Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Muscle Building After Your 40th Birthday

By Ricardo d Argence

They say that age is just a number, but when it comes to work outs and staying in shape that age factor is a definite factor in how you will approach your fitness regimen. Some people want to say that they are over 40 and they use their age as an excuse for not maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a regular workout routine.

Your age should not be used as a carte blanche permission slip not to exercise and stay fit. If you approach weight training, diet and work outs the correct way you can maintain a remarkably healthy and fit body for many years, regardless of your age. Weightlifting and bodybuilding routines can be used to increase bone density, lose weight, become healthier and more fit, and reshape your body.

It is well known that individuals who practive regular physical fitness tend to have a better outlook on life, and are balanced emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Exercise also causes the brain to release endorphins which increase happiness and the feeling of wellness.

When you are 40 years old and older you might want to make a couple of changes in your workout, but you do not have to be victim of the publicity about aging. With age, the muscles and joints become less supple, further necessitating appropriate amount of stretching and warm up before exercising.

A fifteen minute stretching and warm up period will help increase your suppleness, and lower the chance of sports injuries. Your muscles will be more conditioned the more you stretch properly and completely.

Next should come a 15 minute cardio session on a treadmill, an elliptical training machine, a stair stepper, or a stationary bike. You are not going for the gusto with this exercise, but you do want to get your heart rate up a little and you want to build upon the limbering and stretching that you just completed. This exercise will let your body know that you are serious about doing some work.

You will want to follow this warm up by doing reps with the correct weights, you should consider light weights for this workout, if in addition to this you are doing circuit training or a free weight routine you will not have the stress of heavy weights.

The pyramid system is preferred among numerous bodybuilders, this system involves performing more reps with less weight, and then as you increase the amount of weight, you start reducing the number of reps that you do. This method of weightlifting has great success for those who want to add muscle and bulk to their bodies. Focusing on proper form throughout the lift must be uppermost in your mind, even though doing so may require that you reduce the weight or the number of repetitions. This does not only reduce your risk of an injury, but it also maximizes your results.

You should be training with weights at least four days per week and each session should be no more than 30 to 45 minutes. One could repeat a cardio workout to wind down after lifting weight. This also give your heart and lungs strength. - 16083

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