In your 20s
Master the Muscle Trinity
There's no faster way to build muscle than with low-rep, heavy-resistance routines based on the fundamental strength exercises: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.
Use these tips to do each exercise better.
- Squat: Keep your chest up and back naturally arched, and turn your knees out during the movement.
- Bench press: As you push the weight up, keep your shoulder blades back and down, and tighten your leg muscles. Tuck your elbows close to your sides.
- Deadlift: Keep your chest up and back flat, squeeze your glutes, and push from your heels on the lift.
Accelerate Strength Gains
Power is a function of strength and speed working in concert, so when you're in your 20s, your training should also include plyometric exercises, or explosive movements. "Jumps" allow strength to be converted to power. Think of it this way: Jumps train mainly your nerves, while weights train your muscles. In fact, along with helping you gain speed and power, doing plyometrics also builds new muscle.
Build a Body she’ll Desire
Don't deny your vanity; just remember who you"re trying to impress. Normally guys chose bodies with 30 pounds more muscle.
Fuel Up on Super
Protein is the key nutrient for building muscle. And all men, especially guys in their 20s, should take in at least 30 percent of their total calories from high-quality protein sources like lean meats, fish, dairy, and poultry.
Eat 1 gram of protein for each pound of your target weight. For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds but want to weigh 180, eat 180 grams of protein a day.
To speed recovery from power workouts, drink a shake made with at least 20 grams of whey protein powder, 1/3 cup milk, 1 cup cranberry juice, and 1 cup frozen mixed berries (which are inflammation fighters).
There's no faster way to build muscle than with low-rep, heavy-resistance routines based on the fundamental strength exercises: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.
Use these tips to do each exercise better.
- Squat: Keep your chest up and back naturally arched, and turn your knees out during the movement.
- Bench press: As you push the weight up, keep your shoulder blades back and down, and tighten your leg muscles. Tuck your elbows close to your sides.
- Deadlift: Keep your chest up and back flat, squeeze your glutes, and push from your heels on the lift.
Accelerate Strength Gains
Power is a function of strength and speed working in concert, so when you're in your 20s, your training should also include plyometric exercises, or explosive movements. "Jumps" allow strength to be converted to power. Think of it this way: Jumps train mainly your nerves, while weights train your muscles. In fact, along with helping you gain speed and power, doing plyometrics also builds new muscle.
Build a Body she’ll Desire
Don't deny your vanity; just remember who you"re trying to impress. Normally guys chose bodies with 30 pounds more muscle.
Fuel Up on Super
Protein is the key nutrient for building muscle. And all men, especially guys in their 20s, should take in at least 30 percent of their total calories from high-quality protein sources like lean meats, fish, dairy, and poultry.
Eat 1 gram of protein for each pound of your target weight. For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds but want to weigh 180, eat 180 grams of protein a day.
To speed recovery from power workouts, drink a shake made with at least 20 grams of whey protein powder, 1/3 cup milk, 1 cup cranberry juice, and 1 cup frozen mixed berries (which are inflammation fighters).
The 20s Workout: Power and Agility
To become fit, you need - Resistance training, cardiovascular training, and flexibility training.These ingredients don't change decade by decade, but the amount of time you dedicate to each phase does to counteract aging."
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 5 minutes
Strength: 40 minutes
Cardio: 15 minutes
Do this whole-body workout 3 days a week. Use the heaviest weight that allows you to complete the prescribed repetitions. The lifting tempo is 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down. Rest 2 minutes between short sets, and 1 minute between longer sets.
FLEXIBILITY
Start with 2 minutes of foam rolling over any areas that feel tight. Then do 10 kneeling hip flexor stretches and 10 lateral squats (like a lateral lunge, but with your feet wide apart).
STRENGTH
Monday
Squats: 3 sets of 5
Bench press: 3 sets of 10
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10
Wednesday
Bench press: 3 sets of 5
Squats: 3 sets of 10
Deadlift: 3 sets of 10
Friday
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5
Incline bench press: 3 sets of 10
Single-leg straight-leg deadlifts: 3 sets of 10
CORE (EACH WORKOUT)
Ab-wheel rollout or barbell rollout: 3 sets of 15
CARDIO
Outdoors or on a treadmill, run 15 sprints of 15 seconds each, with 45 seconds active recovery (jogging at a pace at which you can easily hold a conversation).
