Strength training after 40 for men. Workouts after 40

Kit muscle mass- the goal is not only young people, bodybuilding after 40 years for men is not only possible, but even necessary. Often, this is the goal of older men and women. There are many reasons for this desire.

Sometimes, in your 50s, you suddenly hear about the benefits healthy life and decide to correct the mistakes of youth.

Others just want to have a great figure at this age, but is it possible to build muscle and exercise at 40 after 50? All this is possible.

Gaining muscle volume at this age is more difficult than before, for the reason that the body is not able to quickly recover from stress. But this does not mean that you cannot start building muscle after fifty.

In fact, it is not difficult at all and bodybuilding after 40 years is possible, but something should first be known about some features.

Luckily, this article has it all covered and we hope it will help you achieve a sculpted figure at this wonderful age.

Before delving into the topic of exercise, we must first understand how muscle mass begins to decrease after fifty and how to gain weight in old age.

As you get older, you may notice a gradual decrease in muscle mass. Muscles lose both volume and elasticity over time.

There are two main reasons for the loss of muscle mass with age.

First, the body cannot regenerate muscles as fast as before. Therefore, wounds heal more slowly than at twenty.

The second reason is that you don’t spend so much time in the gym, you have other things to do, because of which there is simply no time for training.

These two reasons are related to each other: the body recovers more slowly just because you do not play sports.

You have a job, you have children and grandchildren, not to mention the fact that besides this you have many other things to do and you have no time to go to the gym and swing.

Since you are not doing any sports or other physical activity, your heart rate begins to slow down. When the pulse slows down, blood moves more slowly, making it difficult to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the body's cells.

And if you return to active image life, you will literally turn back time, become stronger and notice that the body heals wounds faster.

In addition to all this, you will feel much better and younger.

Diet and muscle growth in adulthood

To build muscle, you, as before, must consume a sufficient amount. Muscles are made up almost entirely of protein, so you should be getting more protein from your diet. There is nothing new here.

But as we age, the composition of the diet becomes even more important, because it affects not only muscle growth, but also the overall health of the body. Muscle growth without protein intake is impossible, both after 50 years and at any other age.

If you used to rely on red meat for muscle gain, now, at this age, the diet needs to be changed.

You should eat foods that are low in fat.

Most likely, your heart muscle does not have the same strength as before, and therefore the veins and arteries may have narrowed from time and body fat.

If the heart rate accelerates, then this will have a good effect on the body as a whole, but if you also consume fat along with protein, then this will harm your cardiovascular system.

If you want to both build muscle and stay healthy instead of fatty meat you should consume low calorie foods containing a lot of protein.

As CNN says, you should be eating even more protein than you used to because muscles start to break down as you age, and you need to provide them with protein to prevent this.

Protein sources relevant to your age include chicken, turkey, dairy products, and other low-calorie foods.

Supplements are also a great option. But when choosing a supplement, you should pay attention to the content of cholesterol and salt in it.

If you take 60 grams of protein at once, then the body simply cannot absorb all this protein, and you will lose some of it.

To prevent this from happening, you should divide the required daily amount of protein between several meals. This will allow both to provide the muscles with a sufficient amount of protein, and to maintain normal.

Also try other supplements like creatine which will help your muscles retain more water and increase their strength. The site describes for muscle growth.

Power training

To increase muscle mass over the age of fifty, focus on strength training.

Strength training is the only way to build muscle after 40 and improve muscle quality and strength.

However, the strength training that needs to be performed at this age is slightly different from what is needed for young people in their 30s.

The exercises themselves will be the same, but they should be grouped differently: today you pump up the biceps, tomorrow the chest, and the legs the next day.

This will allow the muscles that you have worked to recover after exercise, because they have a whole week to rest.

In adulthood, the muscles should be given sufficient time to recover from stress. Since now the muscles, like the whole body, recover more slowly, you should avoid intense exercise.

You should perform ten to fifteen repetitions per approach, and there should be three approaches per day.

As you can see, the number of repetitions has increased compared to what you did before.

All fitness guides advise doing eight or twelve reps. However, at your age, start by lifting lighter weights more times.

And when your joints and ligaments get stronger through training, then you can start working with heavier weights.

The most important thing is to make sure that your bones, ligaments and joints are strong and healthy enough to withstand these exercises. The worst thing that could happen right now is an injury due to intense exercise, which can protect you from physical activity.

