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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................3
CHAPTER 1 – Getting started .........................................................5
CHAPTER 2 – Testosterone: the male hormone.............................9
CHAPTER 3 – You are what you eat..............................................13
CHAPTER 4 – Strength training after 40........................................20
CHAPTER 5 – Cardio activities for the over 40s............................24
CHAPTER 6 – Goal setting.............................................................28
CONCLUSION................................................................................29
Bibliography / Resources.............................................................30
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INTRODUCTION
My name is Jose Rodriguez and I'd like to thank you for
showing an interest in this ebook and making the time
investment to read it.
I can definitely identify with those reading as I'm now
in my late 40s. I wrote this ebook specifically for men in
this age group with some of the challenges and
problems that begin to appear around this period in
life.
It is for the average man who wants to achieve or stay
in good physical shape and at the same time avoid
illnesses – not for the genetically gifted or men that can
eat anything without putting on weight.
I've always been fascinated by health, nutrition and how to prevent illnesses. As a
teenager I was quite thin, so from about this age I began to work out and improve
my diet with healthy food. This was not always possible, and at times in my adult life
I've been overweight, mainly due to poor eating habits or giving work priority over
health.
I can proudly say that at the moment I'm only about 10 pounds heavier than when I
was in my late 20s – and most of that is muscle.
If you're reading this it's because you want to find out how to stay healthy after 40
and live longer. Maybe you're not as fit as you'd like to be, or you're gaining fat in
places where you never gained it before and find it a lot harder to lose weight than
when you were younger.
I think it's definitely possible to take control of your health and fitness and make
improvements in your physical, as well as mental well-being once you get to middleage.
Nowadays, we are swimming in a sea of information, some good, some bad, and
some conflicting information which can leave you a little overwhelmed and confused
as to what you need to do to stay healthy. It is my aim to cut through it all by giving
you some guidelines on how to improve and extend your quality of life.
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That's why I'd like to provide you with a better understanding along with some solid
advice – supported by science-based facts – on how to stay healthy after 40 and live
longer.
Over the years, I have learnt a lot of valuable information and helpful concepts that
I've condensed into this ebook. If you apply what I have to share with you here, I
believe that what you learn will change the way you approach your life and
essentially your health.
My hope is that you too will decide to take charge of your well-being by following a
healthy and active lifestyle that will allow you to live a long and disease-free life.
I hope you find it useful.
Kindest regards,
Jose
Disclaimer: The information in this ebook is intended for educational and
informative purposes only. It is not medical advice. I recommend you see your
doctor before beginning any diet or exercise program, particularly if you haven't
done any activity for a while.
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CHAPTER 1 – Getting started
I'm sure you'll agree that the long held attitudes about aging have, in recent times,
been questioned and even substituted with new ones. There are new studies that
constantly demonstrate how our bodies work and fix themselves despite years of
living unhealthy lifestyles.
Your past decisions have influenced the way you look and the state of your health
today, so any changes you make today will be reflected in the way you look and feel
tomorrow. Taking action to control your own aging process is an empowering
decision and one of the few things you can control.
Your chronological age doesn't have to correspond with your biological age; you may
be 45 but look and feel like someone younger.
In biological terms, there are two factors that control the rate at which you age:
genetics and lifestyle. Genetics is largely determined at birth, although there are
some genes that can be altered by your environment. Lifestyle refers to the way you
live, the time you spend doing physical activities and the quality of the food you eat.
If you wish to turn back the clock, this is where you have to make changes.
As stated in the Journal on Aging and Disease (Rodriguez-Rodero et al., 2011, p186),
aging is "...determined by genetic and environmental factors". This means that it is a
process that can be influenced by the way you live.
If you want to reap the benefits of feeling and looking healthier and younger you
need to replace your damaging lifestyle habits with more beneficial ones. It's
difficult to enjoy a longer life when you're overweight, ill or disabled. Your quality of
life is more important than the length of your life – you want to enjoy the extra time
you have.
The first thing I want to talk about is your starting point. You may be over 40 and out
of shape, in good shape, or somewhere in between, but whatever shape you're in
I'm confident that you'll find the information in this ebook beneficial.
Why 'men over 40'?
You may be asking yourself this question.
Time is one reason: you may have the responsiblities and challenges that come with
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having a wife, a partner, children and in some cases grandchildren, or even caring for
older parents. You may also have a job that demands a lot of your time and
attention.
In general, men in this age group have a more stable situation at work which brings
about a shift in their priorities – they are beginning the most productive period in
their life.
As a result, it is difficult to find time to look after your own health so you can cope
with these stressful and demanding situations.
