Hitting your 40s is not the beginning of the end for your fitness – it’s the start of training smarter for a stronger, healthier, more adventurous life.
Many people over 40 still spend hours jogging or cycling in the hope of staying fit. While endurance exercise has its place, it’s no longer the best foundation for strength, mobility, or long-term wellbeing.
If you want to stay adventure-ready – whether that’s hiking mountains, paddling rivers, or keeping up with the kids (or grandkids) – you need a different approach. The three most powerful types of exercise for anyone over 40 are:
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Weights (aka Lift Heavy Sh*t – LHS)
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High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
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Plyometrics
Here’s why these three beat hours of steady-state endurance cardio, and how making these three exercises (combined with an adequate protein and controlled calorie intake) have helped me be well on my way to becoming fitter, stronger, and healthier than I was 20 years ago, maybe even ever!
Disclaimer: This content provides general health and nutrition information only. It is not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional before making dietary or exercise changes, especially regarding protein intake or fitness in midlife.
Table of Contents
Why Shift Away from Endurance Exercise After 40
Traditional endurance exercise – long runs, lengthy bike rides, endless hours on the treadmill – builds cardiovascular endurance but does little to prevent the natural loss of muscle mass, bone density, and power that accelerates after 40.
Muscle mass declines by 3–8% per decade after 30. Bone density also dips, and joint stability can waver. Too much endurance work without strength or power training can even speed up that loss.
By prioritising weights, HIIT, and plyometrics, you directly target the factors that matter most for healthy ageing and adventurous living:
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Preserving and building muscle
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Maintaining strong, resilient bones
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Supporting balance, agility, and reaction time
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Boosting metabolic health and hormone balance
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Keeping workouts time-efficient and interesting
While there is nothing wrong with continuing to do endurance exercise and if you enjoy it and it’s good for your mental health absolutely continue to participate. However, it’s important to prioritise these three exercise types into your overall weekly fitness and movement regime.
Best 3 Exercises for Fitness and Strength Over 40
1. Weights (Lift Heavy Sh*t – LHS)
Strength training is the cornerstone for over-40 fitness. It’s not just about aesthetics – it’s about maintaining the physical capacity to do the things you love.
Benefits for the Over-40 Body
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Muscle Preservation & Growth: Lifting heavy counters age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), helping you stay strong and mobile.
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Bone Density: Resistance exercises stimulate bone growth, reducing osteoporosis risk.
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Metabolism & Weight Management: More muscle burns more calories at rest.
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Joint Health & Posture: Strengthens supporting muscles, reducing aches and protecting joints.
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Confidence & Resilience: Feeling strong translates to more adventurous choices in life.
How to Get Started
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Focus on compound lifts – squats, deadlifts, presses, rows – that recruit multiple muscles.
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Train 2–3 times per week, with enough weight that the last 2–3 reps of each set feel challenging.
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Prioritise good form and gradual progression.
Tip: Strength is the foundation – when you’re strong, every hike, paddle, climb, or ski trip feels easier and more fun.
2. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT involves short bursts of high-effort work (20–60 seconds) followed by brief recovery periods. It’s time-efficient, adaptable, and proven to improve both cardio fitness and metabolic health.
Benefits for the Over-40 Body
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Heart & Lung Health: Improves cardiovascular endurance without long hours of steady cardio.
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Hormone Health: Boosts growth hormone and insulin sensitivity, helping regulate weight and energy.
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Time Efficiency: A 15-minute HIIT session can rival a 45-minute steady run.
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Adventure-Readiness: Enhances stamina for bursts of effort – think hill climbs, scrambling over rocks, or sprinting for that flight.
How to Get Started
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Choose low-impact but demanding moves: rowing, cycling, kettlebell swings, sled pushes, battle ropes, or body-weight circuits.
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Start with 1–2 sessions per week, e.g., 20 seconds of hard work + 40 seconds of rest for 8–10 rounds.
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Gradually increase work periods or intensity as fitness improves.
Safety Note: If you have existing health concerns, get clearance from your GP before starting vigorous training.