Find a personal trainer

If you haven't been exercising for a while, but are looking to get back in shape, a personal trainer can help.

He will not only motivate and drive you during the exercises, but will draw up a training program and explain how to do the exercises correctly.

The older you are, the higher the likelihood of any injury during exercise. And if you haven't exercised in a while, you can very easily injure yourself while exercising.

A coach will help you avoid this.

He will explain and show you how to perform the exercises correctly, guide you on how to properly pump a muscle and what mistakes should be avoided.

Also, simulators that must be used at least in the first two classes can help you.

The machine allows your muscles to get used to work again, and therefore, when you take up free weights, they will already be in a prepared state.

Also, the simulator has stability, the lack of which, when working with free weights, leads to injuries.

As Cassie White says in an article for Australia Health & Wellbeing magazine, the key is getting your muscles back into your training regimen.

But if you have not trained for a long time, then you will not be able to return to where you once left off the first time.

The body gets used to what it does most often, therefore, if you have not exercised for several years, then the body has already lost the habit of working, and trying to do more than you are capable of this moment will inevitably lead to injury.

Gaining muscle mass takes time, but everything is achievable.

How to pump up at 45 years old 50 years old man without harm to health?

In this section, we'll look at the barbell exercises you need to do, as well as alternatives in case your joints can't handle some of the exercises.

If you haven't trained with a barbell for a long time, start with other strength exercises, doing them for at least two days. Between these two days, leave one day without exercise so that the muscles can rest and recover.

Take it slow and don't sacrifice proper technique to lift more weight.

Many people even before they reach the age of fifty begin to have problems with the joints of the shoulders and knees, and therefore you may not perform some of the exercises from this list.

A very important exercise, useful for the entire upper body.

When you're just starting out, it's a good idea to use a bench press machine so you can focus on technique rather than bar stabilization.

You can also work with a heavy barbell in the simulator, and then perform several repetitions with a light one, but without a simulator.

The bench press does not increase muscle volume, but trains the whole body and stabilizes its response to stress.

That way, when you transition to free weights, your body will already have the experience and it will be easier for you to get started.

Dumbbell press

The dumbbell shoulder press is another essential upper body exercise.

It improves the overall functioning of the body and can even reverse the age-related changes your body has experienced and the loss of muscle mass.

This exercise is a great option because it pumps all three bundles of the deltoid muscle.

Top block pull

This exercise is good for the back muscles.

The traction of the vertical block is carried out on a special simulator. The exercise also affects the muscles of the hands.

The simulator is good because exercises on it can be carried out completely safely for muscles and ligaments.

Hands during the exercise should be kept as vertical as possible.

Curls with dumbbells

Curls allow you to build biceps and strengthen triceps.

But if your elbow joints hurt, then free weights should be avoided. Instead, use a simulator.

The simulator allows you to fix your hand on a stand, which will provide the correct technique and reduce the load on the joints.

Also, the simulator will not allow the spinal muscles to do part of the work, which will also prevent back pain. Also pump and triceps.

Exercise for triceps works the same way as for biceps, only in reverse. The arm rest minimizes the load on the elbow and prevents sprains.

Legs will be harder to pump up, because many people over fifty already have pain in their knees or hip joints.

If you are lucky and have no joint problems, you can do traditional squats. Use the Smith machine to stabilize your movement while squatting.

The Smith Machine simply locks the bar with the weight so it doesn't move side to side when you squat.

But if your legs hurt, then you shouldn't use weights at all. Try barbell squats.

leg press

The leg press machine takes the pressure off your knees and hips.

Instead, you sit with your back at a 45 degree angle. You push a flat surface with your feet. This exercise is good for quadriceps and gluteal muscles.

If you want to target any specific muscle groups, talk to a trainer.

He will select for you special exercises that will help you achieve the results you need.

Conclusion

It is quite possible to pump up after fifty years.

In addition, if you do this properly, you will not only be able to maintain the figure in its previous state, but also improve it.

But for this you need to be motivated, stick to the right one, and, as always, go to the gym. If you do all this, you will notice an increase in muscle mass and an improvement not only in the figure, but also in the general state of health.

After 40 years in the body of a man, the processes associated with maintaining the efficiency of internal organs slow down. Along with that, this age is well suited for change. physical form. Due to low awareness of what is fitness for men, the effectiveness of classes may not give the same noticeable results as in young people. Not every man knows how to work out in the gym correctly, what to focus on more and how to draw up a training program correctly when you are over 40.

