over 40 fitness

[ChrisFloyd]

I stumbled upon Mark's Daily Apple about a year and a half ago. He emphasizes a paleo-diet (basically plants and animals) and 4 basic exercises (push ups, pull ups, squats, & planks) that every man should be able to do. I adopted the high protein, high saturated fat, low carbohydrate diet along with the exercise regime. I throw in some arm exercises (curls and tricep extensions) as I always wanted large arms. I also run once a week ~ 5miles. I make Sunday Runday.

I read in a magazine about 10 years ago that a 40 year old can be in better shape than a 20 year old. I now believe it! I am now 43 years old and in better shape than most 30 somethings and a lot of 20 somethings. To boot, being 43 I am the boss of some of those guys.

I am confident when I take my shirt off in public and have started Crossfit to increase strength and further improve my overall fitness.

Best part is the diet. I never go hungry! I watch what I eat, but I basically look for high quality food that is high in protein and saturated fat. Bacon is yummy and good!

Its funny - it all started with a decision to make myself better.

After you make the decision, I recommend you start here -

www.marksdailyapple.com

If I can do it, you can do it!

Best of luck!

And how much do you earn from Mark for each post like this?

 

[guru1000]

Base upon this statement...I would be 15%.

Besides the calorie deficit thing, what do you do to burn fat bro?

Just be methodical and consistent with your plan.

1) Figure out your target bf%.

If you’re at 15% bf and desire 10%, a 5% bf reduction at 198lb bodyweight equates to roughly 10 lbs. Figure a natural 40 yo. may lose a few pounds of muscle while dropping. Thus, target body weight is 185 lbs.

2) Calorie Deficit and Macronutrient Breakdown

Drop 200-300 calories daily. Don’t estimate; be precise with your calorie consumption.

I advocate high protein and “good” fat consumption while dieting to mitigate cortisol (muscle-wasting) and maximize anabolism (muscle preservation):

40% Protein
45% "Good" Fat
15% Low-Glycemic Carbohydrates

Accordingly, if maintenance level were 3000 calories, you would reduce calories to 2700 as follows:

1,080 cal or 270 grams protein
1,215 cal or 134 grams of “good” fats
405 cal or 101 grams of low-glycemic carbs

3) Cardio

Increase cardio sessions to 5-6 times weekly, with a 250-300 cal burning goal per session. Don’t over-intensify cardio, as extremes are catabolic, not condusive to your plan.

4) Water: Keep hydrated with a min 1 gallon water daily.

5) Keep lifts heavy (contrary to gym platitudes) as to maintain muscle volume, fullness, and to mitigate muscle loss.

Don’t worry about appearing or feeling smaller. You will always look better at 10% bf than 15%.

 

[Outlaw_]

Just be methodical and consistent with your plan.

1) Figure out your target bf%.

If you’re at 15% bf and desire 10%, a 5% bf reduction at 198lb bodyweight equates to roughly 10 lbs. Figure a natural 40 yo. may lose a few pounds of muscle while dropping. Thus, target body weight is 185 lbs.

2) Calorie Deficit and Macronutrient Breakdown

Drop 200-300 calories daily. Don’t estimate; be precise with your calorie consumption.

I advocate high protein and “good” fat consumption while dieting to mitigate cortisol (muscle-wasting) and maximize anabolism (muscle preservation):

40% Protein
45% "Good" Fat
15% Low-Glycemic Carbohydrates

Accordingly, if maintenance level were 3000 calories, you would reduce calories to 2700 as follows:

1,080 cal or 270 grams protein
1,215 cal or 134 grams of “good” fats
405 cal or 101 grams of low-glycemic carbs

3) Cardio

Increase cardio sessions to 5-6 times weekly, with a 250-300 cal burning goal per session. Don’t over-intensify cardio, as extremes are catabolic, not condusive to your plan.

4) Water: Keep hydrated with a min 1 gallon water daily.

5) Keep lifts heavy (contrary to gym platitudes) as to maintain muscle volume, fullness, and to mitigate muscle loss.

