At some point after 40, your body stops giving free passes. Skip a week of training and you feel it. Skip a month, and you swear gravity got stronger.
But the truth is, your body just needs the right kind of stimulus — not flashy Instagram workouts, not circus-act balance moves — just simple foundational exercises that keep men in fighting shape for life.
Lifting isn't optional; it's essential. These 4 key lifts are something every man over 40 should master: Walking Lunges, Romanian Deadlifts, Push-Ups, and Pull-Ups. Here's why.
1. Walking Lunges — The Longevity Lift
Walking lunges are your built-in insurance policy against Father Time. They torch your quads and glutes, train balance and coordination, and bulletproof your knees.
Every step forces your stabilizers to engage, your hips to open, and your core to fire. Want to keep hiking mountains, chasing your kids, or carrying groceries up the stairs without wincing? Do your lunges.
💥 Wild Warrior Tip: Go slow and controlled. Ten steps per leg, perfect form, twice a week. No racing through them — own each rep. Feel really brave? Try doing 15 straight minutes of walking lunges to finish your workout. This is what we call "Warrior Cardio."
2. Romanian Deadlifts — The Posterior Chain Power Move
The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is the forgotten superhero of strength training. It strengthens your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back — the engine of every athletic move you’ll ever make.
When men over 40 skip this lift, they end up with what Arthur Jones once called “a back that’s as useful as a soggy noodle.” A strong posterior chain protects you from back pain, stiffness, and that slow, hunched shuffle that says you’ve stopped training.
Traditional deadlifts can also become your worst enemy as you age and the risk/reward of regular barbell deadlifts is just too great. RDLs are the perfect way to practice picking up heavy objects.
💥 Wild Warrior Tip: Slight bend in the knees, hinge at the hips, keep the bar close, and squeeze your glutes at the top. No bouncing. No ego. Increase weight gradually over time and never max out on this lift.
3. Push-Ups — The Testosterone Booster You Forgot About
Forget fancy machines. The push-up is still the best bang-for-your-buck chest, triceps, and core exercise you can do anywhere.
It’s also a self-test: if you can’t knock out 20 solid push-ups, you’ve got work to do. Strong upper-body pressing keeps your shoulders healthy and your posture confident — the kind of presence that says “still in the fight.”
💥 Wild Warrior Tip: Mix it up — incline, decline, diamond, weighted. Keep the reps crisp and the range full. The truth is you can build an amazing chest without a barbell or the risk of tearing a bicep.
4. Pull-Ups — The Ultimate Measure of Real Strength
Pull-ups are brutally honest. Either you can lift your body or you can’t. No machine, no spotter, no excuses.
They build your back, biceps, and grip — all the muscles that fade fastest after 40 if you let them. Grip strength alone has been shown to correlate with longevity. So yeah, getting better at pull-ups isn’t just vanity; it’s survival.
💥 Wild Warrior Tip: If you can’t do one yet, start with band-assisted pull-ups or negatives. Stick with it. Every rep gets you closer to real strength. If you belong to a gym, use the assisted pull-up machine and gradually decrease the assistance over time.
The Forgotten 5th — Core Training at the End of Every Workout
You don’t need endless crunches or circus moves. You just need the basics and consistency.
Add core work to the end of every session — planks, hanging leg raises, ab wheels, or weighted cable rotations. Sit-ups and crunches are fine, but there are better choices if you are ready for them.
Your core isn’t just “abs.” It’s the transmission that connects your upper and lower body. A weak core turns every lift into a potential injury. A strong one makes you move like an athlete again.
💥 Wild Warrior Tip: Train your core like any other muscle — hard, focused, and with intention. Two or three movements, 5–10 minutes, every session.
Bottom Line
You don’t need a 10-exercise split, a shaker bottle army, or a PhD in biomechanics. You need discipline and the right moves. Obviously, we highly believe in our programs and the transformation you will get from following them, but you can accomplish a lot with just these 4 moves.
Master the walking lunge, Romanian deadlift, push-up, and pull-up. Finish every workout with core training. If all you have is one day week, that's fine. These moves will cover about everything.
Do that for a month and watch what happens — tighter waist, stronger back, better posture, higher T levels, and that unspoken confidence that comes from knowing you’re not going soft.
It’s simple. It’s savage.
Want to take it to the next level? Consider becoming a Wild Warrior member.
