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What Happens to Fat Loss After 40
Once you reach your 40s, losing fat becomes more challenging due to decreasing levels of hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, as well as a decline in muscle mass. This often leads to an accumulation of fat, particularly around the midsection. Breaking free from this stubborn fat requires a combination of suitable exercises and a balanced diet. Many individuals in this age group struggle to shed the excess weight using methods that worked in their younger years, which is why they seek guidance. By the time they come to me for assistance, they have usually attempted various exercise routines like running, CrossFit, walking, and Pilates without success.
Upon enrolling in one of my programs, which focuses on strength training and consuming a protein-rich diet, clients experience notable changes within weeks. A common observation is a significant reduction in waist size, indicating effective fat loss in the midsection.
The Science Behind Fat Loss After 40
For individuals aged 40 and above, I recommend strength-based exercises to my clients, dispelling the misconception that weightlifting is solely for bodybuilders and addressing fears of gaining excessive muscle mass. Contrary to popular belief, weightlifting aids in fat burning. Rather than adding bulk, lifting weights aids in restoring lost muscle tissue due to the aging process. Muscle loss occurs at a rate of 1% per year after turning 40, contributing to a slower metabolism because muscles burn calories even at rest. By rebuilding lost muscle mass, fat burning is enhanced; the beauty of this approach lies in the continuous calorie burning by muscles even during periods of rest, including sleep. Effectively, the body transforms into a fat-burning machine.
A report published in Sports Medicine analyzed data from 58 research papers involving approximately 3,000 participants without prior weight training experience. The findings indicated that participants lost, on average, 1.4% of their total body fat solely through strength training.
Another study highlighted by the University of Kentucky found that resistance exercise influences fat cell metabolism at the molecular level. The research showed that muscles release extracellular vesicles after resistance exercise, which promotes lipolysis (fat breakdown) in adipose tissue, thereby aiding in fat loss.
These studies collectively show strength training not only enhances muscle and strength but also plays a significant role in increasing calorie burn and reducing body fat.
4 Exercises That Torch Fat After Age 40
The Squat
This is one of the greatest fat-burning exercises because it’s a compound movement that works for multiple muscle groups. Not just your legs and glutes but your core and inner thighs come in when you perform a squat with weight. It’s great for those over 40 as it’s going to improve your mobility, stability, and overall strength, too.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Toes should point slightly outward (about 10-15 degrees). Keep your chest up and engage your core.
- Inhale deeply and brace your core. Push your hips back as if sitting into a chair. Bend your knees and lower your body while keeping your chest lifted.
- Lower until your thighs are parallel to the ground (or as low as comfortable). Make sure your knees don’t extend past your toes.
- Push through your heels to stand up. Engage your glutes and core as you rise. Fully extend your hips at the top without leaning backward.
Modifications for beginners: If you have never performed a squat do it without weight to begin with. Then you can add weight by holding a dumbbell or a kettlebell in each hand or one on your front holding it close to your chest.
If you don’t have weight you can add in a glute band around your thighs or above your knees to give you extra resistance.
If you workout at the gym you can do this by holding a barbell across your upper back, just below the base of your neck.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Not keeping your knees in line with your toes (don’t let them cave inward) or extending your knees past your toes
- Rounding or arching your back – keep it straight!
- Not keeping your heels on the ground.
The Push-Up (Press-Up)
Everyone over 40 should include push-ups (also known as press-ups) in their exercise routine. Why? We think of a push-up as working your chest, but it also works your back, core, and even your legs. If you’re over 40, you should be incorporating body weight exercises, and there is nothing better than the military push-up. They are great for your overall fitness, burning calories, and increasing your mobility. Everyone can do a push up, even if it’s a modified version on your knees. My female clients who haven’t been able to do a full push up ever in their life gradually learn to do this by starting on their knees. It doesn’t matter what size or shape you are – most people can do the modified version, and if you can’t do push-ups on your knees, try it with your hands on a coffee table or even against the wall standing.
How to do it:
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the ground. Extend your legs straight behind you with feet together or slightly apart.
- Tighten your abs, glutes, and legs to maintain stability. Keep your neck neutral by looking slightly ahead, not down.
- Inhale and bend your elbows at a 45-degree angle as you lower. Lower your chest until it almost touches the floor. Keep your elbows close to your body.
- Exhale and press through your palms to straighten your arms. Keep your core engaged. Fully extend your arms at the top without locking elbows.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Not going all the way until your chest almost touches the ground. If you can’t do this do it on your knees until you can
- Flaring your elbows outwards
- Sagging hips
The Deadlift
Deadlifts can give you a killer physique. This is a HUGE compound lift that will burn calories during the lift but for hours after because of all the muscles you have worked. Deadlifts primarily work what’s called your ‘posterior chain’, which is your glutes, legs, and back, and the secondary muscles are your core forearms, shoulders, and back. You will even improve your grip strength which is vital for over 40s longevity.
