Fit over 40: As you get older, it becomes increasingly important to look after your health. The physical ageing process begins in men from their mid-20s, or at the latest from their 30s, and accelerates with increasing age. This includes, above all, the gradual loss of muscle mass, which is accompanied by a deterioration in metabolism, which in turn often leads to weight gain. Bone health and hormonal balance also suffer.
But there is good news: you can actively counteract these signs of ageing. You don’t need expensive equipment or supposed miracle pills to do this, just yourself. If you follow the following four steps on the subject of ‘Fit over 40’ for an active life, you can take a big step towards your health and fitness in the second half of your life. It’s never too late, positive changes are always possible, no matter when and at what level you start. So don’t be discouraged, but instead create your own fountain of youth.
The four steps to getting fit after 40 are endurance training, muscle training, mobility training and regeneration. They form the magic fitness square that is good for you at any age.
First step: train your physical endurance
We humans are endurance runners by nature. Our hunting and gathering ancestors travelled 20-30 km around their camps and could easily run a marathon distance per day. The workload for which our bodies are actually designed. Exercise and especially endurance training is central to our health!
In the western world today, however, the situation with regard to sufficient exercise is bleak. According to a WHO report from 2022, over 80 per cent of adolescents and almost 30 per cent of adults do not even reach the (already low) minimum level of physical activity recommended by the WHO. There seems to be no improvement in sight, rather the opposite. The level of physical inactivity continues to rise.
The consequences are devastating: chronic lack of exercise makes people physically and mentally ill. The physical consequences of a lack of exercise include the development of obesity, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer and a general atrophy of the musculoskeletal system. In other words, practically all the diseases that affect many people today at a young age, but especially in old age. Mentally, a lack of exercise increases the risk of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, general listlessness and stress.
Endurance training is therefore a key step in the ‘Fit over 40’ programme to stay healthy in the second half of life. Running is particularly suitable here. It is easy and can be done practically anywhere without much effort. All you need to do is invest in a good pair of running shoes (it’s best to get advice from a specialist shop). What’s more, there is always time for running when you consider that the average western human spends several useless hours a day on social media and in front of the TV, so half an hour for running should be no problem.
Second step: Train your muscles
As mentioned at the beginning, men start to gradually lose muscle from the age of 30 at the latest, and this process accelerates significantly with age unless we actively counteract it. In this so-called sarcopenia, muscle tissue is replaced by fatty tissue at a rate of between 0.3 and 1.8 per cent per year. This means that between 30 and 50 per cent of muscle mass can be lost by the age of 80. Muscle function itself also deteriorates. The consequences are a gradual increase in weakness, frailty and weight.
Anyone who has ever wondered why it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain or reduce their weight with increasing age should also consider age-related muscle atrophy alongside other factors. Fortunately, we are not helplessly at the mercy of the ageing process, but can actively counteract it. Even in old age! With targeted strength training, muscle loss can be slowed down and muscles can be strengthened and built up at any age. A well-trained 50-year-old can therefore be stronger than an untrained 30-year-old. More muscle also burns more calories at rest and therefore helps you lose weight in the long term.
You don’t need expensive equipment or gym memberships to build muscle either. Functional training with your own body weight offers a simple and effective way to build strong and toned muscles. The aim should be an athletic and strong physique, but not unnatural muscle mass. You should also avoid artificial and dangerous shortcuts such as steroids at all costs!
Incidentally, if you do want to invest money, personal training is the best choice in my opinion, as you will receive professional guidance and individual motivation. You can find a possible offer here, for example.
Third step: Mobility training
In the triad of endurance, strength and mobility, the latter is unfortunately often neglected. Yet mobility is just as important for our health as sufficient strength and endurance. Good balance and coordination protect us from injuries as well as poor posture, restricted mobility and the resulting problems such as back and joint pain. These aspects become increasingly important as we get older and at the same time, without countermeasures, the body starts to break down at an early age.
