Your 40's are a Fork in the Road!

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Last year, I wrote a post about how fitness and exercise are different at various points during our lifespans.  Today, I want to zoom in on the 40’s. 

I’ve had the privilege of being able to work with several of my clients through multiple decades of their lives.  As I’ve watched trainees age during my 23 years coaching, I’ve noticed this: generally speaking, those who are exercising are much better off–healthwise–than those who are not.  For this reason, I want to call out what may be obvious: your 40’s are a fork in the road!  

Either you will acknowledge that you need to be physically active to lengthen your healthspan, or you will just pretend that every statistic about human health and aging somehow does not apply to you…if you ignore it, it won’t go away.  It will just become harder to improve or regain your health if you wait longer to take action!

The biggest challenge that I see, for those who acknowledge the facts and want to exercise as they age, is that we can’t do things the same way we did when we were 21 years old.  Our bodies have changed and our exercise programs should adjust accordingly.

What changes do we see?  Slower recovery.  Less tolerance to impact.  More aches and pains.  We must begin to be strategic to work around these obstacles, and avoid injury.

To maximize recovery, nutrition and sleep are our main tools.  Eat a variety of foods, mostly plants, and not too much.  Sleep 7-9 hrs/night, optimizing sleep hygiene to make sure we’re getting good amounts of deep and REM sleep.  

In addition to sleep and nutrition, using tools like foam rollers, massage balls, and massage guns can help with mobility and recovery.  Learn to manage chronic aches and pains by working with a physical therapist and/or a qualified personal trainer (those who are well-versed in corrective exercise programming are best).  

If you have questions about your specific situation, call or text me: (916) 741-2370 

**disclaimer: everyone ages at a different rate.  Some will experience these changes earlier or later than others, but generally speaking around age 40-45 is where I’ve noticed needing to change trainees’ programming to accommodate these changes