Program for over-40s

Posted on: 02/25/2025

More and more people over the age of 40 are working out in fitness and bodybuilding studios, as well as at home. In fact, they account for nearly 4 out of every 10 members. Their objective? Health and well-being, and incidentally, weight loss and bodybuilding. Most of them are beginners - few of them have many years of gym experience behind them - and that's a good thing. Because there's no age limit for taking up fitness! No, it's not too late to start after the age of 40. On the other hand, you're not 20 anymore, and you don't have to do sport in the same way. Your body has evolved and your motivations must go beyond aesthetics.

But with the right program and a healthy lifestyle, you can radically change your physique and get back into shape. Yes, it's perfectly possible to build muscle after the age of 40, while staying fit and healthy. Follow the guide !

Weight training for the over-40s

There are still a lot of prejudices out there, and they can often put people off joining a gym or practising at home. There's also the fear of not doing it right, of hurting yourself, of looking ridiculous or of not getting any results at all. So, is it still possible to progress at this age?

Yes, as you can imagine, it's bound to be harder to make progress than when you were 20. Your potential for muscle growth and your capacity for recovery are less. Some people think that weight training won't help, that they won't gain muscle. They confine themselves to cardio-training or group classes only. But this is a mistake. The best solution is to combine strength training with cardio. Add flexibility and mobility exercises, and a good diet, and you've got the perfect equation.

There are several scenarios at this age:

- If you're just starting out in the gym, you'll progress easily, provided you have a good training program. You'll gain muscle, firm up and lose fat if your nutrition is right. Of course, this won't happen as quickly as it would if you were very young and less explosive. You'll also have less room for improvement, and it'll certainly be more difficult because you don't have the same recovery capacities and hormone levels (testosterone). But that's no reason to give up!

- If you're new to bodybuilding, but have a good sporting background, your nervous system will be much better tuned than a sedentary person's, and you'll learn the right technique on the exercises more quickly. You'll already be at a much greater advantage than a beginner who's never done any sport !

- If you've been building muscle for as long as you can remember, have progressed over the years and achieved a good physique, and have a good diet, it may become more complicated to gain muscle and strength after a certain age. But you can always improve your overall harmony and make up for your weaknesses. At this age, you're not going to break the bank and push like a youngster; think well and look to last. In general, your tendons and joints will put you in your place when you go too far.

Don't worry if you're just starting out, you won't be any more ridiculous than a youngster just starting out. Everyone has started at some point. Taking up bodybuilding, even at this age, shows that you want to take care of your health and your body, and that's a credit to you! Don't compare yourself to the person next door. And remember, a 40-year-old who trains regularly may well have a better physique than a 20-year-old.

How do you train after 40 to get results and gain muscle ?

To gain muscle and/or lose fat, the principles are the same whether you're 20 or 40. As we saw earlier, the best option is to combine weight training with cardio training - that's the basis - and to work on certain problems. For example, postural problems to be resolved, muscular imbalances, lack of flexibility, mobility and so on. All this is often at the root of tension and pain, especially at this age. After the age of 40, you need to adapt your training program and take certain precautions.

First of all, any good fitness club should ask you for a medical certificate to see if you're fit to train. If not, do it for yourself.

Take time to warm up before each session. Take at least 15 minutes to warm up your muscles and joints before starting your session. A bit of cardio, then targeted warm-ups for the muscle groups you're going to train, and finally a few sets with light, light loads. This lengthens the session, but will save you a great deal of trouble, pain and injury. As we age, our muscles, joints and tendons become more fragile. Injury and pain prevention should be the basis of your training and even your priority, especially if you have a fairly sedentary job or lifestyle.

The basics of training are the same as for a young person just starting out, but you need to train regularly (3 or 4 sessions a week) and be progressive. Movement must be mastered and controlled to minimize damage to joints and tendons. You need to have a good execution technique and choose the exercises best suited to your morphology. If this is not the case, pain will arrive much more quickly than in a young person, and may also take longer to go away. A good solution at this age is to increase the number of repetitions in your sets. Working with weights that are too heavy is also not recommended. Opt for lighter weights with a higher number of repetitions, on the order of 8 to 12 for the upper body and 12 to 20 for the lower limbs. This will sculpt your muscles without putting too much strain on your joints. When it comes to exercises, be reasonable with the volume of training. The use of machines can be a solution to secure your movements, especially at the beginning when you're starting from scratch or in the recovery phase. Certain exercises such as the deadlift and squat - which are risky - can easily be replaced by alternative exercises such as the thigh press or lumbar bench. Or be capped in load to avoid the risks associated with these exercises and reap the benefits.