Don’t worry about appearing or feeling smaller. You will always look better at 10% bf than 15%.

You're the fvcking man Guru. I will be doing this. I will target 10%. Before I do a cutting phase I want to bulk up. I just weighed myself & I'm 196.5. So, I want to add 10 pounds 1st...preferrably muscle even though I know a little fat will be added. This is the perfect time to bulk too, since winter is coming & I will be shirtless a lot less.

Would you suggest the opposite. Add 200-300 calories daily?

And as far as lifting for bulk. Would you suggest 5 rep sets or 10 rep sets? I've red 10 rep sets at 2 - 3 seconds per rep is better for adding mass.

And for cardio...I could keep it at 2x per week for bulking...or no cardio?

 

[guru1000]

So, I want to add 10 pounds 1st, preferably muscle ...

Hell, I'll join you. I'll post a thread in the Heath and Fitness forum outlining my training and dieting modus operandi for lean mass gain, and maintain logs for accountability. Tx for the motivation.

 

[MOTU]

So I don't know if that other poster was trolling for marksdailyapple.com or not, but FWIIW, that's what I base my diet on.

 

[Outlaw_]

Hell, I'll join you. I'll post a thread in the Heath and Fitness forum outlining my training and dieting modus operandi for lean mass gain, and maintain logs for accountability. Tx for the motivation.

Nice. I'm there bro.

 

[ladiesgod]

Dude. I'm 39. Almost 40. I'm in great shape. I started calesthenics 2yrs ago and also do some weight training. I have young guys coming up asking me for advice all the time. Body weight training will give you a natural aesthetic look and give you immense strength. I'm thinking about starting a health website for us older guys.

 

[The_411]

Damn, you guys are killing me. Need to get back into the gym and back to p90x and p90x2

 

[grayclif]

If you are fat and out of shape go here - IIFYM.com It will change your life.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Photobucket pics won't load for me, because my internet connection is too slow. I used to have an account there, but the site has gone to complete sh!t. If you want people without high-speed connections to be able to see your pics, post them to imgur.com instead.

My other tip - if you stretch your beer gut down while taking a pic, it makes you look like you have abs: http://i.imgur.com/PaEQFC2.jpg

 

[mangotot]

Don't forget to have plenty of sex, that's all the exercise you need.

 

[Albatross953]

Damn Espi, you look awesome. I saw you pic and immediately dropped my big mac!

 

[BMX]

Stay motivated men. I'm 26 but for the past few years have had competitions against friends aged around 38-42 who kept up or beat me in things like burpee competitions for time, runs, etc. I'm younger and heavier/a lot more muscle but they are more mature and slimmer. It inspires me to stay fit throughout my time and up.

 

[Outlaw_]

^^^Ha! Yes good point there.

I think the irony is, the better you look via physical exercise, the better your chances of having plenty of sex with plenty of women.

Yeah man. By the time you hit our age, most dudes are significantly out of shape. So, if you have even a decent body, you're good to go.

 

[codyedwardwilliams]

I think, it's all up to your body's approach and how you can basically stay fit. Actually, there is no need to go to the gym to be fit. You can actually be fit and stay active by just doing some household chores or just some light outdoor sports that you like doing!

 

[codyedwardwilliams]

Just wondering for those of us approaching middle age...how fit are you?

Can you run 5k?
Do you lift?
What sports do you do?
Any sports that are good for meeting women?

....

 

[Moy_1974]

Just wondering for those of us approaching middle age...how fit are you?

Can you run 5k?
Do you lift?
What sports do you do?
Any sports that are good for meeting women?

I regularly run 10k to raise money for a local children's charity. My current PR is 51:58. Aiming to get as close to 45:00 as possible.

I lift 4 times a week. 1RMs are lower than they should be due to a herniated L5 S1 disc leaving a frustrating legacy. I can still deadlift over 300lbs though!

Sports - boxing

As for the last question, I train for my own strength and fitness. I don't see any women at boxing. I do see many at the gym and while running, although I'm too focused on my actual training to find an opportunity to speak to them.

 

[grayclif]

Stronglift 5x5 is gold!