Aging does not mean that you should work less.
In fact, you should probably add more exercises to your repertoire as you get older to help you stay active and avoid injury. David Jack, the creator of the Men's Health Muscle After 40 (MA40) program, has a list of 16 movements that will make the difference between a middle-aged guy who can still do everything he wants in the gym and in his life and type. who moans simply by getting out of his recliner.
"Boys over 40 need to focus on moving better," says Jack, whose recommendations include several exercises that will move him in multiple planes. "The more directions you can control for your body to move, the stronger and more stable it will be." He wants you to pay special attention to your hips and ankles, which are frequent sites of injury, and to work on core strength and the ability to balance on one leg.
Do you feel that you have lost flexibility and mobility as you grew?
Do not worry: nobody asks you to replace the tried and true exercises you've done for years (for example, bench press or squats) with these new moves. Just adding a few at a time to warm-up-or using them all together as a cardio routine can help you feel like a new man. "They do not take long to do it," says Jack. "They are easy to learn and will make you feel athletic."
Addresses
Choose one exercise from each list to do on your warm-up before a lower body or full weight workout. Set a timer Perform a continuous movement for 40 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds and repeat one more time; then do the same with the other exercises. To use all the exercises at once as a cardio routine, perform each movement in sequence (40 seconds on, 20 off) and then repeat the entire circuit for two total rounds. In the exercises that are performed from one side at a time, work for 20 seconds on one side and then on 20 seconds on the other.
HIPS
Standing Hip Circles
Squat Slide & Stand
Heel Tap Skip
Lateral 3 Step Stick & Hold
Statue of Liberty
Single Leg Thigh Spoon
Catch and stretch
Short hip circles
Walk Out Spiderman with Inchworm
Dog looking down with a teddy bear
ANKLES
Foot Rockers
Transition Heel to Toe
CORE
Open Chop
Step Turn and press
Dumbbell sweep
Rotation of half of Kneel's trunk