AT recent times, thanks in large part to social networks and the Internet, the number of people who play sports has increased. However, as is often the case, exhausting and high-intensity workouts are not for everyone. In order to practice without harm to health, you first need to figure out how age-related changes occur in a man's body after 40 years.

after 40 years

Pain in the knee joints, lumbar, and cervical osteochondrosis are often the main men's problems after 40 years

Reduced muscle elasticity and joint flexibility can interfere with the full life of a modern man. At the same time, movements become stiff and unnatural. At the age of 40 and later, a low level of physical activity, a sedentary lifestyle and the absence of a banal exercise with aerobics affect the functionality of many body systems. Movement is life, it turns out that the absence of movement is death. Partly it is. Diseases caused by hypodynamia can actually lead to death. Availability overweight and obesity significantly changes the biomechanics of the body, loads the spinal column and supporting joints. There is a decrease in joint mobility, a person has rapid fatigue, muscle rigidity and shortness of breath.

The result of all this is the ineffective work of all muscle groups. Also, overloading the knee joints will significantly limit mobility. Many men in their 50s and 60s begin to develop knee problems.

Lumbar pain is one of the first "calls" indicating the appearance of problems with the musculoskeletal system. The lower back can hurt almost always in a sitting and standing position. This is due to the lack of developed back muscles, since their function is taken over by the entire lumbar spine.

If there are problems with the spine or bone density is disturbed, doctors advise using the Osteomed and Osteo-Vit line of drugs. A complex combination of supplements will help strengthen bone tissue and save a person from destructive changes in the body.

Age changes
after 40 years

Having stepped over the 40-year milestone, the body undergoes some changes in the work of internal organs. Muscles, the brain and other systems of the body can work as efficiently as possible at the age of 25-30, after which various changes begin to appear that can have a negative impact on the functioning of the body as a whole. Among these age-related changes after 40 years, we can distinguish:

Decrease in muscle mass (by 20-30%) and slowing down of neuromuscular conduction (by 10-20%). This is characterized by atrophy of inactive muscles and a decrease in the speed of daily activities - walking, going down and climbing stairs, etc.
Decreased flexibility and elasticity of muscles.
An increase in the risk of developing osteoporosis by 20% in men (moreover, in women this risk is 1.5 times higher).
Obesity.
Decrease in power indicators.
Decreased renal function.
Gradual loss of vision.
Decreased auditory function.

All these age-related changes contribute to a decrease in the metabolic rate in tissues and organs. In addition, at this age, the likelihood of developing diabetes, osteoporosis, reduced mobility of the joints, impaired overall functioning of the musculoskeletal system. There is constant lethargy, weakness and decreased motivation (often associated with a decrease in testosterone levels).

To preserve muscle mass, it is recommended to use natural supplements containing drone brood - Leveton P and Leveton Forte. Each of the drugs increases testosterone levels, prevents muscle catabolism and maintains strength at an older age.

A proven remedy in the treatment of osteoporosis is Osteomed, a natural remedy that slows down the destruction of bone tissue with age.

Get rid of excess weight a line of natural preparations "Kilo-Light" will help a man.

Preparations of natural origin "Eromax" and "Ivan-Tea P" help to improve kidney function. In addition, the dietary supplement "Eromax" helps to increase erection, increase libido and increase testosterone levels, which is extremely important at an older age.

The complex of vitamins "Apitonus P" and "Memo-Vit" protect the brain from dementia, improve blood circulation in the brain tissues and accelerate mental performance in men over 40 years old. All this is possible thanks to the unique composition of these drugs.

Step-by-step instruction
for men

To get the most out of what fitness gives men over 40, there are some rules to follow. Therefore, we apply to you practically step by step instructions for men over 40:

Drawing up a training program should take place, starting from the state of health and the speed of adaptation of your body to the loads. It is necessary to start training with minimal loads, then regularly increase them along with the duration and frequency of classes. It is important to rationally approach the preparation of the program. To do this, you need to decide on the purpose of training. For example, you can include exercises to strengthen the work of the heart and blood vessels, respiratory organs, build muscle, increase the range of motion in the joints, increase muscle elasticity, as well as to lose weight and normalize overall well-being.
We strongly advise you to conduct aerobic training for at least 30-40 minutes, 3-4 per week. As you train, the duration of aerobic training should be gradually increased. This factor, first of all, depends on the degree of adaptation that fitness can provide for men after 40 years. You should exercise at a moderate intensity without working at the limit of the aerobic threshold. It is recommended to combine several types of aerobic exercise at once: cycling, brisk walking, swimming, running. (Again, the type of load must be selected based on how you feel).
If you don’t have the strength for a long workout, you can just walk on foot. Try to aim for the fact that every day you will need to overcome 8000-10000 steps.
Stretching is also important. It is advisable to do stretching exercises almost every day.
Anaerobic exercise, that is, weight training in the gym and at home, should also be included in fitness for men after 40 years. The intensity of the loads is distributed according to the principle of increase - from less to more. It is best for men to train in the gym, as there is all the necessary equipment for a quality workout of all muscle groups. In addition, it is allowed to conduct workouts where the weight of your body is used for loads (push-ups from the floor, pull-ups, twists, push-ups on the uneven bars).
You need to rest between sets for 2-3 minutes. The movement of the projectile must be slow or moderate. For example, after 15 technically correct squats, you need to rest for 2-3 minutes, then start squatting again.
It is recommended to perform the movement under control. It affects the effectiveness of training. If the athlete is well trained, he is shown quite intense loads. It is in this case that the return on training will be maximum. For muscle growth, you need to bring the exercise to failure. Failure is a marker that the muscles are working to the limit. However, fitness for men over 40, especially in the presence of health problems (for example, due to heart problems), can have an adverse effect on the body. After all, refusal approaches at this age can do harm.
It is also important to sometimes change the training program, add or exclude certain exercises. In order for your muscles not to get used to the loads, it is recommended to change the training program every 2-3 months. For example, sometimes it is enough to swap exercises or change the number of repetitions and sets.
Do 2-3 weight training sessions every week. Over time, after your body adapts to the loads, you can increase the number of workouts per week, while reducing the intensity of each session. As you progress, full body workouts will not be as easy as they were at the start of your training journey. Therefore, it is recommended to work out each muscle group once a week. For example, on Monday we train the chest and biceps, on Wednesday - the muscles of the back and shoulders, on Friday - the legs and triceps. Such a system is called a split, in which each muscle group is assigned a specific day to work it out. Split can be varied in many ways.
Static exercises, during which the muscles tense up without movement, are not recommended.
Men over 50-60 years old and older need an even more rational approach to training. In this case, classes with free weights and in simulators can bring undesirable results. In this case, you need to train with your own weight, use fitball, expanders and pay more attention to aerobic exercise. Fitball exercises are good for training the abs and long back muscles. At an older age, a strong lower back is simply necessary.
It is recommended to combine fitness for men and exercises in the gym with specialized gymnastics. It should be noted that it is quite difficult for people who are well adapted to the loads to increase the intensity of training.
In the process of training, it is necessary to maintain balance and correctly distribute the load on each muscle group.
People with osteoporosis, arthritis, arthrosis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system are recommended to take water aerobics classes. Exercises in water are performed with water resistance using additional devices. For the prevention of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, it is recommended to take natural remedy"Osteomed".
Do not forget to warm up before training. Joints, muscles and tendons in men after 40 years of age require a good “warm-up”. Each workout should begin with a good warm-up for 5-10 minutes. In addition to this, after class it is highly recommended to hold a hitch in order to calm the nervous and cardiovascular systems. "Warming up" the muscles should not be neglected, especially for men and women after 40-50 years. You need to warm up like this: 5-7 minutes of running on a treadmill or pedaling on a bicycle ergometer, then you can perform twisting, jumping rope, and then stretching. Before you start working approaches, it is recommended to do several warm-up and acclimatization sets for more efficient muscle work. As a rule, for a warm-up set, the weight is calculated as 50% of the working one. Acclimatization approaches are done with 60-80% of the worker and are necessary to adapt the muscles to the upcoming strength training.
In the event that you are suffering from back pain, you should not squat with a barbell and perform deadlifts. The same goes for overhead shoulder presses if you have a sore or injured shoulder. Think with your head before embarking on any injury-prone exercise. Sometimes it's better to replace it than put your health at risk. In this case, try to find an alternative to such exercises and change them to simulators. For example, if there are contraindications to performing heavy squats with a barbell, then it is recommended to replace them with a leg press in a special simulator.
Try not to do explosive movements if you are already over 40. This style of exercise is quite traumatic even for young and experienced athletes. Therefore, such an “explosive” fitness for men who have crossed the line of 40 years does not suit them at all. Pay special attention to the negative phase of the exercises: lower the shells twice as slowly as in the positive phase of the movement.
The adult body requires more recovery time even after moderate-intensity workouts. Sometimes, it is recommended to add at least one day of rest between classes and rest, for example, not 1-2 days, but 3-4. It is recommended to alternate training for the upper and lower body and do not train the muscle group until it has fully recovered. The Leveton P, Leveton Forte, Elton P and Elton Forte complexes will help you recover much faster.
Reduce the intensity of the training plan if you feel tired and busy. Do not copy the training of twenty-year-olds. Training should be moderately intense. It is allowed to use the so-called periodization of training, which is used by many competing athletes. Fitness for men and its periodization after the age of 40 looks something like this: at the beginning of the training path, while you are still full of energy, you can do 3 weeks with medium intensity, after which there is 1 easy week of training. An easy week is due to the use of weights equal to 50-70% of the weight of the shells with which you were engaged in the previous 3 weeks. It is likely that the introduction of an easy week into the training plan for some men is necessary after a couple of weeks of intensive training, and sometimes it can be completely useful to alternate one intensive and one easy week. In each case, you need to look for the optimal balance for each new athlete. Everything is individual and depends on many factors, such as: training volumes, intensity of training, the rate of recovery of human physiological systems, the presence of injuries and other aspects. A light workout is welcome if there is no strength left for a full-fledged one.
Get enough sleep. Athletes in their twenties can work, study, exercise and even walk at night with virtually no harm to health and muscle growth. However, after overcoming the 40-year milestone, fitness for men without proper sleep will seem incredibly incredible. Fitness for men over 40 is impossible without full recovery and sleep. In addition to the duration of sleep, it is also necessary to monitor its quality. Every little thing is important: the stiffness of the mattress, the temperature during sleep, the humidity of the air, the absence of stress, adherence to the regimen, the absence of diseases that disturb peaceful sleep, etc. Try to limit yourself from drinking caffeine in the afternoon. Do not train right before bedtime, it is recommended to finish classes 3-4 hours before going to bed. Put aside your smartphone, tablet, laptop before bed and do not watch TV 2 hours before bedtime. The recommended time for sleep is 8-9 hours, and it is desirable to fall asleep before midnight. For a good sleep, it is recommended to use sedatives. sedatives"Motherwort P", "Valerian P" and "Nervo-Vit".

