Getting Older Sucks
But there’s something special about being over 40…
If you are in your 40s you probably think your best days are past – at least as far as your body is concerned. You are seeing more wrinkles, cellulite and sagging skin than ever before. Your energy, mood and hormones are probably also all over the place.
Welcome to your 40s.
My partner told me I was beautiful the other day. Instead of feeling happy, I thought to myself – I won’t be hearing that for much longer…
So believe me – I know how you feel. Getting older sucks. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying women over 40 aren’t beautiful but if you are watching your youth fade away you know what I mean.
But let me tell you a little secret about being 40-something that’s going to make you feel better. A glimmer of hope if you are willing to grab it.
Women in their 40s have the best transformations.
You see, in your 40s, you have more time and resources to invest in yourself. In your 20s, your lifestyle didn’t support major transformations and your budget likely didn’t allow you to hire a coach. In your 30s you were probably too busy with kids or career (or both).
This is your time. You can become your strongest self.
While we can’t do much about the wrinkles, we can do a heck of a lot about the other stuff – including cellulite. In your 40s it’s completely possible to have a better body than the average 20-something, so at least in one aspect, you can look and feel much younger.
My speciality is 40-something transformations and I want to help you change not only your body, but the trajectory of your life. So I’ve put absolutely everything you need to know to get started in this Ultimate Guide. First we’ll cover how you should be training in your 40s, and then we’ll cover nutrition.
You really can have the best body of your life in your 40s so let’s do this!
It’s actually not that hard…
Before we get into it, I also want to let you know that while this does require work – it’s not actually that hard. If it feels hard right now it’s because you’ve been doing the wrong things.
As you’ll learn later in this blog post, everyone – even myself – does the wrong things at the start. You won’t get results until you start doing the right things. But don’t worry. I’m going to simplify things for you. That’s my job.
Most women need some coaching to get this all sorted. All of my clients who had great transformations invested in a combo of nutrition coaching and online training.
Your 40s are going to fly by. Don’t miss this opportunity. If you want to skip ahead and fast track things, check out my most popular Nutrition and Training Transformation Program For Women Over 40.
How To Train After 40
Train like you are in your 40s, not your 20s
I’m going to give you tons of practical advice for setting up your program but first there are a couple of special considerations after 40 that set the context for how I do things:
1. Posture should be a main focus.
Many of us spend way too much time sitting and bent over with poor posture. At this age, you should focus on developing your upper back muscles because your posture will improve, which will help with a lot of the aches and pains we associate with aging.
For example, many of my clients report that their neck or back pain dramatically improves when they start training. It’s also going to make you look much younger, stronger and confident because you will stand straighter. If you set the foundation now you will also help prevent the hunched look many women start experiencing in their 60s.
One of my favourite posture exercises.
2. You need a strategy for cellulite.
As we age, cellulite becomes more of a challenge. This is due in large part to fluctuating estrogen, declining collagen and elastin and poor blood vessel health.
A properly designed training program that targets problematic areas will improve the appearance of cellulite and slow its progression. For most 40-something women, reducing cellulite becomes a priority and your program needs to address it not only through training but also with nutrition.
Target your backside a couple times a week!
3. Your program should be designed with joint health in mind.
I know its tempting to hop on the latest workout trends or do workouts off popular free training apps, but when you hit your 40s most of these programs are problematic because they don’t differentiate between someone who is 20 and someone who is 45.
If you care about your joints, many of the movements you would have done in your 20s are no longer appropriate. For example, I tend to stay away from plyometric movements in my programs because I worry about the health of my client’s knees, especially when you are training without a coach to watch your form. I promise that doing some weighted glute bridges will do much more for your physique than jump squats anyway!
When you think about it, it makes sense to follow a program that’s thoughtfully designed for your 40-something body. You will get better results and keep your body healthy at the same time.
Why Weight Training Rules For Over 40 Women
When I was in my 20s, I can remember going to the gym and seeing this lady who was probably at least 10 years older than me who looked like she had stepped off the cover of Oxygen. I always thought she had some secret and likely great genetics. The difference was I spent all my time on the treadmill and in group fitness classes – whereas she spent all her time in the weight room.
I only figured this out when I invested in my first personal trainer in my 30s. I learned how to lift weights properly and I followed a good program. And that’s when I had my major transformation. It wasn’t super difficult either. Up until that time I had just been doing the wrong things.
If you are struggling or if you can’t get the body you want, then you are doing the wrong things.
In fact, the main reason women seek me out as a coach is that they haven’t been getting results. These women often have great transformations from simply starting a properly designed weight lifting program. If you want to see how incredible your transformation can be when you start lifting weights, check out my client’s photos below.
Weight lifting is the right choice at your age and should be your main focus. That’s because a properly designed program can target typical problem areas in ways that other styles of training don’t.
Weight lifting is also the best choice in your 40s because of those special considerations we talked about in the previous section. For example, cellulite is not necessarily a “fat” problem but more so an “aging” problem. This means that you can’t just burn it off by doing cardio. Building muscle, however, will help tighten and smooth out those areas.
Finally, in our 40s our hormones can be all over the place and we can become more “stress sensitive.” Focusing on weight loss, extreme diets and lots of cardio will only increase cortisol and make you look and feel worse. Weight training and some relaxing cardio like walking or biking outside is a more effective combo in your 40s. Of course, you also need to dial in your nutrition but we’ll talk about that in the next section.
How To Set Up Your Training Program
Truth is, the more you can train, the better results you are going to get. You can get good results with 3 days per week but you’ll get better and faster results with a 5 day per week program. However, you don’t have to be in the gym for ages. We are talking 45 minute workouts max because when you train effectively that’s all you need. In fact, as I tell my clients, if you can train for much longer than that you probably aren’t training hard enough.