Medical problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, early signs of arthritis and
other diseases caused by genetics, environmental conditions and bad eating habits
might start to appear. On top of this, increased bodyfat levels worsen the situation.
An important change that occurs has to do with your metabolism – it slows down.
According to an article for WebMD by Osterweil (2006), there is a deceleration in
your metabolism of about 5 % for every decade over 40.
What this really means is that it's easier to gain weight and harder to lose it even if
you're not eating more than you used to. This increase in weight due to an increase
in fat deposits makes you more vulnerable to disease and disability as you get older.
Does this sound like a familiar situation?
In the past, health and fitness experts told us not to eat fat, then it was
carbohydrates: now, depending on who you read it's grains, gluten or something
else.
It feels like they're simply following whatever's 'in fashion'!
We are continually bombarded with information in the media on how to stay
healthy, lose weight or look younger – articles and books come out every day on
these topics. Everybody seems to have a new and different magic bullet.
There are an endless number of supplements, exercise routines, and equipment that
are promoted as 'just the thing' you need to get that muscular, healthier and
younger-looking body. Well, that's complete nonsense, there are no miracle
supplements, essential equipment, or effortless exercises.
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The general public is being sold quick and easy fixes rather than being taught what
actually works and how to stay healthy, that is, the proven scientific facts behind this
process, while they are being tricked with the next fad diet, supplement or unique
equipment.
I believe that once you understand the principles I want to share with you, you'll be
protected against these scammers; you'll be better equipped to go through the huge
amount of information out there and pick out what is useful and what isn't.
The immune system: what men over 40 need to know
Before moving on I want you to think about your immune system for a moment, and
the effect aging has on it. This is a subject that is usually overlooked, yet it's
fundamental to maintaining and extending a healthy life.
A strong immune system is essential to combat the effects of aging. It is your body's
defence against infections, illnesses, germs and parasites. It works by recognizing the
cells that make up your body and getting rid of anything foreign to the body.
As we grow older, a lifetime of continuous stress on our immune system has reduced
its capabilities. We take longer to recover from the various health threats that attack
us, so it is crucial we maintain these defences in an optimal state.
Your immune system is composed of a network of defences and these vary between
individuals – different people have a different capacity to fight infections, etc. This is
because we all have diverse lifestyles, eat differently, and do a wide-ranging amount
of physical activity.
If you are looking to maintain your immunity in the best possible condition I
recommend doing it through good nutrition, regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and
drinking lots of water to flush toxins from your body.
You need to keep in mind that your internal defence system doesn't always help out;
it can cause problems too. It will reject donated blood or organs unless they are
carefully matched with your own. It may overreact to harmless foreign bodies such
as pollen or grains, and in some cases the immune system can attack the body's own
cells as in autoimmune diseases.
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These diseases are more serious and can affect virtually any part of your body. An
autoimmune reaction occurs when antibodies and immune cells target the body's
healthy tissues by mistake. You might have a genetic tendency to develop them and
some can be made worse by environmental conditions. The typical signs of these
diseases is inflammation.
To counteract and help regulate this type of response in the body you need to make
dietary and lifestyle changes that promote a reduction in inflammation (Drake,
2007). One way you can do this is by eating a diet high in anti-inflammatory food
and supplements; for example, oily fish, nuts, fruit and vegetables, and low in those
that contribute to inflammation like trans fats, saturated fats, and sugary food and
drink.
When you do have inflammation, especially if it's chronic or long-term, your immune
system creates molecules called free radicals to fight against it and neutralize other
foreign bodies. These molecules are constantly being produced through normal
metabolic processes and reactions that take place within your body. At times, they
are also needed to cancel out the effects of environmental conditions like pollution,
cigarette smoke, stress or exercise.
Under normal circumstances these molecules don't create any problems and the
body can deal with them, but when substances called antioxidants (vitamins C and
E, among others) are not available in the body or there is an excessive production of
free radicals: free radical damage can occur. This is particularly important as you get
older because this damage accumulates over time.
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CHAPTER 2 – Testosterone: the male hormone
There are many physical effects of the hormone testosterone in men. The most
widely-known is the increase in muscle, strength, and a greater sexual desire,
however, there are others just as important.
The fact is that testosterone production in men plays a significant role in their
biology causing a lot of changes both physically and mentally.
This leads us to the important question: what happens to men's mental health,
abilities and functions as they get older?
When men get to their 40s they find themselves at a crossroads between youth and
middle life – a period that signals the beginning of gradual and continuous loss.
At around this age the male brain reaches its highest level of mental capacity and
functioning, and due to decreased levels of hormones, especially the main male
hormone testosterone, these functions and capacities begin to decline.