An approximate training plan for men over 40 should look like this:

The number of exercises in one workout is 6-8 (at the beginning of classes it is better to start with 3-5).
Each exercise is designed for 12-15 repetitions (as you train, the weights on the shells should increase, and the number of repetitions should decrease). Between exercises and approaches, it is recommended to rest until the pulse is fully restored.

Errors during
workouts

Physical activity, contrary to popular belief, only improves the physical well-being of a person. Most people are strongly mistaken about the fact that a properly dosed load contributes to the deterioration of health. Among the common misconceptions and mistakes during training are:

Aerobic exercise reduces the effectiveness of weight training, as cardio inhibits the development of the muscle corset. Strengthening of ligaments, muscles and bone tissue is also reduced and no major changes will occur. In fact, this is not so. Running, cycling and swimming perfectly develop both a person's aerobic abilities and his muscle tissue.
Swimming does not help prevent the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and does not lead to muscle growth. Not at all, during swimming, almost all the muscles of the body are involved. In addition to swimming, jogging, walking, cycling, etc. are also recommended.
Strength training 1-2 times a week with a low degree of intensity in a large range of repetitions in sets does not bring results in terms of strengthening muscle tissues and ligaments. In fact, it has been found that low-intensity training has a positive effect on the health of ligaments and joints. However, for the most effective muscle growth, it is recommended to stick to three workouts per week and perform 10-15 reps per set with increasing intensity.

