Many men have spent most of their early life trying to get into shape, but believe that when they hit 40, everything starts to go downhill. The reality is that you've got to work a bit more cleverly to ensure that you are maintaining fitness levels. While you may not be able to strive for greatness like athletes in their 20s would, there's a lot you can do to maintain and improve your strength and fitness levels after 40. These include the following:

Learning New Skills

One of the best things you can do is to challenge your body in different ways. If you're not able to find the right routine to fit into your life, you may want to find something that does offer a more intense level of work out but then you can take it off the gas for something else. A lot of people like to go boxing, but a lot of people enjoy mixing it up. This is why people join gyms such as Fitness 19 because of a wide variety of classes on offer. Skills like boxing or rugby are always a great way to ensure that you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. But when you are doing these things, make sure you prioritize the next point.

Focus on Recovery

A lot of people don't recover as much as they should. The reality is that if you want to be effective in strength conditioning or athleticism after the age of 40, how you recover is as important, if not more important than the exercise you put in. Some people haven't done effective workouts in the run-up to 40 so they have a big mountain to climb. You have to emphasize recovery, which can mean a wide range of recovery methods. It could mean using a massage gun, meditating, yoga, or foam rolling. But recovery is not effective unless you warm up and cool down. Ensuring that you prepare your body for a workout and then wind down effectively afterward is going to make a big difference in your muscles' abilities to recover. Good quality cooldowns involve stretching, which is fantastic for the muscles, and when done right, it can stimulate growth.

Do Not Neglect Your Nutrition

For men who are trying to get fit after 40 and have got a bigger mountain to climb, diet is one of the most important components to get right. If you are eating a healthy diet with a lot of different proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed stuff, you are probably okay. But you have to remember that after 40 you are more likely to lose muscle as you get older at an increasing rate. Therefore, adding a bit more protein to anything you eat can do a lot for your your abilities to recover and maintain your strength. It's not just about getting fit, but about ensuring that you are staying fit as you get older, which is why diet is vital.