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 5 minutes
Strength: 40 minutes
Cardio: 15 minutes
Do this whole-body workout 3 days a week. Use the heaviest weight that allows you to complete the prescribed repetitions. The lifting tempo is 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down. Rest 2 minutes between short sets, and 1 minute between longer sets.
FLEXIBILITY
Start with 2 minutes of foam rolling over any areas that feel tight. Then do 10 kneeling hip flexor stretches and 10 lateral squats (like a lateral lunge, but with your feet wide apart).
STRENGTH
Monday
Squats: 3 sets of 5
Bench press: 3 sets of 10
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10
Wednesday
Bench press: 3 sets of 5
Squats: 3 sets of 10
Deadlift: 3 sets of 10
Friday
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5
Incline bench press: 3 sets of 10
Single-leg straight-leg deadlifts: 3 sets of 10
CORE (EACH WORKOUT)
Ab-wheel rollout or barbell rollout: 3 sets of 15
CARDIO
Outdoors or on a treadmill, run 15 sprints of 15 seconds each, with 45 seconds active recovery (jogging at a pace at which you can easily hold a conversation).
In your 30s
That's why the 30s are often the prime years of professional sports stars and, in particular, endurance athletes. .
You can still extend your lactate threshold (LT). LT is the point when your muscles pump out fatigue-producing lactate faster than the blood can clear it and the muscles start burning more carbohydrates than fat. By extending your LT, you can exercise at a higher intensity, burn more calories, and better control your weight.
Supercharge Your Turbo
The shortcut to fitness is interval training. Intense bursts of exercise at 80 percent to 95 percent of your maximum heart rate, interspersed with recovery interludes during which your heart rate returns to normal, burn more calories than steady, less-intense efforts do.
They also improve performance. For instance, cyclists doubled their endurance after just 2 weeks of sprint interval training. Interval-training principles also apply to running, stair-climbing, rowing, and circuits.
Hit Your Fighting Weight
In this decade, your metabolism slows and your body-fat percentage creeps up. It's critical to keep that number below 22 (18 is optimal); doing this reduces your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
The two biggest diet saboteurs for busy men are calories from drinks and binge-eating sessions caused by staying late at work. Solution: Find a low-calorie drink you can sip all day. Skolnik recommends green tea, because it also revs your metabolism. Also, stock your desk drawer with healthy, filling snacks, such as instant oatmeal, beef jerky, dried fruit, cans of tuna, and wholegrain crackers.
Make Training More Fun
The most effective and enjoyable way to prepare for an endurance event is to join a group-training program. You're more likely to stick to a workout program if you train with others rather than going solo. And you're also more likely to push yourself much harder.
Prevent Back Pain
Replacing high-weight, low-rep lifts with lower-weight, higher-rep sets, and doing some exercises on one leg. As you grow older, you should begin to decrease spinal loading.
Lifting higher reps with a lighter load still yields benefits, but with less structural stress. Includes Swiss-ball rollouts, which help you build core strength and endurance.
In fact, men with poor muscular endurance in their lower back are three times as likely to develop back pain than those with fair or good endurance.
The shortcut to fitness is interval training. Intense bursts of exercise at 80 percent to 95 percent of your maximum heart rate, interspersed with recovery interludes during which your heart rate returns to normal, burn more calories than steady, less-intense efforts do.
They also improve performance. For instance, cyclists doubled their endurance after just 2 weeks of sprint interval training. Interval-training principles also apply to running, stair-climbing, rowing, and circuits.
Hit Your Fighting Weight
In this decade, your metabolism slows and your body-fat percentage creeps up. It's critical to keep that number below 22 (18 is optimal); doing this reduces your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
The two biggest diet saboteurs for busy men are calories from drinks and binge-eating sessions caused by staying late at work. Solution: Find a low-calorie drink you can sip all day. Skolnik recommends green tea, because it also revs your metabolism. Also, stock your desk drawer with healthy, filling snacks, such as instant oatmeal, beef jerky, dried fruit, cans of tuna, and wholegrain crackers.
Make Training More Fun
The most effective and enjoyable way to prepare for an endurance event is to join a group-training program. You're more likely to stick to a workout program if you train with others rather than going solo. And you're also more likely to push yourself much harder.
Prevent Back Pain
Replacing high-weight, low-rep lifts with lower-weight, higher-rep sets, and doing some exercises on one leg. As you grow older, you should begin to decrease spinal loading.