Some of the mental and emotional changes that can begin to develop are:
• Feelings of sadness and depression
• Problems with memory and concentration
• Low motivation and self-confidence – partly as a result of physical changes
All these alterations can be improved by maintaining testosterone levels within the
normal range. It is a generally recognised fact in medical texts that for every year
over the age of 30 the level of testosterone dips at a rate of 1% annually (Mayo
Clinic, 2014), so by the time you're 40 you're about 10% below your optimal level.
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What if this imbalance, associated with the natural course of events in the aging
process could be reversed or slowed?
An option would be to choose male HRT (hormone replacement therapy) to
maintain your testosterone levels within the normal range, although this is a
temporary and expensive fix as it requires appropriate treatment and monitoring.
You then have to consider the many benefits and risks of supplementing; one of
which is the decrease in your body's own hormone production. This course of action
will obviously depend on the person's current health – there is no 'one size fits all'
treatment.
Before you do this, I believe it's better to try natural means to increase testosterone
production. You need to learn about the things in your diet and in the environment
that can lower testosterone; what you need to do to increase testosterone levels and
what you need to avoid.
There are some steps you can take to bring about this change, and improve your
physical and mental well-being such as:
• Lose body fat
• Stop smoking
• Reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption
• Lower your stress level
• Improve your diet: limit processed sugar, packaged, frozen, or canned foods;
eliminate refined carbohydrates; consume fresh fruit and vegetables, in
particular cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower – they
allow the body to flush out the hormone estrogen. Eating more fiber will also
help the body cleanse itself.
• Avoid low fat diets and increase consumption of good fats: your diet should
contain about 20% of calories from good fats found in olives, olive oil,
avocados, coconuts, coconut oil, palm oil, raw nuts (especially Brazil nuts –
high in selenium and linked to increased testosterone production); organic
eggs and egg yolks, butter, cold pressed nut oils, grass fed meats and fish high
in omega-3 fats. And most importantly you need to eliminate trans fats from
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your diet.
• Avoid soy: soy increases levels of estrogen in the body and decreases
testosterone and sperm count. This is an important hormone for men, but
only very low levels are needed.
• Start strength training: intense weight training sessions increase testosterone
levels and taking BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) can help with recovery
– whey protein, dairy and meat products are good sources.
• Avoid plastics: BPA is a chemical commonly found in plastics. It is estrogenic,
meaning it mimics estrogen in the body and is harmful to testosterone
production. It is used in the production of water bottles, plastic food
containers and plastic cups unless they specifically state 'BPA free'.
• Avoid other estrogenic chemicals present in personal care products like
shampoo, soap, deodorant. Choose natural options if available.
• Get sufficient zinc: increase your consumption of foods like beef, lamb, seeds,
legumes, turkey and shellfish (11 - 40 mg recommended).
• Get sufficient vitamin D: you can supplement with vitamin D3, expose your
skin to sunlight or eat foods such as fatty fish, liver, egg yolk, and 'enriched'
products. The recommended amount is 600 IU daily, although the upper
tolerable limit is 4000 IU.
• Get sufficient vitamins A, B, C and E: supplementation is an optional way of
getting all the vitamins you need – if you're not already getting them from
your diet.
• Get enough quality sleep: take a nap in the afternoon to catch-up.
• Avoid wearing tight underwear: this is related to a lower sperm count and the
connection with testosterone production is unclear.
• Get sexually stimulated: the study backing this up (Pirke, K.M. et al., 1974),
was carried out on healthy males between 21 and 34 years of age, however, I
expect a similar response in healthy men over 40.
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I've given here an extensive list of the most important actions you need to take to
raise testosterone levels naturally. Some of these points may be obvious and others
new to you: if you simply follow these recommendations I'm sure they'll lead to a
healthier lifestyle.
In my opinion, the whole issue of testosterone is so vitally important for men – much
the same as estrogen is for women – that an ebook on male health would be
incomplete without it.
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CHAPTER 3 – You are what you eat
It's a common cliché, which I think is very appropriate in this chapter and one that I
absolutely agree with.
Quality food is premium fuel for your body
like quality gasoline is for your car. When you
fill the tank at the station you know how much
you have and how far it will take you. Your
body has a similar storage space, although in
this case you don't have a gauge to tell you it's
full – it's up to you to keep track of this.
According to a report by the Agency For
Healthcare Research and Quality, adults
gradually gain weight throughout middle age
at a rate of 0.5 to 1 kilo per year (1 to 2 lbs
approx.) – that's 5 to 10 kilos every decade (10
to 20 lbs approx.). It doesn't say whether it's
fat or muscle, but given the steady loss of
muscle and bone as you age we can assume
the increase is mainly all fat.
