Health
Stay fit in your 40s and beyond with these smart workout tips
Exercise is essential for overall health — but as we age, our usual fitness routine might not be as effective.
For people over 40, the body goes through hormonal and physical shifts that can impact how it reacts to certain workouts.
Melissa Neill, CEO of Body by Bikini, specializes in helping women over 40 lose weight. She noted in an interview with Fox News Digital that this becomes “much harder” after this age.
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“There’s a lot of things going on with your body,” said the U.K.-based fitness expert. “And one of the big things is you’re losing muscle mass.”
Women lose muscle mass at a rate of 1% per year, which Neill described as “massive.”
Hormonal changes associated with aging can impact how people put on and lose weight. (iStock)
This loss isn’t as extensive for men, but it can still have a major impact on metabolism.
“In other words, your body is not going to burn fat as effectively as it did when you were younger,” she said.
Neill also mentioned a depletion in hormones, namely testosterone, which is a hormone that supports muscle.
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For aging women, as estrogen declines, the body will work to produce more of the hormone, which can lead to fat gain during menopause.
“It produces fat as it’s producing the estrogen,” she said. “And it typically sits around your midsection, which is really annoying.”
Fitness fixes
Women at this age typically gain about 20 pounds, Neill said, although it could be more.
“I work with women who have gained 40 pounds and they’ve done nothing different,” she said. “All they’re doing is the exact same [workouts] they did in their younger days. And, of course, it’s just not working anymore.”
“If you can incorporate strength training as the main source of your workout, you’re going to see much better results overall in your everyday life.”
To counteract these changes, Neill suggested that women “throw out” the fitness rulebook they followed in their 20s and 30s.
For people in their 40s, the focus should be more on strength training and less on cardio, according to the expert.
For people in their 40s, the focus should be more on strength training and less on cardio, experts advise. (iStock)
“You want to focus on building muscle, because muscle is going to improve your metabolic health,” she said. “Your body’s going to get better at burning calories even when you’re just sitting around doing nothing.”
“Even when you’re sleeping, when you’re watching TV — if you’ve been lifting weights — your body is going to get much better at burning fat.”
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By building more muscle through strength training instead of doing cardio like running on the treadmill, the body will not only become more effective at burning fat, but will also have improved longevity.
“People with muscle on them … They’re going to be stronger,” Neill said. “They’re going to have more mobility [and] better agility.”
By building more muscle through strength training instead of doing cardio like running on the treadmill, the body will not only become more effective at burning fat, but will also have improved longevity. (iStock)
Eating a high-protein diet can also help build muscle, Neill added.
For menopausal women, proper diet and nutrition will help to provide enough energy throughout the day.
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“You want a protocol that works with your body, so that’s eating healthy, whole foods, cutting out the processed foods and cutting out refined sugar,” Neill said.
The expert also cautioned against intensely working out too often, recommending two to three days of active rest with gentle movement, such as a walk or light yoga.
‘Consistency is key’
Alissa Mosca, regional operations manager for Planet Fitness in New York, said that starting a new fitness routine is the most difficult part, and staying consistent will make all the difference.
“Consistency is key, no matter what it is — but it’s your kind of consistency,” she said. “My consistency may be five days a week, but somebody else’s consistency may be three days a week for half an hour.”
“Cardio is great to just work on your overall heart rate, but it shouldn’t be the focus,” one expert said. (iStock)
“It’s taking those small, incremental steps to either kickstart a journey or run full force into it.”
Strength training can include any equipment involving weight, like free weights, machines, dumbbells, cable towers and other ways to “engage those muscles working through a full range of motion,” the trainer said.
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These exercises can help make everyday tasks easier, from getting in and out of the car to lifting children.
“If you can incorporate strength training as the main source of your workout, you’re going to see much better results in your everyday life,” Mosca said.
A good workout doesn’t require long, intense hours at the gym, experts agree. (iStock)
“You’re making [the body] react to things that you have to do outside the gym, which is super beneficial,” she went on. “It will help your muscles from stiffening [and] stop those aches and pains. You’ll start to find that getting out of bed is a lot easier.”
Mosca recommended switching between working out different parts of the body throughout the week, and choosing some days to do a full-body circuit.
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“Every muscle group, especially the major muscle groups, adds functionality to every other movement,” she said. “So, your core is always included when you do squats [and] deadlifts.”
“When you start working on different parts of the body, you’re still incorporating those areas, but you’re making it a better, [more] well-rounded workout.”
Mosca recommended switching between working out different parts of the body throughout the week, and choosing some days to do a full-body circuit. (iStock)
For more toned results, Mosca recommended doing higher reps with lower weights. To boost strength, she said to try lower reps and heavier weight.
“You want to focus on building muscle, because muscle is going to improve your metabolic health.”
For people over 40 on a fitness journey, the trainer shared some key advice: “Don’t go off of the scale. Don’t go off of the mirror.”
“It’s mental, it’s physical, it’s emotional,” she said. “It’s how you feel every day. It’s how you wake up. It’s the quality of sleep. It’s your appetite.”
“If you see improvements in all of these things, and you find yourself craving fruit over sweet treats, if you find yourself wanting to move more and get 10,000 steps in a day, as opposed to sitting on the couch and watching a show, those are the improvements that you’re working toward, and that speaks so much stronger than weight loss does.”
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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