Get Stronger
Building muscle and strength should be a key fitness goal for most men. Not only does being stronger make daily activities easier, but it also helps keep your metabolism higher as you age. Aim to do 2-4 strength training workouts per week, focusing on major muscle groups like the chest, back, shoulders, legs, and core. Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, and overhead presses are great for building overall strength. Progressively increase the weight, reps, and/or sets over time to continually challenge your muscles.
Improve Cardiovascular Health
Improving your cardiovascular fitness provides huge benefits for your overall health and longevity. Aim for 150+ minutes per week of moderate cardio exercises like brisk walking, jogging, cycling or swimming. Aerobic exercise – which elevates your heart rate – burns calories, reduces body fat, increases stamina, and maintains heart and lung health. If you have the time, doing more vigorous high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can further boost cardiovascular fitness. Just be sure to also do some longer steady-state cardio sessions.
Lose Body Fat/Get Lean
Weight loss and decline in body fat mass are often high-priority goals in the case of males above the age of 40. To torch fat, stick to strength training, cardio movements as well as adjustments to your diet. To shed one to two pounds per week, it is advised to maintain a moderate caloric reduction of about 500 calories per day. Take plenty of proteins such as lean meat, fish, eggs, and beans but avoid foods rich in sugars, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats. Be patient and stick with it, as noticeable fat loss can take 12+ weeks depending on your starting point. It will make you leaner in the long run if you stay with it.
Improve Mobility and Flexibility
As men get older, reduced mobility and flexibility can make workouts, sports, and even daily activities more difficult. Make improving mobility and flexibility a regular part of your fitness routine. Dynamic warm-up exercises, foam rolling, stretching, mobility drills, and yoga can all help increase your range of motion and make you less injury-prone. Concentrate on those parts of the body that often become sore such as the hips, legs, lower back, and shoulders. Consequently, spending only 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times a week on stretching/mobility can yield great rewards.
Master a Skill or Sport
Learning and improving at a new skill or sport you enjoy can be extremely rewarding. And it doubles as a great form of exercise too. Such physical activities like rock climbing, martial arts, surfing, basketball, tennis, soccer, etc., can easily raise your heartbeat rate while having fun and provide a unique muscular/coordination workout. Even simpler ones like jogging, cycling, and swimming have skill components you can continually refine. Setting goals related to a sport provides exciting milestones to prepare for. It also helps add variety to your normal routine.
Walk More Daily
Walking more each day should be among the easiest fitness goals to implement for most men, but it provides tremendous benefits. Simply striving to get 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, aid weight loss, enhance mood, and more. Getting a fitness tracker to monitor your daily activity can help motivate you to walk further. Make it a habit to take regular short walks during work breaks or after meals. Over time, the steps really add up to create positive change.
Posture and back disorders
Most men who do not observe proper sitting posture for several years are likely to experience lower back stiffness or pain. So, posture and back health should be a priority. Simple exercises like chin tucks, cat-cows stretches, lower back extensions and thoracic rotations can provide relief. Also, be diligent about sitting and standing with proper upright posture throughout the day. The muscles of your core will be toned and your overworked and aching back will be a thing of the past. Consider seeing a physical therapist or chiropractor too if you already have severe back issues. With time and consistency, you can retrain your posture for the better.
Thus, some of the great goals for fitness include gaining overall body strength, increasing cardiovascular fitness, reducing body fat, improving flexibility, acquiring new skills, increasing daily walking, and correcting posture among men. Select 2-3 goals that are in line with your goal and concentrate on it for at least 12 weeks. It is true when you write smart programs and maintain consistency, you’ll make great achievements. Just be patient and keep striving to improve a little further over time. The small wins will accumulate and add up to make awesome lifelong fitness a reality in your life.
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