Fitness for men after 40: the main advantages

Muscle growth. After 40 years, men who have not previously been involved in sports lose 100-200 g of muscle per year. Along with this, the amount of fat in the body increases. Mass studies conducted among 1100 men aged 40 to 60 showed that the beginning of classes during this period brought participants an average of 1.5-2 kg of muscle mass. For rapid growth muscle mass, it is recommended to use the preparations "Leveton P" and "Leveton Forte". Enhanced Level testosterone, due to the influence of these two drugs, contributes to the build-up of high-quality muscle mass.
Normalization blood pressure. As the body ages, blood vessels “wear out”, which leads to an increase in blood pressure. It has been scientifically proven that weight training reduces systolic blood pressure by 6-8 mmHg. Art., and diastolic - by 3-4 mm Hg. Art. This already reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes by 25%. In addition, low blood pressure is also well relieved by moderately intense training. To improve the hypotensive effect, it is recommended to take the drug "Cardioton".
Normalization of digestive function. The rate of digestion and passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract after 40 years decreases. Experts have found that after 3 months of training, due to proper nutrition, there is an improvement in absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Natural natural preparations and Elecampane P will help you digest food.
Reducing the risk of fractures. Bones in men after 40 years of age begin to gradually undergo demineralization, which reduces the amount of calcium and osteocytes in them. Thus, bone tissue is more prone to fractures and damage. Research work confirm that after 3 months of training in the gym with moderate intensity, calcium levels return to normal. Power loads favorably affect both the bone tissues of women and men. In addition to power loads, it is also recommended to use the drug "Osteomed" to prevent osteoporosis and strengthen bone tissues.
Acceleration of metabolic processes in the body. Metabolism in the body of men after 40 years of age begins to gradually slow down, respectively, the calories that have entered the body and have not been used, after a while, begin to turn into fat. A 60-minute workout accelerates metabolic processes in the body by 15-20% of the original. This rate of metabolic reactions, as a rule, persists for 12 hours after the end of the session.
Low probability of developing coronary artery disease (ischemic heart disease). It was found that after 3 months of training, the content of HDL (high-density lipoprotein or simply "good" cholesterol) increased by 15%, while LDL (low-density lipoprotein - "bad" cholesterol) decreased by 6%. An important condition for reducing the risk of developing coronary artery disease is the reduction of insulin resistance. After 12 weeks of training, this figure is reduced by 25%. In addition, take

Ecology of health: Over time, you may notice changes in your body. Aging can come in a pattern, but with exercise...

Exercising and staying in shape have many benefits. Exercise reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease, helps you sleep better at night, fight fatty liver disease, maintain weight, and look and feel younger.

There are very few downsides to exercise. The body is provided with joints for movement, and health in the process of movement improves. Studies have also shown the overall effectiveness of high interval training (HIIT) compared to regular cardio exercise.

HIIT has an added benefit- they increase human growth hormone (HGH), which is not achieved with the help of "regular" cardio exercises. Increasing HGH levels helps reduce insulin resistance and improve your ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Plus, HIIT only takes a few minutes of your time, not hours of cardio work.

What happens after 40 years?

Over time, you may notice changes in your body. Aging may follow a pattern, but, through exercise and proper nutrition, the coming years can only bring you pleasure.

From the moment you are born until your 30s, your muscles are continually getting bigger and stronger. But starting around the age of 30, you start to lose muscle mass, 3-5 percent every ten years if you don't exercise. physical activity. The medical term for this phenomenon is sarcopenia of aging.

Even if you are active, you will not stop losing muscle mass, but it will happen much more slowly. The changes may be due to neurological fluctuations from the brain to the muscles that trigger movement, loss of nutrition, decreased ability to synthesize protein, or reduced levels of growth hormone, testosterone, or insulin.

Biological changes associated with aging can also affect reflexes and coordination.

You may have noticed that your body is not responding the way it used to.

You may find it harder to get off the couch, walk up the stairs with your groceries, or go for a bike ride. With age, the body becomes more stiff and unstable, and the muscles become more flabby.

This loss of muscle mass will also affect how your body looks and reacts. The redistribution of muscle to fat will affect your balance. Due to the decrease in the volume of muscles in the legs and the stiffness of the joints, it will become more difficult to move around.

Changes in body weight and bone loss can also affect height. After age 40, people tend to lose about 1 cm in height every 10 years.

Use it or lose it

The old adage "use it or lose it" holds true when it comes to physical ability. When you lose muscle, it tends to be replaced with fat. Although the weight may increase slightly, you may appear to be much larger, because fat will take up 18 percent more space in your body than muscle.

Fortunately, it's never too late to start exercising and taking care of your muscles. This was demonstrated by a unique study conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

The study began in 1966 when researchers asked five healthy 20-year-old subjects to spend three weeks in bed. Devastating changes in their heart rate, muscle strength, blood pressure, and cardiac output were noted.

After a further eight weeks of exercise, all participants regained their fitness levels and even improved somewhat.

The results of this study initiated changes in medical practice, encouraging people to return to physical activity after illness and surgery. Thirty years later, the same five men were asked to take part in another study.