You need to understand that looking after
your muscle and bone is essential as they are the very foundation of your body; they
give you the ability to move with ease and carry out simple tasks. Imagen what it
would be like if you didn't have these structures in good shape.
Body composition is what really matters, that is, how much of your body weight is
muscle and bone, and how much is fat. Fitness professionals and diet experts tell
you to focus on the number on the scales, but that's only part of the story!
You can gain many health benefits by simply adding lean muscle and losing fat. Just
the opposite of what happens when you lose muscle: you get weaker, which
negatively affects balance and mobility as you age; you get sick more easily, more
often, for a longer period, and take longer to recover.
What you need to do then is follow a plan for long-term weight loss or maintenance
while at the same time increasing your muscle mass.
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As you get older, your body gradually takes on a softer look and your muscles
become less defined – a sign that muscle is slowly disappearing. This muscle loss
affects your metabolism by slowing it down and making you gain fat even though
you're not eating more or putting on weight in real terms.
What is metabolism?
It's the amount of energy, measured in calories, that it takes to run all your bodily
functions daily also called your resting metabolic rate (RMR), for example, the
energy needed to breathe, digest food, pump blood, grow and repair cells, and so on
plus the calories burned through movement. The sum of these two variables is the
total metabolic rate or total daily calorie requirement.
Very low calorie diets slow down your resting metabolic rate and can result in a
damaged metabolism. You lose fat initially, but you also destroy muscle which leads
to a reduction in energy and strength with an increased chance of regaining the fat
weight after.
If you are dieting to lose weight and reduce your calorie intake by too much, and at
the same time your activity level stays the same or increases you might experience
hormonal side effects, these include:
•
•
•
•
Increased activity of fat-storing hormones
Decreased activity of fat-burning hormones
Disruption in appetite regulating hormones
Decreased thyroid output
Whenever you consume more energy through food than what you burn you'll
deposit the surplus as fat, and conversely, if you burn more energy through exercise
and your metabolic rate, the energy will have to be withdrawn from your fat stores,
glycogen stores or even muscle.
The foundation of this principle is the law of energy balance: energy is neither
created nor destroyed, it is just transferred from food or stored fat to activity or your
body's resting metabolic rate. It's as simple as that!
For these reasons, keeping a check on the amount of food you take in is important.
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It all depends on your individual maintenance level or total daily calorie
requirement, which is calculated using a few different methods. If you go above your
maintenance level in calories you need to burn off the excess or they are stored as
fat.
There are some diet and fitness experts that like to tell you that calories don't count.
Well, they do!
Accelerate fat loss
I want to talk to you about a very useful fat-burning strategy that will help you speed
up your fat loss. It's called carbohydrate cycling.
Every fitness specialist you come across will have a slightly different view on the
subject – the ways to implement it, for how long, etc. It's a method of cycling your
intake of calories so you have high calorie and low calorie days.
To explain how it works I'd like to take a brief look at human history and human
biology.
Over millions of years our bodies have adapted to many conditions and situations.
Famine was a regular part of human experience and part of reality when the food
supply wasn't reliable or abundant. If the human being wanted to survive these
periods, the ability to store excess calories as fat when food was plentiful was a
smart way of doing this.
However, the body has also developed ways to cope when starvation threatened its
existence by slowing down the body's metabolic rate to live longer on less food. This
is what's called the starvation response.
When the body senses that starvation is approaching it doesn't want to let go of it's
fat stores and would rather burn up muscle because fat is a better storage medium.
So, whenever you want to reduce fat stores and cut calories you don't want to go
too low or too long that you provoke the starvation response.
This is where the zigzag method of calorie cycling can be used to trick your body
into thinking you're not cutting calories to lose fat – even though you are.
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It's a process for weight loss taught by Dr. Fred Hatfield and popularized by fat-loss
expert Tom Venuto. You can use this simple but effective tool to accelerate fat loss or
just stay in shape.
First, you work out your maintenance level of calories to maintain your weight
according to your body weight and activity level. Then, you design an eating plan
using a low calorie and a high calorie day by manipulating the amount of
carbohydrate you eat – less carbohydrate on a low calorie day and more on a high
calorie day.
When you have these figures you can alternate between low calorie and high calorie
or maintenance days. The most popular calorie cycling protocol being three low
calorie days followed by one high calorie or maintenance day and then repeat the
cycle.
With this method it's possible to make your high calorie or maintenance day what
you call a cheat day where you can have a meal – not the whole day – that is
completely outside of your normal eating habits. You can organize social events
around this eating method so you don't feel deprived of your favourite meals.
