Protocols / LONGEVITY

Healthy Ageing 40+

Stay strong, fit and steady after 40.

Ageing well comes down to things you can train. This protocol covers strength and power, VO2 max and easy cardio, how much protein older muscles need, a daily balance routine that cuts falls, bone loading, sleep, and the health checks worth doing after 40, with a weekly plan that puts it together. No pills, no promises of extra years.

€9 · one-time payment · instant PDF · by Anthony Falcone

What's included

  • Two strength sessions, gym or home
  • Easy cardio + one interval session a week
  • Protein targets for over-40s, per day and per meal
  • Daily 5-10 minute balance routine
  • Bone, sleep and health-check guide
  • 19 peer-reviewed references

Built for

More Energy · Peak Performance

Inside the PDF: 10 chapters

  1. Before You Start: Exercise is safe for most adults over 40 and recommended for nearly everyone. A few conditions need a doctor's OK first, and a few warning signs mean stop straight away. This guide is about what you do, not what you take: it recommends no drugs and no 'anti-ageing' supplements.
  2. What Matters After 40: No habit stops ageing, and no one can promise you extra years. What the research does show is that strong, fit people tend to stay healthy and independent for longer, and that strength and fitness can be trained at any age.
  3. Strength and Power: Muscle strength and the ability to move quickly (power) are what let you climb stairs, carry shopping and catch yourself when you trip. Both can be trained at any age, including by frail adults.
  4. Fitness: VO2 Max and Easy Cardio: VO2 max is the most oxygen your body can use during hard exercise: the best single measure of your fitness. It falls with age, but it improves with training at any age. Most of your cardio should be easy, with a little hard work on top.
  5. Protein After 40: Older muscles respond less to a small serving of protein than younger ones. Eating enough protein, spread over your meals, helps the training above do its job.
  6. Balance and Falls: Falls are one of the main reasons people lose their independence. The good news is that the right exercise clearly reduces them, and it takes only a few minutes a day.
  7. Bone: Bone gets weaker with age, especially in women after menopause. Bone responds to load: strength training and impact help keep it strong. Avoiding exercise does not protect weak bones.
  8. Sleep: Sleep is when your body recovers from training, and short sleep makes every other habit harder. Needs change a little with age, but not as much as people think.
  9. Health Checks Worth Doing: Most of the big health risks after 40 have no symptoms at first. A few simple checks, with your doctor and at home, show you where you stand and what to work on.
  10. Your Weekly Plan: Here is how it fits into a normal week. Move days around to suit you; keep at least one day between the two strength sessions.

Safety notes

  • Stop at once and get medical help if you feel chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or faintness, or a racing or irregular heartbeat. Stop the exercise (not the whole session) if you feel sharp or joint pain, and swap it for one that does not hurt.
  • Hard intervals raise your heart rate close to its maximum. Stop at once if you feel chest pain or pressure, dizziness, or an irregular heartbeat, and get medical help.
  • If you have severe kidney disease and are not on dialysis, do not raise your protein: European experts say these patients may need to limit it (Bauer et al., 2013). With any kidney disease, ask your doctor what is right for you.
  • Always do balance work next to something stable you can hold. If you have fallen recently, feel dizzy when you stand up, or are afraid of falling, ask your doctor or a physiotherapist for a falls assessment.
  • See your doctor if you snore loudly, someone has seen you stop breathing in your sleep, or you are very sleepy during the day: these can be signs of sleep apnoea, which needs treatment. Also see your doctor if poor sleep lasts for months.

References (19)

  1. Bull, F.C. et al. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451-1462. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
  2. Momma, H. et al. (2022). Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(13), 755-763. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
  3. Kodama, S. et al. (2009). Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Quantitative Predictor of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in Healthy Men and Women: A Meta-analysis. JAMA, 301(19), 2024-2035. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.681
  4. Mandsager, K. et al. (2018). Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing. JAMA Network Open, 1(6), e183605. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3605
  5. Fragala, M.S. et al. (2019). Resistance Training for Older Adults: Position Statement From the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(8), 2019-2052. doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230
  6. Helgerud, J. et al. (2007). Aerobic High-Intensity Intervals Improve VO2max More Than Moderate Training. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(4), 665-671. doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3180304570
  7. Milanovic, Z., Sporis, G. & Weston, M. (2015). Effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) and Continuous Endurance Training for VO2max Improvements: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials. Sports Medicine, 45(10), 1469-1481. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0365-0
  8. Bauer, J. et al. (2013). Evidence-Based Recommendations for Optimal Dietary Protein Intake in Older People: A Position Paper From the PROT-AGE Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 14(8), 542-559. doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021
  9. Deutz, N.E.P. et al. (2014). Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging: Recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group. Clinical Nutrition, 33(6), 929-936. doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2014.04.007
  10. Morton, R.W. et al. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376-384. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
  11. Moore, D.R. et al. (2015). Protein Ingestion to Stimulate Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Requires Greater Relative Protein Intakes in Healthy Older Versus Younger Men. The Journals of Gerontology Series A, 70(1), 57-62. doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glu103
  12. Sherrington, C. et al. (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019(1), CD012424. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2
  13. Watson, S.L. et al. (2018). High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 33(2), 211-220. doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284
  14. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (2015). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for calcium. EFSA Journal, 13(5), 4101. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4101
  15. EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (2023). Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D, including the derivation of a conversion factor for calcidiol monohydrate. EFSA Journal, 21(8), 8145. doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.8145
  16. Watson, N.F. et al. (2015). Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843-844. doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
  17. Hirshkowitz, M. et al. (2015). National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health, 1(1), 40-43. doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010
  18. Visseren, F.L.J. et al. (2021). 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. European Heart Journal, 42(34), 3227-3337. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab484
  19. Cruz-Jentoft, A.J. et al. (2019). Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age and Ageing, 48(1), 16-31. doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afy169

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General education, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before you start.