For the cardio part, bear in mind that this is a really important aspect of training for people over 40. Why? Because at this age you need to work your cardiovascular system to stay healthy, especially as your metabolism isn't as active as it used to be and you put on weight more easily. In addition to improving your physical condition, cardio-training sessions will help you keep your body fat down, even if nutrition remains essential to losing weight... In practice, consider a good balance by including 3 strength training sessions and 3 cardio sessions each week. You can separate the two activities (Monday: weight training, Tuesday: cardio, Wednesday: weight training etc.) or mix your sessions: 3 to 4 weight training + cardio sessions per week (45 minutes weight training + 45 minutes cardio). It's up to you, depending on your schedule. Opt for low- or medium-intensity cardio sessions. And the older you get, the more walking can take its place in your training - or as a complement to it.

As you can see, when you're in your forties, you have to do things right. And above all, not to think only about results. At 20, we feel indestructible, and we rarely pay attention to all that! Follow these tips for building muscle after 40 and you should be just fine.

Program for building muscle and losing weight after 40

Here's a simple, effective program for people over 40 who are new to the gym. To be repeated 3 times a week. Duration: 1h30. 1 minute rest between sets.

1 - Warm-up: 15 minutes of cardio + specific exercises.

2 - Bodybuilding

Bench press or seated pectoral press (chest): 3*10

High pulley front pull (back): 3*10

Dumbbell or machine bench press (shoulders): 3*10

Thigh press or squat (thighs and buttocks): 4*12

Plank face te side - abdomen: 3 cycles 1 minute

Lumbar bench (lower back): 3*15

3 - Cardio training

Treadmill or stationary bike: 30 to 45 minutes. (Low or moderate intensity).

4 - Mobility and stretching (optional or to be done on rest days if time is short)

- Mobility exercises for your shoulders, knees and lower back.

- Massage or massage roller on tense parts of your body (back, shoulders, legs) and/or massage pistol.

- After the workout, maintain static stretching for 30 seconds for each muscle group you've just exercised.

How to eat after 40 ?

Eating well is always the goal, whatever your age. Easier said than done! Yes, it's true that after the age of 40 we tend to put on weight more easily, and find it harder to get rid of hard-wearing fat, belly fat, love handles or cellulite for women. But losing weight after 40 is perfectly possible! Tens of thousands of people do it every year.

The good thing about getting older is that you pay more attention to your training and try not to repeat the mistakes you've made with your diet. But in some cases, we also carry a legacy of years of junk food and excess. We've already seen how to get back into shape after 40 and what training programme to follow, so let's now look at how to eat well.

The first thing to do is calculate your calories to maintain your weight. To do this, use an app like MyfitnessPal, Yazio or Fatsecret. Once you've determined your "now", i.e. the number of calories you need to stay at the same weight, you need to decrease this figure if you want to lose weight and bulk up (overweight, obesity), or increase it if you want to thicken up (mass gain). If you simply want to stay in shape, keep your calorie intake the same, but try to eat more healthily.

If you're on a diet, lower your calorie intake by 250 kcal/day and maintain a high protein intake. If you want to build muscle mass, increase your calorie intake by 200-400 kcal and eat at least 1.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight.

At the age of 40, we need to be fairly high in lipids for the hormonal system, a little higher in protein than when we were young to best maintain our muscle mass, and lower in carbohydrates. Eat healthy, unprocessed foods and plenty of fruit and vegetables to provide your body with the maximum possible amount of nutrients.

You also need to watch your sleep and night-time activities (parties, alcohol), as recovery is much more difficult at a certain age. You need several days to recover. If you want to make the most of your progress and stay healthy, you need to limit this.

Dietary supplements can be a plus at this age, particularly protein powders, omega-3s, vitamins to avoid certain deficiencies (vitamin D) or supplements for joints and skin (collagen) to prevent pain and injury.

Finally

As you can see, weight training, done intelligently in relation to your age and level, is an excellent way of staying younger and healthier for longer. It's up to you.