Jumpstart Weight Loss In Your 40s With These Strength Exercises, Trainer

If you’re trying to get fit and start losing weight in your 40s, the first step is to adopt three good-for-you habits: eating a healthy diet, getting regular cardio, and strength training. Although cardio and aerobic exercise is great for your heart health and working on your general physical condition, prioritizing strength training is key to losing weight, especially when you hit your 40s and older. This is because as you age, your metabolism slows down and you lose lean mass every year if you do nothing to maintain it.

Lifting weights helps build muscle, raises your metabolism and burn more calories post-training compared to aerobic exercise. This is due to the effect of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Your body will require more energy to return to baseline after a strength session compared to cardio. So if you want lose fat and age gracefully into your 40s and beyond, focus on strength training.

When it comes to strength training, most of your exercises should include compound movements. They are the most profitable, they involve more muscle groups and burn more calories. If you’re just starting out and not sure what to do, I’ve got you covered. Here are some strength training exercises you can do to help jumpstart your weight loss goals. And then be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong, Toned Arms in 2022, Says a Trainer.

Trainer doing goblet squat exercise — Tim Liu, CSCS

Begin this move by holding a dumbbell vertically in front of your chest. Keeping your core tight, push your hips back and squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Drive through your heels and hips to come back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.

Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study

Grab the wide grip attachment on a seated row machine and place your feet firmly on the foot pad. Pull the handle out and then fully straighten your legs. Keep your chest up and drive your elbows toward your hips, squeezing your back and lats hard to finish. Straighten your arms fully and give your shoulder blades a good stretch before doing another rep. Do 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Chest press to increase visceral fat burning — Tim Liu, CSCS

Sit on your chest press machine with your arms on the handles. Keep your core engaged and press the weight forward until your arms are fully extended. Curl your chest and triceps to finish, then lower the weight back under control to the starting position before performing another rep. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.

For this exercise, you’ll hold a pair of dumbbells and take a long step back with one leg. Firmly plant your heel down, then lower yourself until your back knee touches the ground. Push through your front leg to come back up, then repeat on the other side. Do 3 sets of 10 reps for each leg.