TRAINING THROUGH THE DECADES

20s

So you’re young and fighting fit. Good for you. Not only are you looking and feeling great now, you’re also building a firm foundation to keep your body in great shape as you get older. Yep, there’s no stopping old Father Time – he’ll keep plodding along no matter how much Botox you squirt into your forehead. But if you’re consistent with your training and nutrition now and in the future, you’ll be staying one step ahead of him. See, we don’t stop training because we get old – we get old because we stop training. Right now, you’ve got testosterone roaring through your veins like a randy bull, so you can hoist lots of heavy stuff to build big muscle.

Muscle up

Run for it

30s

If you’ve been consistently active through your twenties, you’ll be grateful. While your metabolism might possibly start to slow a little, if you keep up your training you can continue to see gains. The only change you may notice? You might not be able to bounce back as quickly from a hard session – at the gym or at the pub.  

Rest and recovery

Get organised

40s

This is the time when you are going to start seeing some changes. “Your ability to adapt and lay down muscle fibres only slowly reduces from the mid twenties to the mid fifties, so you’re not going to see much change in your ability to build strength and muscle,” Dr Boutagy says. “The difference you will start to see is in connective tissue – that is you’re seeing more strains, more pulls, more tendon problems.”

Careful Consideration

Endure and Conquer

50s

So you’ve stayed active and you’ve been consistent with looking after your body and your health. Congrats. You’re going to hit 50 feeling – and looking – great. Of course, there are a few things that may need to adapt a little. “The big change in your 50s is the reorganisation of your training week,” Dr Boutagy says. “You need to emphasise weight training and downplay everything else. The vast majority of your training hours should be spent lifting weights – more so than other activities. Not to the exclusion of cardiovascular and flexibility training, but weight training should predominate.

Weight for it

Live long and prosper