Lifting higher reps with a lighter load still yields benefits, but with less structural stress. Includes Swiss-ball rollouts, which help you build core strength and endurance.
In fact, men with poor muscular endurance in their lower back are three times as likely to develop back pain than those with fair or good endurance.
The 30s Workout: Strength and Stamina
Do this whole-body workout 3 days a week. Use the heaviest weight that allows you to complete the prescribed repetitions. The lifting tempo is 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down. Rest 1 minute between sets.
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 10 minutes
Strength: 25 minutes
Cardio: 25 minutes
FLEXIBILITY
Start with 5 minutes of foam rolling; pay special attention to your back. Then do 5 kneeling hip-flexor stretches and 5 lateral squats.
STRENGTH
Pushups (elevate your feet on a 12- inch-high bench): 3 sets of 10
Single-leg or split squats (add dumbbells when you're ready): 3 sets of 10
Single-leg straight-leg deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 (each leg)
Inverted rows (add a weight vest if you can): 3 sets of 10
CORE
3 sets of 15 Swissball rollouts
CARDIO
Stick with interval running (if you have no knee pain) or ride a stationary bike. Add a 5-minute warmup, or spin and then do 15 sprints (15 seconds each) with 45 seconds active recovery. Finish with a 5-minute cooldown jog.
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 10 minutes
Strength: 25 minutes
Cardio: 25 minutes
FLEXIBILITY
Start with 5 minutes of foam rolling; pay special attention to your back. Then do 5 kneeling hip-flexor stretches and 5 lateral squats.
STRENGTH
Pushups (elevate your feet on a 12- inch-high bench): 3 sets of 10
Single-leg or split squats (add dumbbells when you're ready): 3 sets of 10
Single-leg straight-leg deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 (each leg)
Inverted rows (add a weight vest if you can): 3 sets of 10
CORE
3 sets of 15 Swissball rollouts
CARDIO
Stick with interval running (if you have no knee pain) or ride a stationary bike. Add a 5-minute warmup, or spin and then do 15 sprints (15 seconds each) with 45 seconds active recovery. Finish with a 5-minute cooldown jog.
In your 40s
Your 40s mark the decade when you shift to caring for your body in the gym, instead of punishing it. Your joints need sustained attention. Your nerve fibers are losing their effectiveness, which diminishes coordination. Your heart beats more slowly, cutting down the bloodflow that delivers nutrients to and removes waste from joints and muscles. And you're losing about 0.5 percent of your muscle mass a year. To reverse these processes and stretch peak performance, your workouts now emphasize flexibility.
Roll Out Your Kinks
Every workout you do should now start with 10 minutes of targeted self-massage using a foam roller. Like a steamroller smoothing out a road, this device alleviates knots and tangles that constrict bloodflow and hinder elasticity in your muscle tissue.
Place your body on the foam and roll up and down for 10 to 15 seconds on the muscles you're targeting. Rollers are especially useful for soothing back pain, stretching tight hamstrings, and relieving shoulder tension.
Stuff Your Face
Men in their 40s should try to eat 10 servings of fruit and vegetables daily. They need the antioxidant protection, and it's a proven way to stay lean. If 10 seems too hard, try 7. It is advises trying to hit 7 different food colors to provide a wide shield of protection from heart disease and common forms of cancer. To help you hit your quota, including produce with every meal and eating it first, because the fiber will satisfy hunger. Also, try making all your snacks vegetables and/or fruit.
Be a Little SelfishYou deserve it. Inhale and focus on yourself. Yoga is especially beneficial for men in their 40s, because that's when flexibility declines more. Doing yoga can improve flexibility, relieve back pain, and reduce stress. Practicing yoga can also help your body maintain its antioxidant levels, which deplete when you’re run down.
Extend Your RangeYour new focus on flexibility is actually a three-pronged effort that also encompasses building mobility and honing balance. Workouts that include a strength-training component: full-body, complete range-of-motion exercises that stress your muscles enough to build or maintain mass but not enough to burden your joints.
In your 50s and beyond
A certain urgency permeates your workouts now: You still want to look good, but you're also training to stay alive. Exercising regularly is your strongest medicine. Physical activity may be the most effective prescription physicians can dispense for the purposes of promoting successful aging.
The evidence keeps accumulating: Exercise protects your heart, relaxes your arteries, makes your erections harder, builds muscle, strengthens your bones, fights cancer, boosts your immune system, and perhaps most inspiring, it's one of the best ways to rewire your brain.