Some women can fear the deadlift because they are worried about hurting their back. But if you are doing the correct form, you will not hurt your back. You need to perform the lift using your legs – not pulling from your back and shoulders.
For people starting out you can use a resistance band instead of dumbbells or a barbell. You can anchor a round resistance band around your feet and hold the other end with your hands by your ankles.
Or do it with light dumbbells when you are first starting out. When I started doing these, I performed them with a light bar of 22 pounds or 10 kilos.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes slightly pointed out. The barbell should be over your midfoot, or if you’re using dumbbells, hold them by your ankles, about an inch from your shins. Grip the bar or dumbbells just outside your legs using an overhand or mixed grip.
- Engage your core and lats, keeping your back neutral. Hinge at your hips and bend your knees until your shins lightly touch the bar. Keep your chest up and shoulders slightly in front of the bar or dumbbells.
- Lift the Bar or dumbbells. Push through your heels and extend your hips and knees simultaneously. Keep the bar or dumbbells close to your body as you lift. Fully extend your hips at the top, squeezing your glutes.
- Lower the Bar. Hinge at your hips first, then bend your knees as the bar passes them. Maintain control and keep your back neutral while lowering.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Arching your back – keep it neutral
- Leaning back or extending too much at the top of the movement
- Pulling from your arms and shoulders – the movement and strength should come from your legs
Kettlebell or Dumbbell Swing
The kettlebell swing is not just a strength exercise. In fact, for my clients, I categorize this as a high-intensity exercise. The kettlebell swing boosts metabolism and burns calories quickly due to its explosive movement. Not only that, the swing works your glutes, hamstrings, core, shoulders, and back – all in one movement. For beginners, use a light weight, which doesn’t have to be a kettlebell – you can use a dumbbell, too. Focus on your form, and as you improve, take the weight higher.
I love to include this as a circuit in my cardio workout or at the end of a strength training workout to add some cardio into the mix.
How to do it:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out. Place the kettlebell (or dumbbell about a foot in front of you on the floor. Hinge at your hips and slightly bend your knees to reach for the kettlebell.
- Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands, keeping a firm grip. Maintain a neutral spine, engage your core, and keep your shoulders pulled back
- Lift the kettlebell off the ground and swing it back between your legs. Keep your chest lifted and hinge at the hips, allowing the kettlebell to go behind you.
- Drive through your heels and thrust your hips forward explosively. Use your glutes and core to propel the kettlebell upward. Let the kettlebell swing up to chest height (Russian swing) or overhead (American swing).
- Allow the kettlebell to naturally descend as you hinge at the hips again. Guide it back between your legs while maintaining a strong core.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Raising the kettlebell with your shoulders rather than generating power from your hips
- Allowing your back to round, putting strain on your lower spine
- Letting your stomach relax, which can cause back strain.
How to Add These Exercises to Your Routine
These exercises can easily fit into your routine whether you work at home or the gym. For your squats, push-ups, and deadlifts, you can do these once or twice a week as part of a strength training workout routine. You should always do your strength training first if you are doing any cardio, and your squat and deadlift can be incorporated into a full-body workout or an upper-body day. Press-ups can be added in as a part of an upper-body or full-body workout.
Kettlebell swings can be included in your cardio high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, which is how I include them in my Body By Bikini app for women over 40. Or you could add them in at the end of your strength workout as a cardio ‘finisher.’
With any of these exercises, you can perform them for around 5 to 10 mins, including the rest between sets. If you’re starting out, I would recommend 3 sets of 10 reps, but as you improve, you should be increasing the number of reps or sets and increasing the weight. Once you get more advanced you can increase the volume to 5 sets. I even have my clients doing 10 sets of 10 squats, which is known as German Volume Training – this can be very transformative in getting incredible results in a short space of time. But it is challenging and definitely not for the faint-hearted!
What Results Can You Expect?
I tell my clients to experience great results, they should combine these exercises with good nutrition and ensure they get plenty of protein in. But please don’t skip carbs, they are not your enemy and carbs ensure you have enough energy to perform strength training effectively to get fat burning results. You can expect to see 1-3 inches lost around your waist in 4 weeks and in 8 weeks 5 to 15lbs lost on the scale.
Tips for Getting Started
If you are new to exercise or have been out of exercise a long time, start off with no weight, lightweight, or bands. Focus on your technique first and once you have that nailed, gradually start increasing the weight. Start off with 3 sets of 10 but as you improve, increase the number of sets and reps.
You can download my app at my website and use my free 7-day program for follow-along video guides, including these exercises and more.
About the author:Â Melissa Neill, CEO of Body By Bikini, has helped over 10,000 women transform their bodies through her fitness programs. Her YouTube Channel has had almost 40 million views and has 300,000 subscribers.