You may be asking yourself: why not cut calories every day instead of eating more on
the fourth day?
Well, it's because of the starvation response which begins to appear after three days
of lower calories, and to avoid the metabolic slowdown as well as protecting your
muscle mass.
This dietary plan is usually done over a short period to help stimulate your
metabolism, lose more fat and get into shape or long term depending on your fat
loss goals. It's a routine that can vary in terms of the days on high, low, or even
medium carbohydrates.
As it is an advanced technique it should really be used after you've learnt all the
basics, for example:
• Eating fewer calories than you burn
• Eating balanced meals with the right macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate,
and fat), and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that your body needs
• Eating natural, unrefined foods and avoiding processed products
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I think that once you see the effectiveness of this fat loss method, you'll wonder why
no one ever told you about it before!
Build more muscle
How much muscle you build depends on a few things.
I'd like to focus here on your intake of nitrogen. It is an element which forms part of
all amino acids – the building blocks of protein. As it is only present in protein, you
can introduce it into your body by consuming animal sources, although vegetables
have a small quantity too.
The protein you take in is converted into muscle, and because it contains nitrogen
we can say that the nitrogen balance in the body indicates whether muscle is being
created or not. For example, if more nitrogen is being consumed than excreted –
known as positive nitrogen balance – protein is being retained in the body and you
are building muscle; if more nitrogen is being excreted than consumed – known as
negative nitrogen balance – protein is being broken down and you are losing
muscle.
The presence of nitrogen makes protein the key 'building' nutrient for muscle
growth; to avoid destroying it you need to make sure that protein synthesis in your
body is always greater than protein breakdown.
For men over 40, this nutrient is one of their best weapons against aging.
Here are some other good reasons why you should eat plenty of protein:
• It has the greatest ability to make you feel full after eating – also referred to as
'satiety'. Protein is the most satisfying nutrient; it allows for greater control
over appetite and the reduced probability of binge eating.
• It is a muscle builder. Especially if you perform strength training exercises, you
need an adequate amount of protein to repair and rebuild muscle.
• It protects your muscles from being broken down as energy, even when
dieting.
• It needs extra calories so it can be digested. This process is called the thermic
effect of food, that is, the calories needed to digest food. The body requires
about 30% of the calories in protein to digest it – more than carbohydrate or
fat.
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All the protein you consume, and that your body absorbs, creates muscle tissue that
is metabolically very active. It allows you to burn more calories no matter what
you're doing whether it's sleeping, watching TV or exercising. It's like having a fatburning furnace that works all day and all night!
The less muscle you have, the fewer calories you burn and the slower your
metabolism. The opposite is also true: if you gain some muscle through intelligent
exercise and nutritional habits you'll burn more calories and have a faster
metabolism. Another benefit is that the greater your lean muscle mass, the stronger
and more efficient your ability to fight germs, bacteria, viruses and disease.
As you can see, you need to find ways to preserve and increase your muscle not only
to achieve a healthier immune system but also a younger, stronger and good-looking
physique.
It's not necessary to follow a bodybuilder lifestyle to stay in good physical condition
all year round. I believe it's definitely possible to do this and build muscle at the
same time even on less calories than your maintenance level. Although the rate of
increase will be slower, you'll avoid the ups and downs in body weight of
professional bodybuilders.
My main recommendations for staying in shape are:
• Eating healthy and nutritious meals that provide you with a good balance of
macronutrients, as well as plenty of fiber.
• Providing your body with enough calories to prevent hunger and damage to
your metabolism while at the same time adding essential micronutrients to
avoid inflammation and cell degeneration
• Providing your body with sufficient protein to preserve or build muscle and
maintain a positive nitrogen balance
• Eating a sustainable diet, that is, you can eat this way for the rest of your life –
reducing or increasing calorie intake depending on your needs and according
to the points I've mentioned.
I'm not telling you to give up your favourite foods, just as long as your nutritional
needs and calorie intake are being met – it doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian or a
meat lover. Eating food you actually like is important!
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A common mistake made by dieters is that they choose to follow a diet that doesn't
allow them to eat food they do like, and consequently they abandon their eating
plan after a while. You don't have to feel deprived of what you crave all of the time:
occasionally you can give yourself a treat.
How much do you eat?
Do you know?
Most people eat far more than they think, and keeping this under control makes
them focus on their eating habits and helps them avoid snacking.
A simple, proven strategy that improves your chances of sticking to your eating
habits is having a food journal. It may sound like hard work, but I think that once
you've written everything down – or the majority of things – you eat and drink and
their calorie content, you'll be glad you did, as it gives you a good idea of how many
calories you're actually taking in.