Recharge Your Brain
Adults who devoted 4 days a week to an hour of moderate aerobic exercise (running, stair climbing, or riding a stationary bike) had more bloodflow in their dentate gyrus, the area of the brain where memories are formed. Increased bloodflow may signal the growth of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis. It's also possible, that exercise stimulates the release of a growth factor in the brain tied to neurogenesis.
Relax Your Arteries
Regular aerobic exercise can delay and may even reverse aging in your arteries. Exercise boosts your heart rate, which increases bloodflow. A better bloodflow creates more friction on the blood vessels' inner lining (a.k.a. the endothelial layer), which, in turn, stimulates the production of nitric oxide. This improves the ability of your arteries to dilate and confers other benefits as well, like reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, protecting your arteries from developing disorders. Highintensity aerobic intervals appear to deliver greater endothelial benefits than steady-state aerobic training.
Fight Age with Muscle
After 50, the sedentary man's muscle loss speeds up and he then loses about 10 percent of his muscle mass every decade. This leads directly to osteoporosis. If you've been lifting weights, keep it up. If you haven't, start now—it's not too late. Your workout should also involve more balance moves to strengthen your feet, ankles, and core and to straighten your posture.
Have a Happy Workout !!
Roll Out Your Kinks
Every workout you do should now start with 10 minutes of targeted self-massage using a foam roller. Like a steamroller smoothing out a road, this device alleviates knots and tangles that constrict bloodflow and hinder elasticity in your muscle tissue.
Place your body on the foam and roll up and down for 10 to 15 seconds on the muscles you're targeting. Rollers are especially useful for soothing back pain, stretching tight hamstrings, and relieving shoulder tension.
Stuff Your Face
Men in their 40s should try to eat 10 servings of fruit and vegetables daily. They need the antioxidant protection, and it's a proven way to stay lean. If 10 seems too hard, try 7. It is advises trying to hit 7 different food colors to provide a wide shield of protection from heart disease and common forms of cancer. To help you hit your quota, including produce with every meal and eating it first, because the fiber will satisfy hunger. Also, try making all your snacks vegetables and/or fruit.
Be a Little SelfishYou deserve it. Inhale and focus on yourself. Yoga is especially beneficial for men in their 40s, because that's when flexibility declines more. Doing yoga can improve flexibility, relieve back pain, and reduce stress. Practicing yoga can also help your body maintain its antioxidant levels, which deplete when you’re run down.
Extend Your RangeYour new focus on flexibility is actually a three-pronged effort that also encompasses building mobility and honing balance. Workouts that include a strength-training component: full-body, complete range-of-motion exercises that stress your muscles enough to build or maintain mass but not enough to burden your joints.
The 40s Workout: Flexibility and Strength
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 15 minutes
Strength: 25 minutes
Cardio: 20 minutes
Do this workout 3 days a week. Master your form before you add weight. The tempo is 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down. Do the strength and cardio part as a circuit: perform 1 set of each of the 6 exercises (resting 30 seconds between exercises), and rest 1 minute. Then repeat 2 more times.
FLEXIBILITY
Foam rolling: 10 minutes before stretching Kneeling hip flexor stretches: 10 Lateral squats: 10 W all hamstring stretches: 10 Doorway pec stretches: 10 B ridges: 3 (hold for 10 seconds each)
STRENGTH
Pushups (elevate your feet on a 12- inch-high bench): 3 sets of 10
Rear-foot elevated single-leg squats: 3 sets of 8 each leg
Inverted rows: 3 sets of 8 Split squats: 3 sets of 8 each leg
CORE
Planks: 3 reps (hold for 30 seconds each)
Side planks: 3 reps (hold for 10 to 30 seconds each side)
CARDIO
Alternate between running, rowing, and biking intervals. Start at a pace at which you can sustain a conversation for 5 minutes. Then do five 60-second sprints with 2 minutes active recovery.
Flexibility: 15 minutes
Strength: 25 minutes
Cardio: 20 minutes
Do this workout 3 days a week. Master your form before you add weight. The tempo is 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down. Do the strength and cardio part as a circuit: perform 1 set of each of the 6 exercises (resting 30 seconds between exercises), and rest 1 minute. Then repeat 2 more times.
