Working Out When You're Over 40

[Seamus]

Now that I'm 52, the most important thing I've learned is to pay very close attention to how you feel, and to ALWAYS make sure you're well rested before attempting a rigorous workout. The only big difference between working out hard now, and 30 years ago, is the greatly increased possibility of ending up with sore joints, muscles etc, that require a longer rest. And of course, I'm learning the importance of good diet like never before.

[boxbible]

The older you get, the longer it takes to recover. With that in mind, we need to increase the intensities of the workouts and get longer rest.

That means working out smarter and putting exercise routines together that are more efficient.

Simple things like mixing anaerobic and aerobic workouts into one routine. For example, starting your running with sets of sprints (after warming up of course) but continuing with walking or light jogging between sets, and then finishing off with however many minutes of jogging you need to maintain aerobic effect instead of separate days of sprints and jogging. Or hitting the weights with a carefully designed circuit that will hit different muscle groups sequentially while continuously challenging the lactate system.

Also important is to warm up and stretch properly. Then cool down properly also to help recovery. And bring some fruits with you to gobble down right after the workout which will also speed up recovery.

[TempleSlave]

Of course as we get older, we deteriorate on all levels. However it turns out inactivity is so much more deteriorating factor than aging itself.
Regular (intelligent!) exercise, together with healthy diet and sensible lifestyle, can really slow down the process. As we age, then because recovery is not as good as it was when we were in our twenties, the really important things are becoming periodisation, sleep, avoiding toxins.

Now, I'm not a great fan of cardio, but guys just check this out:

[Ávila]

Of course as we get older, we deteriorate on all levels. However it turns out inactivity is so much more deteriorating factor than aging itself.
Regular (intelligent!) exercise, together with healthy diet and sensible lifestyle, can really slow down the process. As we age, then because recovery is not as good as it was when we were in our twenties, the really important things are becoming periodisation, sleep, avoiding toxins.

Now, I'm not a great fan of cardio, but guys just check this out:

Dude, great pictures! I will use in my classes!

I'm 35, and from 30 notice some differences in the overall recovery and muscular appearance. Are still small, but certainly tend to be accentuated over the years. Also knees as they start to hurt, showing more wear and tear of cartilage. Now I'm focusing on bodybuilding workouts (that previously did not) and using whey protein, albumin and BCAA.

Excuses by my English.

Wagner.

[boxbible]

Whose legs did they chop off to get those pics?!?

[dberry]

I don't know, but what this does tell me is that a triathelete has twice the risk of getting his legs chopped of as a sedintary man

[Youngy]

I'm 53 and train about 5 days per week.

I hit the speedball at six by 3min rounds with a 1min rest in between. I count the hits and get around 720 to 750 hits (both hands) for 3mins.

I then do three round of exercises. (sometimes 4 or 5 rounds if I have time and feel I'm up to it).

75 sit ups
6 Chin Ups (Overhand)
30 Crunches
16 Dips
34 Squats (no weights)
35 Push Ups

I occassionally do a bit of running but find the aerobic conditioning from the speedball is sufficient to get the heart rate up into the 140/150 range.

Don't have a heavy bag or a floor-to-ceiling to work with but do the occasional shadow box.

We now have masters boxing in Australia (at the Masters Games in Geelong in October) for guys over 40 and over 50, and while it's tempting I doubt I will participate in that. My problem is I'm short & stocky and weigh 78kgs. I would be up against much taller opponents and at 53 my competitive boxing days are long gone.

[Scrap]

I train 2 triathletes, a Lady who just won a Iron Man, She is 35. Also of interest a 44 year old Man, who in the last year, has knocked of 32 mins of his P/Bs. He represented GB last week in Turkey, knocking another 4 29 of His P/B. It seems the secret is a Good Stretch program,plus cutting the impact, Stress, out of the Equation. By using the Verti Run Tests show it is better for Fitness, than overground Running, without the impact. Thats impact to the whole Body, from Head to Feet.

[Seamus]

I haven't touched weights in almost 4 months (not intentionally, I just need to find a new healthclub) but I've probably been working by upper body much harder of late. Right now, every other day I do 5 sets of pushups, as many reps as I can do, 60 seconds a part. It's a little hard, but the payoff is big.

[Redback Rasta]

One rule I stick fairly rigidly to is not to train hard 2 days in a row.

You can get away with it when you are around 30 but as you get older the body needs move recovery time.

[margaret thatcher]

tbh a lot of the tips for working out over 40 would be helpful even for younger dudes. a lot of youngsters put on unhealthy wear and tear. i took a bad back injury in my 20s. a lotta youngsters think theyre immune

[Seamus]

I just ran windsprints for the first time since turning 63 and felt great. Because it was on a very wet field and raining again, it made me concentrate on really getting alot of knee lift, which is important when sprinting. Required extra lift due to the soggy conditions and probably even improved my form.

[vidal]

51 here and I work out most days. I definitely listen to my body more and have rest days. I've realised that I can injure myself quite easily if I push through twinges and aches.

I'm pleased that I can still broadly lift the same weight I could in my 20's, but it hurts, so now I do less weight and if I can manage more rep's, then that's cool.

I've been doing Yoga classes a couple of evenings a week too, and doing it on my own between, and it's definitely helping my muscles cope.

I can't eat what I want all the time anymore though!!!!...... which is total j1sm

[AngryGoon38]

I turned 53 in May of this year.

Still Pushing Quite Hard, at work, and with Various types of workouts/exercises.

Sometimes I bike-ride to work. It's an 8 mile distance, each way.

I also always ride a fat-tire bike for the bike commute to work. Mainly because of the sheer pure reliability of that type of bicycle. 4" width tires. 52 lb steel-frame bike. It's also Only a 7 speed. No granny-gears. HardWork All the Way.

I basically feel like Alexander the Great after arrival to my Destination.