Their baseline fitness and health measures showed an average weight gain of 23 kilograms, a doubling of body fat from 14 percent to 28 percent, and a decrease in heart function compared to measurements taken at the end of the study in 1966. year.

These people were put on a six-month program of walking, cycling and jogging, which resulted in a modest weight loss of 4.5 kilograms.

However, their resting heart rate, blood pressure, and maximum pumping function returned to their baseline levels measured when they were first enrolled in the study, at age 20. Surprisingly, exercise has been able to reverse 30 years of age-related changes.

Start with flexibility and balance

In her book Fitness After 40, orthopedic surgeon and mobility specialist Dr. Vonda Wright recommends people over 40 do not exercise more, but smarter. And the first reasonable step would be improved flexibility and balance. Both of these physical factors suffer from muscle loss and joint stiffness as we age.

CNN quotes Dr. David Guyer, former director of sports medicine medical university South Carolina in Charleston, and a representative of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine:

“Flexibility is the third pillar of fitness, along with cardiovascular adaptation and strength training.”.

Flexibility will help reduce injury, improve balance, and achieve optimal fitness levels. foam roller, one of Dr. Wright's favorite tricks, does double duty. It will not only help improve flexibility, but also relieve muscle and connective tissue adhesions.

Foam rollers are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased online or at your local department or sporting goods store. Dr. Wright recommends using the roller in the morning, after a hot shower, to help relax and stretch your muscles and joints throughout the day.

She and I also agree that dynamic stretching is a much safer method that produces better results than static stretching. Static stretching can, in fact, damage muscles and tendons, which may be why studies show deterioration in muscle performance, especially when stretched for 60 seconds or more.

Static stretching involves stretching the muscle completely and holding it in that position for 15 to 60 seconds, such as touching your toes; dynamic stretching, on the other hand, involves movement, such as lunges, squats, or circular movements of the arms, to achieve the flexibility of muscle groups.

The benefits of dynamic stretching include:

great strength,
reduction of injuries
improved coordination and balance,
effective neuromuscular activation.

It means that dynamic stretching to help address your need for improved flexibility and balance. Part of the problem is that the neuromuscular junctions that help maintain balance begin to break down with age. Try to stand on one leg without holding onto anything. It will be more difficult than you think.

An easy daily way is to do dynamic stretching with a foam roller and practice standing on one foot and then on the other every other day. Very soon you will notice improvements in both flexibility and balance.

Foam roller: errors

While easy to use, there are some mistakes you can make with a foam roller that can be painful in the long run. Pay Special attention these five mistakes that can set you back, not move you forward.

1. Exercise speed

It is easy to quickly complete the exercise - one or two and you're done. But doing it slowly will help your muscles relax and get rid of the adhesions that are causing problems. Fast execution will not get rid of adhesions, but it can tighten the muscles, which is exactly the opposite of the desired result.

2. Too much time spent on knots

This is the case when "more" does not mean "better". Applying constant pressure to an already affected area can cause muscle or nerve damage. Give the damaged area no more than 20 seconds, and then move on. Also, do not apply your whole body weight to the injured area.

3. “No pain, no results” doesn’t apply here.

Weak and painful areas may not respond well to foam rolling exercises. Instead, it is important to knead the surrounding area to help break up surrounding adhesions and relax the muscles in an attempt to reduce the pain response. After that, you can slowly, gently roll the roller for 20 seconds over the painful area, giving the muscles time to relax.

4. Poor posture

Posture is not only important when you are standing or sitting. It is also important when performing exercises with a foam roller. If you do not pay attention to the position of the body when performing certain movements may exacerbate existing problems. Seek help from a personal trainer who will help you determine the correct body position when you "roll out" tension and muscle pain.

It doesn't matter if you have pain in the lower back - in any case, this is a sensitive area of your body. If you apply the roller on the lower back, the muscles will tighten to protect the spine. Instead, use the roller on your upper back, waist, or buttocks and thighs. The exercises will have a beneficial effect on the lumbar support muscles in both of these areas.

Change your strength training

When you were younger, you may have been going to the gym to lift weights all the time. But, with age, you need to monitor functional strength, and not the strength of an isolated muscle group. Functional strength is all about improving your ability with the muscle groups you normally use in your daily life.

In other words, the leg press machine will help you build impressive quads, but without working on the strength of the quadriceps-balancing muscles, like your hamstrings, you won't be able to improve your ability to climb stairs.

