There are numerous fitness programs offered to people of all ages. Many of these programs target people like me, a 57 year old businessman with a fairly busy schedule.
What many of these programs offer is a quick way to lose weight and build muscle without starving yourself.
The issue with many of these programs is that they refer to many of the exercises involved as strength training, when they are nothing like that at all.
Yet, for people over 40, strength training should be the number one fitness priority, whether they are overweight or skinny.
What is strength training?
First of all, let me tell you what strength training is not.
It is not a workout involving kettlebells, dumbbells or bodyweight exercises.
While you will get a bit stronger from those workouts if you are untrained, those workouts are simply exercise programs designed to raise your metabolism and burn some fat.
I can tell you from experience that if that is the only type of exercise you do past age 40, you will eventually get weaker.
The reason is that you can’t load those exercises with much weight. As a result, you are not training the right muscle fibers for increasing strength.
What you are doing instead is conditioning.
Don’t do this – ineffective
For a number of years, the only exercise programs I did involved dumbbells and bodyweight exercises. Finally, in 2020, I was able to have my own barbell equipment again.
When I first put up my power rack and thought I would bang out a few reps of bench press, I only managed four reps at a weight of 135 pounds.
That was a true shock to me, since that used to be my warm up weight!
At the time, I was still able to do about 30 push ups, but that didn’t translate into much strength, as I had actually lost muscle mass over time.
If you are new to exercise and over 40, training with only dumbbells and kettlebells is the wrong priority.
So, what is strength training?
Strength training involves training specific exercises with a specific amount of training volume and progressively adding weight.
These exercises typically involve a barbell.
Why strength training should be your priority
Strength training needs to be your priority because it will better allow you to enjoy a higher quality of life if you live to an advanced age.
First, it will increase your lean muscle mass, which in turn, will boost your metabolism.
That boost in metabolism will help you burn excess fat if you stick to a proper diet. When you are ready to lose more fat, you will be in a better physical position to do so.
Second, stronger people are more useful. You can help move furniture, carry groceries, shovel dirt and snow, etc.
Third, as you get older, you will retain more of your mobility since you will maintain more muscle mass and bone density.
Lastly, stronger people are harder to kill, either by illness or criminal assault.
How long does it take to get strong?
Depending upon your age, you can get very strong, very quickly.
Let’s say you are a 40 year old male who hasn’t ever lifted weights.
A well-programmed strength training routine will have you start at a very conservative weight for each exercise.
The first few weeks, your focus is primarily on form, and the weights will not be too heavy. However, you will be adding weight to the bar for each workout.
Typically, we will add five pounds to the squat for each workout, and train that exercise three times per week.
Now, do the math. After eight weeks, even if you started with the empty bar that weighs 45 pounds, you will have added 120 pounds.
Yes, the weight will feel heavier, but your body will adapt by adding muscle, increasing bone density, and strengthening your tendons.
Swinging a 15 pound kettlebell around your body 20 times simply doesn’t cause the same adaptation.
A typical beginner can continue to add weight to the bar each workout for the squat for upwards of four months if they stay consistent, eat well, and get enough rest.
After you get strong
After you get strong, you can change your priorities a bit to accomplish whatever fitness goals you have for yourself.
Just keep in mind that strength training should continue to be a focal point of your fitness program into perpetuity.
However, the beauty of getting strong is that you won’t need to train as frequently to maintain most of your strength.
Just be sure that you strike a balance between your fitness training and conditioning programs.
If you stop training for strength to focus on running marathons, you will definitely lose a lot of your new-found strength.
Strength training and long distance running are completely different types of training that result in different types of adaptation.
But, again, who is the more useful individual? The person who can run five miles at an eight minute per mile clip, or the person who can hoist 150 pounds over their head?
Just have a look at the before and after photos of Ryan Hall above. On the left, he is at his peak as a world class marathon runner. Compare that to his photo on the right after a few years of strength training. Which version of Ryan Hall is more useful?
Hopefully, this sheds some light on what your fitness priorities should be if you are over 40.
Now, get to work!