Our ‘permanently sedentary’ lifestyle also has a fatal effect when it comes to mobility. Combined with today’s extreme screen consumption, usually paired with constant poor posture when staring at a smartphone display or PC screen, coordination and balance skills are already atrophying in children and young people or are not being developed properly in the first place. The latter is particularly fatal, as these skills are best learnt and trained at this stage of life.
Endurance and functional training also have a positive effect on mobility, but it can be trained even more specifically with targeted exercises such as yoga or tai chi. It is therefore worth incorporating such exercises into your own training plan in your ‘Fit over 40’ programme. I personally find these exercises particularly stimulating, for example, in the morning immediately after getting up.
Fourth step: Regeneration
Sufficient recovery is essential for your sporting success and to maintain your health. This includes, in particular, sufficient and regular sleep! Sleep is medicine for body and mind. During sleep, our body recovers and repairs damage, our brain stores newly learnt information and actively processes information, feelings and experiences from the day. Without enough sleep, we humans slowly perish. A lack of sleep damages our health, promotes obesity, stress and psychological problems. Even the positive effects of physical activity can only be realised with sufficient sleep, as this is the time when the body regenerates muscles, tendons and joints and strengthens them after training stimuli.
According to various studies, the optimum amount of sleep for adults is between seven and eight hours. How much sleep you need depends on the individual: some people get by on seven hours, others may even need more than eight hours. It helps to observe yourself and check over a longer period of time how much sleep you need to feel rested. If you realise that you are obviously sleeping too little or that your sleep itself is not restful, the first step is to improve your own sleep hygiene.
In addition to sleep, a healthy lifestyle is also important when it comes to ‘Fit over 40’: this includes drinking enough water. Water is essential for regulating our metabolism, fluid and heat balance and ensures the removal of waste products from the body. In addition to thirst, a lack of fluids quickly leads to symptoms such as headaches, circulatory problems, dry skin and a decrease in mental and physical performance.
To keep our bodies well hydrated, we should drink at least 1.5 to 2.0 litres of water a day. However, depending on age, physical exertion and ambient temperature, this figure can quickly increase. For your health, you should therefore regularly ask yourself whether you are drinking enough water. I deliberately say water because, in my opinion, it is the best thirst quencher. The wide variety of sugary drinks, whether soft drinks, fruit juices or any light drinks with substitutes, are not suitable for ensuring a healthy fluid balance.
This is even more true for alcohol, which in my opinion should be avoided completely as it is both a strong cytotoxin and contains a lot of calories. Speaking of cellular toxins, smoking in any form should be even more of a taboo than alcohol, as it strongly promotes the premature ageing process and causes serious long-term damage to health.
A good and healthy diet is also part of recovery. However, I am rather cautious on this subject. Mainly because, in my opinion, the topic of nutrition is over-emphasised in our Western society and is given too much priority over the more important issue of exercise. There are so many supposed miracle cures, diets and eating recommendations or eating bans, which in my opinion primarily serve the profiteering of some influencer stars or self-proclaimed social media gurus.
It is sufficiently well known what constitutes a good diet; for the sake of simplicity, I would like to refer you to the English version of the German Nutrition Society ‘s website on this topic. In my opinion, nothing more is needed on the subject of nutrition.
I hope you enjoyed this article on ‘Fit over 40’ and that it has motivated you to do something for your health. As someone who has only found a healthier and more sporty lifestyle after 40, here’s another recommendation: don’t overwhelm yourself, but take it step by step. Many small changes will lead you to your goal better than trying to completely change your life all at once.
Please note: if you have never done any serious sport, suffer from pre-existing conditions, have been inactive for a long time or are over forty years old, you should have a medical check-up before you get active. Talk to your GP about your plans and get advice. If you have the opportunity, you can also consult a specialised sports physician. At the end of this article you will find a link to a corresponding external offer.
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Sports medical advice and personal training (last checked on 25.08.24)