Functional strength training is training during continuous movement. All the activities that you do every day, such as walking, climbing stairs, getting up and down from a chair, lifting, pushing, tilting, turning, pulling, are performed in three different planes.

When you move along the midline of your body, right to left or left to right, movements cross the sagittal (vertical) plane.
When your body moves forward or backward - movements cross the frontal plane.
And when the body moves up and down an imaginary line at the waist - transverse plane intersects.

Functional strength training is a coordinated effort of several muscle groups that mimics everyday activities, rather than training an isolated muscle group. You can perform these activities with free weights, medicine balls, and kettlebells, all of which will work your body in multiple planes, using multiple muscle groups. published

This means that a person at the age of 40 can no longer compete on equal terms with twenty-year-olds.

Workouts for beginners over 40

According to statistics, there are more diseases in forty-year-olds than in twenty-year-olds. The set and quality of diseases speaks of the remnants of health resources.

For example, people with one torn ligament in their knee sometimes come to me with a request to strengthen the knee. Unfortunately, these people don't realize that squats won't build ligaments.

It's hard to compete with one bunch against those who have two.

At 20, there is a lot of testosterone and young males and females demonstrate their dominance in competitions. At 40, there is little testosterone and “ligaments”, therefore, to demonstrate dominance: there are fewer desires and more dangers.

Motivation to train at 20 and at 40 are different motivations. But to start, you need motivation.

People with training and competition experience live on memories and feed their motivation on those memories.

It is more difficult to start training at 40, because you are a person with a large life experience you become a newbie.

Strength training for men over 40

Simple conclusions: after forty years in strength training, it is better to start with, with an intensity of up to 80% and an increase rate of up to 3% per week.

Cardio workout for men over 40

Men over 40 who decide to start cardio training need to be attentive to the pulse and joints.

Kids can afford to play catch-up without a heart rate monitor and tear their knees on the pavement. But after forty years it is better not to do this.

A monitor for two thousand rubles is an important attribute of a man after forty years, such as, for example, nice watch or glazed shoes.

A mature man needs a monitor in order to look at the pulse during training and slow down when the upper limit is exceeded, even if a woman who is 20 years younger runs past.

The second issue of cardio training for men after 40 is the musculoskeletal system.

Children first learn to walk, then run, and it all happens naturally.

After 30 years of a sedentary lifestyle, the body still knows how to walk, although some have pain in the knees or lower back, but running can be not only painful, but also dangerous.

You should not choose situational types of cardio training, such as football, if you have not played catch-up for a long time.

Start with your usual walking, but not at a walking pace, as in the office or supermarket, but at a brisk pace, so that the pulse rises to the level.

If the pulse from walking does not rise, then you can switch to jogging at walking speed.

If the pulse has risen to from jogging, then you don’t need to run faster - run longer.

The essence of cardio training for men after 40 years is not speed, but minutes.

Try to get some cardio jogging in a week, as long as it's at least 30 minutes per workout.

Post-workout recovery for men over 40

All recovery processes occur in a dream.

Everything that interferes with sleep: shortens it and worsens its quality - interferes with the result of training.

If training improves sleep, then you are training correctly.

If food improves sleep, then you are eating right.

The norm of sleep in adolescents is 10 hours a day, in adults 7.

Of course, if a teenager gets 70 hours of sleep per week and an adult gets 49, then the recovery of a teenager is better by at least 30%.

But the dependence of recovery on percent sleep is not linear. In fact, 30% of extra sleep gives three times more results in training: what a teenager achieves in a year, a man after 40 - in three.

So that a man’s sleep after 40 years is not disturbed, training should not be too hard, and the diet should not be too tough.

You need to train to gain strength, and not to emasculate them.

The formula "the more the better" is valid if there is a dream in this formula. The more training and the more sleep, the better the result.

Men who focus their courage and will only on training, losing sight of sleep, work not to gain strength, but to emasculate them.

Ate for some reason, you are forced to limit your sleep, you will have to slow down and with increasing loads in training.

Lack of sleep, you can no longer count on a 3% increase in the result in training.

In difficult periods of life, when you cannot fully sleep and train to gain strength, you do not need to keep your norm in loads and train for emasculation, but you need to switch to a maintenance mode.

This is usually about 50-70% of your usual training allowance during good periods of life, for example, on vacation.

Do you use your vacation to gain strength, and not to rest from training?!