Another important aid in your battle against weight gain is a personalised eating
plan prepared with the use of a calorie counter book or website with grams for fat,
carbohydrate and protein. This gives you a more accurate and detailed description of
what you're eating on a daily basis.
If you have to go out to eat on a special occasion you can easily plan for it by making
it a cheat meal. Don't get into the habit though, if you want to look better than the
average man there are some things you'll need to give up.
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CHAPTER 4 – Strength training after 40
We can clearly understand how and why our bodies have developed for movement
when we take a look back through human history. This quality is firmly fixed in our
DNA and we evolved to maintain a certain physical condition. We weren't meant to
sit at desks for 8 hours a day or in front of the TV; our bodies can't function normally
or in a healthy way if they don't get enough physical activity.
I realize that thousands of years ago men didn't usually live past their 40s, but that
was generally due to combat, illnesses and disease, all conditions which have been
greatly reduced in the 21st century.
As indicated in a report by Shepard (1998) in the Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine
and Science, physical strength and stamina tends to progressively deteriorate in the
male population after the age of 40. This is due to weaker muscles, reduced
flexibility and lower bone density, however, it can be reversed with the right
nutrition and exercise plan.
The over-40-year-old man still has the capacity to
build muscle mass, even though he might not have
the time, the discipline or the desire he once had.
Why build muscle when you're married, have kids
and the bodybuilder look isn't what your after?
Instead, men in these situations focus on fat loss
and cardiovascular exercises and don't bother with
lifting weights.
I believe that strength training is essential to keep
your body young and strong. It builds muscle and
bone, and in the process helps burn fat. This type
of exercise produces higher testosterone levels
which correlate to more energy and a greater
quality of life.
At around 40 – as I've explained – your metabolism is slower than it used to be. You
are losing muscle, but also bone because of disuse, a sedentary lifestyle, and unwise
eating habits.
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We all begin to develop what is called sarcopenia as we get older. This is the age
related loss of muscle mass and strength, which can begin at any time around 30.
The effects of sarcopenia generally appear once you're in your 40s and progressively
increase until you get to about 75 when they accelerate.
Another condition that men need to be aware of, although it affects far more
women is osteopenia – having mildly reduced bone density. It refers to the thinning
and weakening of your bones as you age and is the forerunner to osteoporosis.
In addition to the loss of muscle, strength, bone density and your ability to burn
calories, you slowly lose your youthful body shape and your effortless and smooth
body movements. You no longer have the same ability to resist and fight illnesses,
infections and inflammation. A range of chronic diseases like hypertension, type II
diabetes, obesity and many others might begin to appear.
It sounds scary, doesn't it?
Well, that isn't my intention.
I want to give you a gentle alarm signal and tell you that it's time to do something
about your health, or you may run into physical problems in the future if you
continue with some habits.
Whatever your motivation is – vanity, health, stamina – you want to be active as you
age because the alternative is everything I've mentioned previously. You may not be
able to avoid illnesses but physical weakness can be prevented.
You don't have to accept this decline as part of aging; there is something you can do.
By engaging in regular exercise and especially strength training you can recover and
improve your health and fitness, and reverse the aging process.
The older you get the more important it is to strength train. It protects muscle mass
by helping to create more muscle giving you a younger-looking, more energetic
body. It increases bone density by building new bone and continually strengthening
your bones.
Strength training works as a catalyst for your muscles and bones. Your workouts
break down your muscles that can be rebuilt stronger and firmer while you rest and
recover with the correct nutrition and sleep – the size and strength of your ligaments
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also increases.
The same goes for bones: they are in a constant state of breaking down and building
up. Research studies show that strength training increases bone density in everyone
including older people.
By incorporating strength training into your usual exercise regime you can greatly
reduce and even prevent the effects of both sarcopenia and osteopenia.
So, if you want to function at an optimal level physically and reduce the risk of falls
and other injuries as you age you need to make building and maintaining your
muscle and bone a lifelong activity.
The two essential micronutrients that your body needs to support healthy bones are
calcium and vitamin D. According to the National Institues of Health (US), the
recommended daily intakes for men in their 40s is 1000 mg of calcium – about a liter
of milk – and 600 IU of vitamin D – about 3 ounces (85 g) of oily fish like salmon or
trout.
Does the average modern diet supply these quantities? I doubt it! I think you need
to be aware of how much you're consuming so you can make sure you're getting the
daily amount of these nutrients.
What is EPOC?
