As we age, our approach to fitness needs to evolve to ensure we continue to hit our goals, minimize the risk of injury, and keep our hormones optimized. For those over 40, maintaining strength, health, and vitality requires a smarter, more strategic approach, because the systems within us begin to change. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman recently shared valuable insights into fitness and longevity, emphasizing four key pillars that can help you stay fit, strong, and healthy well into your later years.
We loved this video so much, we just had to share it. Please watch the video and read the 4 tips below. They should be your foundation.
Here’s a breakdown of these pillars and how you can incorporate them into your routine:
1. Strength Training
Building and maintaining muscle mass becomes increasingly important as we age. Strength training not only helps preserve muscle but also supports bone density and metabolic health. Huberman emphasizes the importance of resistance training, which is often ignored or set aside for easier modes of weightlifting.
Often, people think there is an "age appropriate" way to workout and the lifting is for young people. It's not. It is absolutely essential and the thing everyone should focus on before anything else. If you want to get old, do old people workouts. If you want to stay young and vibrant, workout like you're 30 for your entire life. The only thing that might change is the weight and rep scheme you use.
Here are the primary tools you should focus on:
- Weightlifting: Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.
- Bodyweight Exercises: Push-ups, pull-ups, and planks are excellent for building functional strength.
- Time Under Tension: Slow, controlled movements that emphasize muscle contraction can enhance strength and hypertrophy. If you have achy joints, try switching to isometrics.
Aim for at least two to three strength-training sessions per week, ensuring proper form to avoid injury.
2. Cardiovascular Conditioning
Cardio is essential for heart health, endurance, and overall longevity. It is not just about burning calories and weight management. It's about having the energy, endurance, and cardiovascular health to keep your energy high throughout the day.
Lifters tend to ignore cardio, and runners tend to ignore weight lifting. Both are absolutely essential for optimized fitness.
Huberman suggests incorporating two types of cardio into your routine. This is a ground breaking concept, but it is important to mention.
- Zone 2 Training: Low-intensity, steady-state cardio (e.g., brisk walking, cycling, or swimming) for 45–75 minutes. This improves cardiovascular health and supports fat metabolism.
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Short bursts of intense effort followed by rest periods. For example, sprinting for 30 seconds and walking for 90 seconds, repeated 4–6 times.
Both forms of cardio offer unique benefits. Ultimately it doesn't matter what you pick as long as you do it for 15-20 minutes. I personally find the treadmill boring, so I have been experimenting with bodyweight calisthenics and sled pushes for time. Super taxing on the legs and burns a ton of calories.
Bodyweight squats, mountain climbers, sled push/pull, or walking lunges can be an extremely challenging way to build your cardiovascular capacity.
3. Explosive Movements
As we age, we tend to lose power and agility. Incorporating explosive movements can help maintain these qualities while improving coordination and balance. It can also keep the bones and tendons in the feet and ankles strong, helping to avoid things like blown out Achilles tears. Examples include:
- Plyometrics: Box jumps, jump squats, or agility hops.
- Medicine Ball Throws and Slams: Great for building power and core strength.
- Controlled Landings: Focus on eccentric control when landing from jumps to protect joints and improve stability.
Start with low-impact options and gradually increase intensity as your body adapts.
4. Recovery and Longevity Practices
Recovery is just as important as the workouts themselves, and even more important as we age. As our hormones and metabolisms shift, muscle repair can take a lot longer. Huberman highlights the need for adequate rest and recovery to prevent overtraining and support muscle repair. Also, no-brainers, but always good to get a reminder.
- Sleep: Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep per night to optimize recovery and hormone regulation. Nothing good happens after 9 p.m., so you might as well go to bed early.
- Active Recovery: Light activities like yoga, stretching, or walking can promote blood flow and reduce soreness. Regular stretching can also help you stay flexible, something that also changes as ligaments and tendons shorten and change with time.
- Stress Management: Pay off your debts, pray, meditate, breath deeply, or simply go for a walk. Too much cortisol is toxic to the body, so minimizing it is important.
Our thoughts on Andrew Huberman's list...
The key to fitness over 40 is balance. Andrew Huberman's list in the video is not revolutionary or earth shattering stuff, but it is a good reminder that the biggest bang for your buck activities aren't exotic biohacks.
The one thing Andrew Huberman does discuss in great detail is nutrition, which in our experience should be #1. That is an entirely different animal though, so hopefully we'll see him put out a list of nutrition rules for over 40 too.
Anyway, we completely agree that strength training, cardio, explosive movements, and recovery practices, are absolutely essential for your health and longevity, which is why we wanted to share this list with you. We'll remind you over and over if we have to.
Remember, consistency is more important than intensity—find activities you enjoy and can sustain over the long term.
Michael, Founder/CEO