3. Plyometrics
Often overlooked, plyometric exercises train your body to produce power – the combination of strength and speed. This is crucial for active ageing because power declines even faster than strength. Plyometrics wakes up genes in the muscle cells that improve the integrity of your muscles and their contractile strength, response and reaction time, so you can build not just strength in your muscles, but flexibility too,
Benefits for the Over-40 Body
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Agility & Reaction Time: Helps you move quickly and safely on uneven terrain.
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Falls Prevention: Builds stability, coordination, and fast-twitch muscle response.
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Stronger Bones: Jumping and bounding stress the bones in a healthy way. Just like resistance training does for muscles, plyometrics creates micro damage to your bones which your body repairs and builds back stronger
- Improved insulin sensitivity: the fast velocity of plyrometrics instigates more glucose transporters to be activated which creates less reliance on insulin to transport glucose in your body.
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Adventure Performance: Essential for improving stability, balance and strength for navigating rough, uneven and steep terrain. It also helps to build more resilience and reduce risk of injury during adventure.
How to Get Started
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Begin with low-impact options: step-ups, jump-rope, medicine-ball slams, low box jumps.
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Prioritise good landing mechanics (soft knees, hips back) to protect joints.
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Include plyometrics once or twice per week after a thorough warm-up and before heavy strength work.
Note: if you have an injury that prevents you from jumping or you haven’t done plyometric exercises recently, speak with your physical therapist about a staged approach to plyometrics or alternatives that may include aquatic plyometrics to start with.
Why This Trio Outperforms Endurance Work
Focusing on LHS + HIIT + Plyometrics means you train for the realities of midlife adventure: lifting gear, climbing steps, carrying backpacks, reacting to uneven ground, and powering up hills.
Endurance exercise builds capacity for steady effort, but it does little for the muscle strength, joint stability, and explosive power that keep you capable and confident on adventures.
By replacing some of your long cardio sessions with this trio, you’ll:
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Retain muscle and bone mass
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Keep metabolism humming
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Reduce injury risk
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Boost confidence and capability for every trip, trek, and challenge ahead
Putting It All Together
A balanced over-40 adventure-ready week might look like:
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2–3 LHS sessions (e.g., full-body strength workouts)
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1–2 HIIT sessions (e.g., rowing, cycling, sled pushes)
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1–2 plyometric sessions (e.g., jump drills or medicine-ball slams)
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Optional: short hikes, mobility or yoga sessions for recovery and flexibility
Personally I have found, investing in a gym membership (like BFT – Body Fit Training) that runs functional classes daily (except Sundays – hello scheduled relax and recover day) that include a mix of these three exercises and is also programmed to work all the muscles in the body weekly, has been a game changer. These classes continue to challenge me to increase my strength, fitness and mobility. They are scheduled in a way that it’s been sustainable for me to attend daily without burnout or severe muscle fatigue and I’m definitely feeling the health, fitness and strength gains from consistency.
The Bottom Line
Getting older doesn’t mean slowing down – it means training smarter. Prioritising weights, HIIT, and plyometrics gives you the tools to stay lean, strong, powerful and adventurous well into your 50s, 60s, and beyond.
Skip the endless cardio. Instead, invest your workout time in exercises that build the strength, power, and resilience you need for a lifetime of exploration. Adventure is calling – and with the right training, you’ll be ready to answer.
Want to learn more about midlife fitness & nutrition?
The information source for this article comes from the book Next Level – by Dr Stacy Sims (PHD). Inside this book you will find science-backed advice about training, nutrition, sleep and recovery and supplements, as well as sample exercise routines, meal plans, macronutrient planning charts, and case studies from real women Stacy has coached through the transition of menopause.
For the men check out – “Muscle for Life” by Michael Matthews. This book reveals a science-based blueprint for eating and exercising that anyone can follow at any age and fitness level. Based on time-proven principles produced by decades of hands-on experience and thousands of hours of scientific research, Muscle for Life will give you a plan for transforming your body faster than you ever thought possible
Find more Health & Fitness information to keep you Always Adventure Ready here!
Disclaimer: This content provides general health and nutrition information only. It is not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional before making dietary or exercise changes, especially regarding protein intake or fitness in midlife.