The best program structure is 3-5 workouts per week, between 30-45 minute workouts, focusing on weight training.
Let’s talk about how to structure your week. Let me introduce you to the idea of a “split.” In training, this simply means how you split up your workouts, usually in a weekly cycle, based on specific muscle groups.
Here’s my typical workout week or “split” as an example:
Sunday: Glutes
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Back (sometimes with extra glute work)
Thursday: Shoulders (more of a rear delt focus than Monday)
Friday: Legs
Saturday: Arms
This is how I typically structure my client’s weeks as well. For example, if someone wants to train 4 days per week, I will give them 2 upper and 2 lower focused days.
Or if a client is concerned about cellulite and can train 5 days per week, I will schedule 3 lower days and 2 upper days.
Don’t forget to assess and adjust – most women miss this!
When changing programs or training focus, it’s important to assess your body and your progress, and adjust your “split” accordingly. For example, for the last couple years I’ve only been training my triceps once per week because they tend to get quite big if I train them too much. However, lately I’ve been noticing they don’t look as firm as they used to so I’ve started training them twice a week again. I will have to closely monitor them so they don’t get too big though!
This self-assessment and adjustment is missing when you just do training off an app, group fitness or generic programs, and it’s a really important part of getting results. Think of your body as a work in progress and you are continually sculpting it into what you want. This makes training a whole lot more fun and satisfying than just focusing on weight loss.
One of the big mistakes a lot of women make is not sticking with a program long enough. I recommend giving any program at least 8 weeks before changing things up. But when you do make changes they won’t be drastic because you should still stick with traditional style weight training. For example, when a client finishes one of my 8 week programs, we may change the split depending on if they need to target a certain area of the body or we may change the program style from strength focused to more volume just to mix things up.
Sorting Out Your Over 40 Nutrition
Why You Aren’t Getting Results
When I said we can’t do much about the wrinkles, that’s not entirely true. What you eat powerfully impacts how you age – and we’ll talk about that in a minute. But first let’s talk about why you don’t have the body of your dreams yet.
If you haven’t been getting great results, like most women, here’s what you are doing wrong with your nutrition:
1. You don’t know how many calories you eat.
2. You don’t know your macros (the ratio of protein, carbs and fat in your diet).
3. You don’t consistently track your calories or eat a set amount of calories.
4. You haven’t figured out how to balance eating well with your lifestyle.
If you aren’t getting results – the solution is very simple. It’s just up to you to put in the work. To get results you just need some basic math:
Calories in need to be less than calories out.
And then you need to consistently count calories or to follow a calorie controlled meal plan. Why? Because just “winging it” isn’t getting you anywhere. If you don’t consistently track and measure something – how can you expect to get results? Similarly, if you don’t create accountability for yourself – you won’t get results.
Every woman I’ve worked with who starts to consistently track her calories, loses weight. It’s that simple. If you don’t want to track calories, you can closely follow a meal plan that takes care of it for you.
To learn more about calorie counting, read my indepth guide here.
Finding Your Balance With Nutrition In Your 40s
Consistency is one of your biggest challenges. In your 40s, you probably have more meals in nice restaurants, more social events and holidays – and you don’t want to give this up or restrict your enjoyment of them. Fair enough.
Yes, you should be able live your life to the fullest but if you are constantly dissatisfied with your body, you won’t be entirely happy either.
So there is a balance to be found. You don’t have to give up wine or your social life – but you need some strategies and accountability to keep yourself on track with your nutrition as well.
If you are struggling with balance, I’ve helped so many women like you. Please reach out to me, because I can help!
Forget Wrinkle Cream If You Aren’t Eating Well
What you eat powerfully impacts how you age. You won’t completely stop those wrinkles, but you can dramatically slow down their appearance. This is a whole topic in itself which we don’t have time to cover here. But just keep in mind that any diet you follow should have a longevity aspect to it.
In my 30s, before I knew what I was doing, I followed a traditional fitness style diet for years. Lots of chicken, whey protein and restricting carbs. I often wonder if some of the problems I have now were made worse by those years of eating – not in a terrible way – but in a way that wasn’t right for my female body and hormones. For example, the way I eat now is a million times better for my periods.
These days my focus is on packing my diet full of nutritious foods, including many superfoods, to help slow down aging. And you know what? My physique is even better than it was in my 30s when I followed that traditional fitness diet.
The problem is most meal plans are usually either designed for losing weight or building muscle. They don’t consider women’s hormones, longevity or changing nutrition needs as you get older. For example, if you have problems with your periods – and so many of us do in our 40s, you need to change the way you eat. And I guarantee that by eating more chicken, meat in general, and lots of whey protein full of artificial junk as promoted by the fitness industry type diets, you’ll be making these problems worse. Also, carbs can really help us out with those 40-something mood and energy fluctuations so you also should be skeptical of any diet that restricts them.
The good news is that I spent years creating a meal plan that balances everything out for you – weight loss, muscle gain, hormone balance and longevity. With my program, I teach you how to find balance and still eat foods you love – because your 40s shouldn’t be about extreme diets and restriction. You should be taking care of yourself and creating a body you love. The process should be enjoyable!
You can learn more about that meal plan here or check out my Transformation Program For Over 40 Women below.
This is your time. Don’t miss out.
Before you start any program, ask yourself – is this designed for me and where I’m at in life? You don’t have to follow my program but I can say that there is probably no other program out there designed so specifically and thoughtfully for women over 40.
Remember, this is your time. You can have the best body of your life in your 40s. I’ve helped women just like you become their strongest selves at all ages. If you are ready to put in the work – and it’s not as hard as you think – get in touch! I can’t wait to help you have your own transformation.
Learn more about starting your own Transformation Program here.
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