Bodybuilding Tips, Training Your Body After Your 40th Birthday

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.

Age is not a sufficient excuse not to exercise and try to stay fit. When done correctly you can incorporate workouts, weight lifting and healthy diet in such a way that you remain healthy, fit and active for years and it does not matter how old you are when you start.

You may not know it but weight lifting or bodybuilding routines are good for more than simply building muscle mass. These regimens can also help you lose weight, increase bone thickness and give you a lean fit body. If you want to feel better about your body and life in overall, you should know that exercise will get you there.

Exercise also has depression busting ability. You see exercise releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins, which give you a feeling of well being and happiness.

Let's start with some basics, being over 40 means that you do need to make a few concessions in your workout routine, but it does not mean that you have to be a victim of false notions about aging.

As we get older, our muscles and joints are less limber and this means that adequate stretching and warm up prior to exercising is very important. A 15-minute time allotment that is devoted to necessary stretching and limbering up routines will benefit you by increasing flexibility, and decreasing the chance of muscle or joint sprain or damage. The more completely you stretch the better conditioned your muscles will become.

Next in line is a 15-minute cardiovascular workout. You can do this on an elliptical machine, stair stepper, treadmill or stationary bike. Do not approach this as a marathon, however you should get your heart rate sped up a bit and continue to build on the limbering you have just finished. This point of your routine is to get the blood flowing and put your body on notice that you are serious about getting some work done.

The next step should be to work out with light weights, if you are doing circuit training or a free weight routine, have a quick run through without the stress of heavy weights, and then follow this brief warm up by doing reps with the appropriate weights.

A pyramid system works wonders for many bodybuilders. This workout regimen begins with many reps with lightweights and decreasing the number of reps as you increase the weight. If you want to add bulk and muscle this is a sure fire way to do so.

One of the most important things to remember is to keep proper form with every move. It is better to cut back on the repetitions or weights than to have poor form. Keep the position of your body foremost in your mind. Proper form not only gives you the best results but also reduces the risk of injury.

Your session with weights should be kept to about 30-45 minutes and you will want to repeat your training at least four days every week. Once you have completed your weight training it is helpful to run another cardiovascular routine partly as a way to wind it all down but more so to strengthen your heart and lungs.