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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Americans consume foods every day that are marketed as “healthy,” when they could be quietly destroying their health, one doctor warns.
Dr. Mark Hyman, physician and co-founder of Function Health in California, says that much of America’s daily diet is filled with unhealthy ingredients.
“The amount of refined starches and sugars that are everywhere is just staggering to me, given what we know about how harmful they are,” he shared in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I don’t think people really understand.”
Hyman, author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored,” said he’s “astounded” by what people are eating, especially for breakfast.
“People just eat sugar for breakfast,” he said. “They have muffins, they have bagels, they have croissants, they have sugar-sweetened coffees and teas.”
Dr. Mark Hyman is the author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored.” (Function Health; Little, Brown Spark)
In addition to the traditionally sweet options for breakfast, some cereal brands and breakfast staples have adopted new “protein-packed” menu items and products, following health trends that encourage eating more protein.
“Highly processed food is not food.”
“Now, we’re seeing this halo of protein in certain things,” Hyman said, mentioning that many protein smoothies are “full of sugar.”
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The doctor also noted that some popular cereals are now marketed as having protein in them. “My joke is, if it has a health claim on the label, it’s definitely bad for you,” he said.
Instead of starting the day with a “quick fix” or processed food, Hyman suggests choosing whole sources of protein and fat for breakfast, adding that “if there’s a little carbohydrate in there, it’s fine.”
More products marketed as “high protein” have cropped up on supermarket shelves. (iStock)
For his own breakfast, Hyman said he has a protein shake with whey protein, avocado and frozen berries. Eggs and avocados are also a great protein-and-fat combo option, he added.
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“It’s not that complicated — people need to just think about their breakfast not being dessert,” he said. “No wonder we’re in this cycle of obesity and diabetes. One in three teenage kids now has type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes. That’s just criminal.”
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Instead of counting calories and being in a caloric deficit as a way to lose weight and stay healthy, Hyman instead suggests focusing on how certain foods make you feel and how they impact your health.
“When you look at the way in which different types of calories affect your biology, you can just choose what you’re eating, and then you don’t have to worry about how much,” he told Fox News Digital.
In addition to the traditionally sweet options for breakfast, some cereal brands and breakfast staples have adopted new “protein-packed” menu items and products. (iStock)
“For example, if you eat a diet that doesn’t cause your insulin to spike — which is low in starch and sugar, higher in protein and fat — you won’t develop those swings in blood sugar, you won’t develop the spikes in insulin, you won’t deposit hungry fat … You will break that cycle.”
People are more likely to “self-regulate when they eat real food” instead of processed foods, which “bypasses the normal mechanisms of satiety, fullness and brain chemistry,” according to Hyman.
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“Ultraprocessed food and junk food or highly processed food is not food,” he said. “It doesn’t support the health and well-being of an organism. It doesn’t do that. It does the opposite.”
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Small fragments of plastic were found in the tumors of most prostate cancer patients, according to a new study from NYU Langone Health.
In past studies, microplastics have been found in almost every human organ and in bodily fluids, but their impact on human health still isn’t fully understood.
The researchers analyzed tissue samples from 10 patients with prostate cancer who underwent surgery to remove the entire organ.
Using visuals of both benign samples and tumor samples, as well as specialized equipment, the scientists identified plastic particles in 90% of the tumor samples and 70% of benign tissue samples, according to the study press release.
In past studies, microplastics were found in almost every single human organ along with bodily fluids, even the placenta. (iStock)
The cancerous tissue contained on average more than double the amount of plastic as healthy prostate tissue samples, the study found. This equates to about 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue compared to 16 micrograms.
Researchers avoided contaminating the samples with other plastics by substituting standard tools with those made of aluminum, cotton and other non-plastic material, the release noted.
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The scientists say this is the first direct evidence linking microplastics to prostate cancer.
“By uncovering yet another potential health concern posed by plastic, our findings highlight the need for stricter regulatory measures to limit the public’s exposure to these substances, which are everywhere in the environment,” said senior study author Vittorio Albergamo, assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in the release.
Using visuals of both benign samples and tumor samples, as well as specialized equipment, the scientists identified plastic particles in 90% of the tumor samples and 70% of benign tissue samples. (iStock)
The study findings were presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco on Feb. 26.
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“What is most striking is not that microplastics were detected, but that they were found embedded within tumor tissue itself,” Dr. David Sidransky, oncologist and medical advisor at SpotitEarly, a startup that offers an at-home breath-based test to detect early-stage cancer, told Fox News Digital.
“While complete avoidance is unrealistic, people can take practical steps to reduce exposure.”
“We already know microplastics are present in water, air, blood and even placental tissue. Their detection in prostate tumors suggests systemic distribution and long-term bioaccumulation,” added Maryland-based Sidransky, who was not involved in the study.
Study limitations
Albergamo cautioned that a larger sample is needed to confirm the findings. Additionally, Sidransky noted that the presence of microplastics alone does not prove they cause cancer.
“Tumors can act as ‘biologic sinks,’ meaning they may accumulate circulating particles simply because of altered vasculature and permeability,” he said.
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A key unanswered question, according to the doctor, is whether microplastics are biologically active in ways that “promote DNA damage, immune modulation or chronic inflammation within the prostate.”
About one in eight men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most actionable step men can take is appropriate screening and early detection, according to doctors. (iStock)
For those concerned about microplastics, Sidransky offered some insights.
“I believe the appropriate response is curiosity, not panic, and a commitment to understand more,” he said.
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“While complete avoidance is unrealistic, people can take practical steps to reduce exposure, such as minimizing heating food in plastic containers, reducing bottled water consumption when possible, and favoring glass or stainless steel alternatives.”
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The most actionable step men can take, however, is getting appropriate screenings to help ensure early detection, according to the doctor. Screening discussions should be individualized based on age, family history and other risk factors.
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