Is It Possible to Transform Your Body After 40?
If you are over 40, transforming your body can feel like an uphill battle. No one understands this more than yours truly. Life seems much busier now, so we may have put our health on the back burner. And it shows! You may even think it’s too late. However, it is entirely possible to achieve a complete body transformation after 40.
The two main components needed to transform your body from fluff to “tuff” are building muscle and losing body fat.
Can You Still Build Muscle After 40?
Absolutely! It may take a bit more work than it did in previous years, but it’s totally possible. After 40, men and women alike experience a range of hormonal and physiological changes that can cause muscle loss, increased weight gain, and low energy levels. The best way to combat these changes is a healthy diet and a consistent workout routine.
How Important is Nutrition?
A healthy diet is the most important ingredient in achieving that body transformation after 40. You can workout until the cows come home, but if your diet sucks, you won’t feel as good as you could. Your body won’t have the proper nutrients required to build muscle and burn fat in order to transform your body.
The only small benefit you might slow your weight gain, but you definitely won’t see amazing results. And we all know if results are slow, we are less likely to stick to our routine.
So, that being said, the first step to any transformation is to eat clean, organic foods. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. You should be eating foods as close to their natural state as possible.
If you are worried about the cost of eating organic (which I totally understand), I have an easy way to justify it. I can either spend a few extra bucks on good quality food, or I can spend it at the doctor’s office later.
I don’t know about you, but the cost of eating organic is easier to swallow than a doctor bill! 😉
What’s the Best Way to Build Muscle?
The other important component required to build muscle and lose fat after 40 is your workouts. Weight training is a great way to build muscle. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories and fat you burn, even at rest.
However, you don’t have to join the gym to get the benefits of muscle- building workouts.
If you prefer to work out at home, there are endless options to help you put on some muscle. You can find many home-based, no equipment workouts by doing a search on YouTube.
Resistance bands are my new favorite at-home workout tool. They are cheap, versatile, and don’t take up any floor space. You can literally do a full body workout with just one or two bands. Another great thing about bands is that they are easy on the joints.
You can also get a great workout with no equipment at all by just using your own body weight. The key is slow and controlled movements, focusing on creating that burn!
The burn tells you that your working your muscles enough to create growth. And that’s what we want.
Being over 40 doesn’t mean we can’t have a lean healthy body. It just means we have to adjust our lifestyle and increase our determination to get there.
For me, it has become a matter of health and mobility rather than how I look in a swimsuit. But it’s definitely a bonus when you feel good about how you look. Focus on your “why”–the main reason you want to transform your body and the determination will follow.
