Workout for Older Men
This article is going be centred around older men that would like to lose belly fat and get lean to look great for a holiday or perhaps you simply want to improve your health.
As an older man you’re probably not interested in building big muscles or getting completely ripped but you ARE interested in looking lean, healthy and having long-term health free from disease.
One way you can ward away disease is keep your body fat in check. It’s a proven fact that men over 40 who have a waist circumference above 36 inches are at higher risk for diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
Becoming lean over 40 should no longer be something you do in order to look good but a necessity for staying healthy for the rest of your life.
When you’re an older man you’ll probably find the recommendations of your local gym instructors or personal trainers don’t apply to you.
If the information provided isn’t tailored for older men, you could be doing exercises that are injurious or designed for younger men.
Older men need to take the following into consideration:
Exercises
The exercises used should be compound movements that train 2-3 bigger muscle groups at the same time, building lean muscle and increasing metabolism.
They’re also time saving and give you the biggest return.
It’s no good to “beast” older men, making them do high intensity classes such as P90X or Insanity.
Older men need something that’s not only effective for burning fat and getting lean but is joint friendly and sustainable over the long term.
Recovery
I once read a weight training book detailing the difference in recovery between an 18-year-old weightlifter and a 21-year-old weight lifter.
The “older” weight lifter didn’t recover as quickly between workouts as the younger lifter and if that’s the case, imagine the difference in recovery between a 21-year-old and a 47-year-old.
Making an older trainee do a younger mans routine is just madness.
If you’re doing the best compound movements for older men, then your body needs time to bounce back, get stronger and build an extra bit of lean muscle ready for the next workout.
Joint friendly
I mentioned “compound movements” being extremely advantageous for older men, but not all compound movements are created equal.
The stiff-legged-deadlift is a compound movement, but for most older men, unless they have exceptional flexibility, will cause lower back problems due to overstretching.
The squat is a very safe and productive exercise for older men training the muscles of the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, increasing testosterone and burning fat, but a lot of older men simply can’t do the exercise due to a bad back or knees.
If that’s you then it’s important to find an alternative exercise that trains the same muscle groups whilst keeping the lower back out of the equation.
The bottom line is you should choose compound movements that train all the muscles of the body and you can progress on over the long term.
Where to train
My course, Ripped Abs Over 40 now comes with a complete At-home workout that can be performed without any equipment whatsoever.
It also comes with a complete gym workout for those men that prefer to get away from home and go to the gym instead.
The bottom line is you should be focusing on compound movements that cover all the major muscles of the body and workout 3 times per week on a Mon-Wed-Fri basis to get the best benefits.
Beginner At-Home Workout
Here I’m going to provide you with an At Home workout you can follow that covers the major muscles of the body and will give you tremendous results.
This routine doesn’t require any equipment other than a few water bottles for some of the exercises:
Table Press-up
The table press-up is a fantastic and safe exercise for older men. It trains the muscles of the upper body including the chest, shoulders and triceps.
It’s perfect for older men that haven’t got the strength to perform the regular press-up and won’t cause injury.
Grab a hold of a medium height surface such as a table or work top and slowly lower your torso down keeping the tension on your chest and triceps.
Return to the starting position and perform the exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.
NOTE: the entire video workout walkthroughs are covered in my course, Abs Over 40.
Door Row
The door row is a perfect starting point to work the muscles of the back and biceps in one movement. Grasp hold of a door handle and lean back with arms out straight.
Gently pull yourself towards the door keeping the tension on your arms and back.
Perform this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Bodyweight squat
The bodyweight squat is a tremendous exercise for the lower body training the quadriceps, hamstrings and even calves to a degree.
The great thing about starting with the bodyweight squat is you don’t need any equipment to get an effective fat burning workout.
With feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes flared out slightly, lower your body until parallel keeping the tension over your heels.
Maintain a flat back and keep a smooth controlled rep cadence.
Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.
Crunch
There are many variations of the crunch but this one is designed for older men to keep the tension on the abdominals but prevent lower back injury or pain.
Strengthening the abs is essential for maintaining a good and strong posture as we get older.
Sitting on the floor with knees slightly bent and maintaining a flat back, lean back slightly with arms out straight keeping the tension on the abdominals.
Be careful not to overstretch or bounce, keep smooth tight form.
Do this exercise for 2 sets of 10-15 reps.
Seated Curl
Most of your exercises should be compound movements training 2-3 larger muscles with one exercise, but isolation exercises are also important to strengthen the workout routine.
The seated curl will strengthen the muscles of the biceps whilst keeping the stress off the lower back.
Sit on a chair grasping a water bottle in each hand with arms extended.
Keeping the shoulders straight bend at the elbow keeping the tension on the biceps. Return to the starting position.
Do this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Workout progress
Do the above routine on non-consecutive days i.e. Mon-Wed-Fri each week.
Make sure you’re following a nutrition plan that’s equipped for losing fat and keeping testosterone at peak levels.
You should be in a slight calorie deficit and be getting enough protein, carbs and fat.
I hope you find this workout useful and if you’d like access to my digital course, complete with a step-by-step nutrition plan and follow along workout videos specifically designed for older men, check out Ripped Abs Over 40.