Over 40 Fitness

In the not so distant past, starting an over 40 fitness program would have been considered a waste of time. Most people thought that once you turned 40 it was too late to get in shape. But exercise science has proven that it's never too late to get fit and healthy.

Muscle loss and decreased cardiovascular fitness are not the normal result of ageing, they're the result of a sedentary lifestyle. Once the average inactive person reaches age 65, they will have lost up to 40% of their muscle mass and 40% of their aerobic capacity compared to when they were young adults. Most fitness experts agree that a 15-20 year decrease in biological age can be achieved with simple lifestyle changes. There can be a huge difference between biological age and chronological age.

Don't put limits on yourself just because you're over 40. Your fitness program should be based more on your goals and your fitness level than on your chronological age.

10 Tips For Starting An Over 40 Fitness Program

1. Check with your doctor. If you have any existing health conditions or you've been inactive for a long time, you need to get medical clearance before you start to exercise.

2. Evaluate your current fitness level. In order to develop an effective over 40 fitness program, you need to know what your current fitness level is. Cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibilty, and body composition are all factors that need to be evaluated. Visit the 5 Components Of Physical Fitness page for information on these factors. Having a personal trainer evaluate your current fitness level is a good idea, even if you don't plan on working with a personal trainer on an ongoing basis. Visit the How To Hire A Personal Trainer page for tips on finding a good personal trainer.

3. Define your goals. What goals do you want to achieve? Do you want to lose 10 pounds of fat? Do you want to overcome a specific health problem? Do you want to compete in a bodybuilding contest? Having specific and realistic goals will help you develop an effective over 40 fitness program. Visit the Goal Setting page for more information.

4. Be consistent. Once you start an over 40 fitness program, you have to follow it on a consistent basis if you want to derive any permanent benefits from it.

5. Warm up before exercising. A warm up should be part of everyone's exercise program regardless of their age, but it's especialy important for older trainers who might be more susceptible to injuries. Warming up will stimulate blood flow to your muscles, increase your joint flexibility and range of motion, and get you mentally prepared for your workout. Do several minutes of easy aerobic exercise prior to more intense aerobic exercise. Do one or two light sets of each weight lifting exercise before using heavier weights.

6. Stretch after exercising. Stretching and warming up are not the same. Warming up should be done before exercise and stretching should be done after exercise. Stretching is the key to flexibility, and it's especially important for older trainers who may have lost some flexibilty over the years. Visit the Benefits Of Stretching page for information on stretching and flexibility.

7. Emphasize form and technique when lifting weights. You want to challenge yourself when lifting weights, but not at the expense of good form and technique. The over 40 trainer needs to be especially careful to use good form and technique in order to avoid injury. Use muscle power, not momentum, when lifting weights. Don't heave, swing or bounce the weights. Lift and lower the weights in a steady and controlled manner. Concentrate on feeling the muscle you're working (this is called the mind-muscle connection).

8. Give yourself enough recovery time after exercising. As you age, you need more recovery time after exercising, especially after weight lifting. Give your body the time it needs to rest and recover, and it will get stronger and healthier.

9. Start slowly and build up gradually. Don't push yourself too hard too fast. Slowly and gradually progress from your existing fitness level.

10. Enjoy yourself. A fitness program has to be enjoyable if it's going to become a regular part of your life. When you first start a fitness program, especially when you're older, you may think it's a chore. But the more you keep at it, the more enjoyable it will become. You might find that your fitness program becomes a positive addiction.

Don't let age slow you down. An over 40 fitness program will help you stay fit and healthy well into your senior years.

Recommended Resource

• Fit Over 40 is a best selling e-book that profiles 52 fit and healthy men and women who are all over 40, with several being in their sixties and seventies. Many of them had to overcome severe health problems to achieve their fitness goals. Fit Over 40 details how these people train and how they eat, giving you access to 52 different exercise programs and eating plans that have been proven to work by real people. Read My Review