This is what happens in the body when you participate in strenuous activities. It
stands for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, sometimes referred to as the
'afterburn effect'. It is the increase in metabolism and the rate of oxygen intake
which occurs after a period of exercise.
The oxygen debt produced in your body after an exercise has ended needs to be
replenished to allow your body to return to a normal resting state: to do this your
body needs calories and fat.
A popular exercise strategy used to achieve EPOC is high-intensity interval training
(HIIT). This consists of alternating periods of high-intensity anaerobic exercise, for
example, strength training or aerobic exercise, for example, cycling with less intense
recovery periods.
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Aerobic exercises tend to burn more calories during the activity whereas anaerobic
exercises have been shown to produce a higher expenditure of calories in the EPOC
or recovery phase.
To get the most out of the EPOC effect and to strengthen your cardiovascular system,
while at the same time obtaining all the benefits from strength training you have to
increase the intensity of your workouts.
A quick word of warning: HIIT is an advanced technique and is extremely
demanding – especially on older joints and ligaments. I advise you get your doctor's
approval before attempting this, particularly those who have been sedentary for a
long time. You can then slowly increase the number and intensity of the sessions.
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CHAPTER 5 – Cardio activities for the over 40s
By cardio activities I refer to cardiovascular
or aerobic exercises. These are activities that
are rhythmical and can be maintained for a
continuous period, say 20 to 30 minutes at
least. They involve large muscle groups like
your legs, for example, walking, jogging,
cycling and rowing.
Due to a lower metabolism once you get
past 40, cardio is essential to keep from
gaining more fat and helps to reduce the fat
you already have.
It is much better to use up your fat stores by
doing exercise (cardio or strength training) than to starve the body with very low
calorie diets which disrupt the normal functioning of your metabolism and decreases
lean muscle mass.
There is no doubt that this type of exercise should be an important part of your
lifestyle habits, but carrying out endless hours of cardio is neither necessary nor is it
the best way to lose fat. Performing too much high-intensity cardio, especially if
you're eating less calories, can consume muscle for energy.
How much you end up doing will largely depend on what your goals are. You have to
ask yourself if you want to lose more fat or improve your cardiovascular health.
Bear in mind that the total number of calories burned in a workout is what really
counts. It is better to perform a high-intensity session, if your joints and muscles
allow, as the total number of calories burned will be greater. You can burn more
calories in 30 minutes of high-intensity cardio than you can in an hour of lowintensity cardio.
I believe you should only do the amount of exercise needed to achieve the results
you're after. If you're a busy person with domestic and work responsibilities then
you'll always have something else you could be doing and can't afford to spend
hours on exercise every day.
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There may be some people with disabilities or genetic and incurable diseases who
find exercise impossible: my advice is for those who have the power of movement.
Even if you have heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis or other joint
problems you have to find ways to exercise safely.
The benefits of cardio
The type of cardio activity you perform is entirely up to you, provided you can
maintain it for the required time period to burn a substantial amount of calories. It
helps if the activity is something you enjoy and look forward to.
For me, this is running. It's a cardio exercise you can do at any time: indoors or
outdoors, in good weather or in the rain. All you need is some running apparel and a
pair of good running shoes. What I most like about the sport is the mental clarity I
experience after running.
Other beneficial effects you can get from doing cardio activities on a regular basis
are things like sleeping better, an increase in appetite, improved lung capacity, and
a more athletic feeling.
Once you've been exercising – aerobically or anaerobically – for some time you get
used to the 'rush' of hormones that are produced during and after the activity. You
feel like something's missing on the days you don't do your regular exercise, and it
can easily turn into an addiction because of all the benefits it provides physically and
mentally.
In the case of an over-40-year-old man who hasn't done exercise for a while, I think
it would be wise to see a cardiovascular specialist and have tests done before taking
up a challenging activity or sport.
Improve your lung capacity
I wanted to include this section on lung health because it's a major part of
maintaining your body in good physical condition.
Proper breathing with deep and slow breathes expels carbon dioxide waste and
takes in clean, fresh, oxygen-rich air which goes to your lungs, brain and other
muscles. When you don't have the right balance of oxygen to carbon dioxide in your
bloodstream, the cells in your body don't function properly and you could
25
experience physical problems.
Think about it: what would happen if you didn't have the ability to breathe or if this
was reduced? Most people don't give this much thought as it happens almost
unconsciously.
Breathing correctly makes you feel healthier, perform better (mentally and
physically); it makes you feel more relaxed and less stressed. Besides, it helps boost
your immunity to infections and illnesses and even improve conditions like insomnia
and depression.
