Exercises for Men in Their Late 40s

Men tend to gain weight, especially belly fat, as their metabolism slows with age, putting them at risk of several chronic diseases. Exercise in middle age can set you on a better path for managing your weight and overall health as you get older. In your late 40s, age isn't an excuse for exercising less than any other adult. It's never too late to start, and continuing exercising into your 50s and beyond will continue to help you manage your weight and prevent disease.

  1. Benefits

    • Both men and women lose muscle mass with age, which slows the metabolism, resulting in weight gain. In men, much of the fat tends to get stored in the stomach, as a more dangerous type of fat called visceral fat that puts them at a higher risk of heart disease. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, regular exercise lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke. It also wards off colon cancer and diabetes, which are two preventable diseases that affect many men in old age.

    Aerobics

    • Aerobic exercise improves your cardiovascular health and burns calories. To avoid weight gain, you need to burn as many calories as you consume each day. Running is the fastest calorie-blaster, burning about 445 calories for a 185-pound man in just 30 minutes. If high-impact aerobics exercises such as running is too hard on your knees, do low-impact cardio exercises, such as water aerobics, swimming and cycling. Rowing is a low-impact exercise that burns 311 calories in 30 minutes.

    Strength Training

    • Strength training involves using weight resistance to build muscle. The more muscle mass you start out with before the onset of age-related muscle loss, the more muscle mass you'll be able to maintain. Do exercises for all your muscle groups in each strength-training workout, which may take up to 45 minutes. Mix up the exercises from workout to workout to challenge your muscles. Do exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once, such as squats and lunges, because they stimulate more production of fat-burning hormones. For the upper body, start with bench presses, dumbbell chest flyes, shoulder raises, lateral pull-downs, bicep curls, pushups and pullups. Aim to do 12 to 15 reps of each exercise. If it's a weight-lifting exercise, increase your weight amount once you can complete 15 reps in proper form.

    Yoga

    • Yoga improves your health at any age of adulthood simply by lowering your stress levels. It has many other benefits for men in their 40s, such as improving strength and balance. Yoga improves flexibility, which is important for keeping the same amount of mobility as you get older. According to Dr. Loren Fishman, yoga prevents bone loss and even causes you to gain bone mass. This can prevent bone fractures and breaks in case you fall or have another accident when you're older.

    Considerations

    • According to the American Heart Association, men in their 40s can maintain a healthy heart by getting a minimum of 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise, every week. Do two to three strength-training workouts each week. Warm up at the beginning of every workout with five to 10 minutes of light aerobic exercise such as walking or jogging. Cool down and stretch afterward to avoid pain and injury that can result from muscle tightness.