats, bench presses, and overhead presses.
Your typical training protocol means you’re using weights that are 80% of your 1 repetition maximum (1RM) for 1-10 reps over 1-4 sets.
What does it mean for your 40 year old body?
The compound movements you use have improved your overall strength when you're training. Your body is stronger, and more able to cope with a higher percentage of weight. But, you need to keep your body developing and you need to ensure you are strengthening all aspects of your body’s health, not just the muscle structures.
What doesn’t strength training deliver for you?
Following a strength-training program you can’t work that much frequency at such a high intensity. If you do your central nervous system (CNS) becomes overworked, leaving you exhausted and lethargic. Instead of powering up, you power down. Give yourself extra credit with more sleep and solid daily nutrition.
What are the best next steps to 1-Up fitness in your 40’s?
There is a difference between training for strength and training for power. Explosive power is how quickly you can accelerate yourself or move weight. Strengthening these areas ‘explosively’ will enable power to be generated to the body where needed.
How does explosive power training work for 40 year olds?
You’ll need a more deft touch. This is a killer-combo that’s the antithesis of a button mash. You’ll be doing 3-5% reps using weights that weigh less than 90% of your 1RM over 4-6 sets. The best movements to focus on include squat, overhead squat, jump squats, push press, jump squats, kettlebell swings and snatch. Add these in alongside your compound training to develop the explosive power you need, focusing on lifting weights more quickly than before.
Your Plan:
Improve your strength after 40.
“Once you pass through the initial barrier of uncertainty you hit that magic point of, ‘what's next?”
PT WOLF
Wolf is a personal trainer who tries and tests every programme we put together. A celebrity trainer, Wolf has been a fitness journalist, practising what he preaches for over 20 years. Now in his 40s, Wolf has added muscle to his frame in every decade of his life and has an annoyingly healthy body fat percentage. He tries it before he says it, but even more importantly, he lives it every day.
