3 Biggest Fat Loss Mistakes for Men Over 40
As a man over 40 you might have fallen for the many fads and fallacies of the fitness industry when trying to get back in shape.
Time and time again I see a lot of mistakes that men over 40 make when trying to lose belly fat and it really frustrates me because it’s a lot of wasted effort.
In this article I want to discuss 3 of the biggest fat loss mistakes that men over 40 make when trying to lose belly fat
Mistake #1 – Following “diets”
The truth is there’s always some new and fancy diet plan on the market because diets sell well and people want quick fixes to their problems, but diets never work because they always cut out one of the important macronutrients, either going to low in carbs, too high in protein, cutting out fat or a combination of all of them!
One of the popular diets on the market right now for example is Keto, this goes high in protein, lowering carbs supposedly getting your body burning more fat.
The problem is you need carbs to function properly and the weight loss you’ll experience will be the result of the body dropping water weight from the muscles and liver as a result of cutting out carbs.
Going too high in protein isn’t the best for your health and not only do we need carbs for energy, but they’re also needed for testosterone production, keeping us feeling full and feeling satisfied.
If you cut out carbs, life is going to get miserable quick.
The bottom line is you need a balance of proteins, carbs and fats in your nutrition plan on a consistent basis, something that you enjoy and something that’s done over the long term – not a quick fix.
Nutrition needs to be enjoyable and sustainable over the long term. You need an effective plan, see my article How to Lose Belly Fat for Men Over 40.
Mistake #2 – Insanity, P90X, Group classes or workout DVD’s
As men over 40 not only are these workouts not designed for us, but they’ll cause injury over the long term.
They’re what’s known as cardio workouts that don’t build any muscle.
Once over 40, building muscle is very important as we lose it after about age 30 if we choose to do nothing.
This means the body is going through change, muscle is breaking down and fat mass is going up! That means you might weigh the same, but your body composition will look drastically different. Gaining fat and losing muscle as you get older is NOT a good thing.
I can’t stress the importance of compound movements for men over 40. Compound movements will maintain muscle and boost up testosterone resulting in an awesome looking body.
If you’re getting weaker in your 40’s, that’s NOT a good sign.
This doesn’t mean you have to get big and bulky like a bodybuilder, but you DO have to at least build some functional muscle that will keep your metabolism elevated permanently.
I see men over 40 doing tons of cardio that ultimately strips ways muscle, they’re too busy trying to get their workouts “flat out” so they feel like they’re doing something rather than thinking about a long-term fat loss plan.
Let’s be honest as well, do you REALLY want to be jumping around in group classes and following workout DVD’s that lead to nothing but frustration and injury?
Enter smart cardio.
In my course, Abs Over 40, I provide a very effective 3-day weight training routine coupled with smart cardio which means using a combination of kettlebell, barbell and body weight exercises to burn fat and build lean muscle.
This way of training is very effective for getting a lean body.
Mistake #3 – Following “Bro splits”
There are a bunch of men over 40 who follow my advice and are doing weight training, but their routine is far from effective for a man over 40.
They’re still training using “bro splits” splitting the body up into individual parts and isolating the muscles, possibly devoting a whole workout session to just the “chest” or just the “back.”
While this is better than doing nothing and can be followed effectively for a while for men in their twenties, it’s far from the best option for men in their 40’s.
Where is the recovery?
As a natural man over 40 we need at least 24 hours between a hard workout session for the muscular system and CNS to recover properly.
This is so you can come back to the gym, feel stronger and beat the previous best workout. If you’re trying to lift weights on 5-6 days per week, it’s never going to happen.
By training 3 times per week on non-consecutive days you’ll come back stronger in the gym, feel fully recovered, make progress and be able to fit it in with your busy life.
Then you’ll have time to do your ONCE per week smart cardio session. It’s this combination that will ultimately get you the body you want!
If you couple the above with an effective nutrition plan, you’ll start to build lean muscle, lose fat and get excellent conditioning in a matter of months.
I have seen this happen by following my course, Abs Over 40. In fact, one of my students lost over 4 stone following that program alone.
Get started on your own fat loss journey
If you’re a man over 40 you owe it to yourself to educate yourself on what really works for men over 40 to lose fat and get into awesome shape. You can’t keep chucking away chunks of your life on in-effective workout programs.