FLEXIBILITY
Foam rolling: 10 minutes before stretching Kneeling hip flexor stretches: 10 Lateral squats: 10 W all hamstring stretches: 10 Doorway pec stretches: 10 B ridges: 3 (hold for 10 seconds each)
STRENGTH
Pushups (elevate your feet on a 12- inch-high bench): 3 sets of 10
Rear-foot elevated single-leg squats: 3 sets of 8 each leg
Inverted rows: 3 sets of 8 Split squats: 3 sets of 8 each leg
CORE
Planks: 3 reps (hold for 30 seconds each)
Side planks: 3 reps (hold for 10 to 30 seconds each side)
CARDIO
Alternate between running, rowing, and biking intervals. Start at a pace at which you can sustain a conversation for 5 minutes. Then do five 60-second sprints with 2 minutes active recovery.
In your 50s and beyond
A certain urgency permeates your workouts now: You still want to look good, but you're also training to stay alive. Exercising regularly is your strongest medicine. Physical activity may be the most effective prescription physicians can dispense for the purposes of promoting successful aging.
Recharge Your Brain
Adults who devoted 4 days a week to an hour of moderate aerobic exercise (running, stair climbing, or riding a stationary bike) had more bloodflow in their dentate gyrus, the area of the brain where memories are formed. Increased bloodflow may signal the growth of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis. It's also possible, that exercise stimulates the release of a growth factor in the brain tied to neurogenesis.
Relax Your Arteries
Regular aerobic exercise can delay and may even reverse aging in your arteries. Exercise boosts your heart rate, which increases bloodflow. A better bloodflow creates more friction on the blood vessels' inner lining (a.k.a. the endothelial layer), which, in turn, stimulates the production of nitric oxide. This improves the ability of your arteries to dilate and confers other benefits as well, like reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, protecting your arteries from developing disorders. Highintensity aerobic intervals appear to deliver greater endothelial benefits than steady-state aerobic training.
Fight Age with Muscle
After 50, the sedentary man's muscle loss speeds up and he then loses about 10 percent of his muscle mass every decade. This leads directly to osteoporosis. If you've been lifting weights, keep it up. If you haven't, start now—it's not too late. Your workout should also involve more balance moves to strengthen your feet, ankles, and core and to straighten your posture.
The 50s and Beyond Workout: Fitness and Mobility
Complete this workout 3 days a week, but do the flexibility training every day. The tempo is 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down. Do the strength and core part as a circuit: perform 1 set of each of the 6 exercises (resting 30 seconds between exercises), and rest 1 minute. Then repeat 2 more times.
SPLIT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE THIS
Flexibility: 20 minutes
Strength: 20 minutes
Cardio: 20 minutes
FLEXIBILITY
Foam rolling: 10 minutes
Kneeling hip flexor stretches: 10
Lateral squats: 10
Wall hamstring stretch: 10
Doorway pec stretches: 10
Bridges: three 10-second holds
Bosu-ball drills: progress to one leg
STRENGTH
Pushups: 3 sets of 10 to 20
Split squats: 3 sets of 12; add dumbbells when you master the form
Lunges: 3 sets of 12
Front pulldowns: 3 sets of 12
CORE
Planks: 3 reps; hold for 30 to 60 seconds
Side planks: 3 reps; hold for 10 seconds on each side
CARDIO
Alternate running, rowing, and bicycling intervals. Start with a 5-minute warmup; then do five 60-second sprints, with 2 minutes rest. Mix in steady-state days during which you just bicycle, row, or run for 20 minutes at a pace slower than 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Flexibility: 20 minutes
Strength: 20 minutes
Cardio: 20 minutes
FLEXIBILITY
Foam rolling: 10 minutes
Kneeling hip flexor stretches: 10
Lateral squats: 10
Wall hamstring stretch: 10
Doorway pec stretches: 10
Bridges: three 10-second holds
Bosu-ball drills: progress to one leg
STRENGTH
Pushups: 3 sets of 10 to 20
Split squats: 3 sets of 12; add dumbbells when you master the form
Lunges: 3 sets of 12
Front pulldowns: 3 sets of 12
CORE
Planks: 3 reps; hold for 30 to 60 seconds
Side planks: 3 reps; hold for 10 seconds on each side
CARDIO
Alternate running, rowing, and bicycling intervals. Start with a 5-minute warmup; then do five 60-second sprints, with 2 minutes rest. Mix in steady-state days during which you just bicycle, row, or run for 20 minutes at a pace slower than 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Have a Happy Workout !!
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