According to a review by Clinical Interventions in Aging (Sharma & Goodwin, 2006),
men reach their maximum lung capacity around the age of 25 with very minimal
changes until they reach 35. Their maximum oxygen consumption is highly variable;
it reaches a peak between 20 and 30 years of age and then begins to decline –
deteriorating more in sedentary men compared with those that are physically active.
By the time they get to 40, the decline in their lung function starts to accelerate.
The take-home message here is that you need to keep your lungs clean and in the
best possible condition. To do this you have to:
• Stop smoking
• Eat lung cleansing foods and herbs that are anti-inflammatory and contain
plenty of antioxidants
• Reduce exposure to indoor and outdoor pollution
• Exercise to improve lung capacity: do a cardio activity, for example, running or
cycling to strengthen the muscles in your respiratory system
• Perform lung cleansing exercises that involve deep breathing to clear lungs of
toxins
Consume more calories without exercise
Would you like to burn calories and lose fat without exercising?
You can do just that by carrying out daily activities.
The energy your body uses up by doing activities not related to sports, eating or
sleeping is called NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis. If you simply change
some of your habits and include these activities in your daily life you can burn large
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amounts of calories.
For example, in a study by the Mayo Clinic (Levine 2007), it was shown that
overweight people who sat 2.5 hours a day more than normal-weight lean people
burned an average of 350 calories less per day.
What this study clearly shows is that you have to be more active on a regular basis,
and not only from deliberate exercise routines but simple things such as:
•
•
•
•
•
Taking the stairs not the elevator
Parking 5 minutes away from your workplace and walking
Standing up, stretching and walking around if you have a desk job
Getting up and moving around during commercial breaks on TV
Doing some housework like vacuuming or doing the dishes
Taking advantage of these easy and obvious tips will help you burn extra calories,
improve your immune system and fight off diseases. They will definitely contribute
to living a healthier, active and non-sedentary lifestyle.
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CHAPTER 6 – Goal setting
Are you ready to make changes and set some goals?
At this stage in your life it's a good time to re-evaluate your priorities and think
about the goals you want to achieve in the coming years; the job, career or business
you want, the relationships you desire and the habits you need to build.
Once you're in your 40s you have a number of responsibilities and can't afford to
have a happy-go-lucky attitude. The opportunities you had when you were younger
no longer exist; they have been replaced with others, you just have to look harder!
Your bigger goals for the future can be broken down into smaller steps so they don't
feel overwhelming. What's also useful is establishing the emotional reasons why you
want to achieve them and staying totally focused until you do.
By the simple fact that you've requested this ebook tells me that one of your main
goals is to stay healthy or improve your health.
Well, I believe it's easy to gain the knowledge you need to change your situation and
discover the reason why you wish to make that change; the difficult part is taking
action. My advice to you is to stop procrastinating and go for what you really want!
I'd like to end with an inspiring quote from the late Jim Rohn, author and
motivational speaker which sums up the meaning of this chapter.
"There are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and
the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tonnes".
Which pain will you have?
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CONCLUSION
I want to thank you again for reading this ebook. I hope you have enjoyed learning
about the concepts and strategies I have explained here and find them helpful.
My reason for writing it was to hopefully inspire you to take the necessary actions to
develop your body and mind at this important stage in your life. It's time to look
after yourself more than you did when you were younger!
I'm sorry to say that now you're in your 40s your body has started to decline,
however, there is something you can do about it; you can build new and healthy
habits that will allow you to benefit from a greater quality and quantity of life.
You have learnt that you need a nutrient-rich diet, with the right calorie
consumption, and exercise, both strength training and cardio to get the best
results.
Just consider this for a moment: it took years to get out of shape or in bad shape, so
it will take some time to get into great shape, don't you think?
I hope that I have sparked something inside you to take action NOW, but also to do
your own research on how to stay healthy after 40 and live longer. After all, your
health and body are the few things you have control over. So why not begin by
taking care of them!
At healthylivingformenover40.com it's my goal to be the source that you turn to for
information on the topics I've talked about and others related. To help me do this I
want to set up a blog, in the near future, to provide more material and offer advice
on subjects like nutrition, exercise and aging.
I understand that there may be some information in this ebook that you already
know, or it may be completely new to you; either way, what you have to do now is
put this knowledge into practice so you too can improve and extend your quality of
life.
To your health,
Jose Rodriguez
29
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Image 1 – Testosterone word cloud © Iculig / Fotolia
Image 2 – Assorted raw organic vegetables © monticellllo / Fotolia
Image 3 – Black & white image of a pair of dumbells © Stocksnapper / Fotolia
Image 4 – Heart riding a bicycle © fabioberti.it / Fotolia
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