Health & Fitness
The Bad Habits Fit & Bulletproof Older Fellas Gave Up Long Ago
Thrive as you get older by doing likewise
Older guys (and I’m talking 40+ here, oldER) who are still in shape rarely have some ground-breaking Secret.
People are always disappointed when they ask how I’ve managed it in my late 40s, and then my explanation is super-dull and contains no Life Hacks or Wonder Supplements whatsoever.
And it’s not just that some older guys look in great shape.
Beneath the hood they are also pretty bulletproof — fit, mobile, tough and they rarely catch any cold/flu bug that’s going around. They’re looking after themselves well in general.
Success leaves clues, so here are the common, counter-productive habits I’ve seen older guys ditch for good in over 15 years of coaching them.
Getting rid of these habits results in them thriving, rather than just about surviving, as they get older.
#1 Leaning On Booze & Junk For Entertainment
My brother-in-law is 51 and loves his whiskey.
- Hard day at work — need a whiskey.
- Great day at work — let’s have a whiskey.
- Family celebration — yay, whiskey!
Same with late-night snacks and desserts — boredom, celebration, whatever, he’ll find a reason to indulge that seems logical in the moment.
It won’t surprise you that after a couple of decades of this, he’s pretty out of shape, weighs 300lbs, is on cholesterol medication, heart medication, and rarely exercises.
What is all the junk and whiskey doing to him?
- The alcohol is messing up his sleep, so his stress levels are high, his metabolism is slow, and his estrogen levels are increased, causing fat gain across his chest.
- The processed junk late at night stops his body burning any fat overnight, interrupts his sleep, and keeps his weight creeping up year on year, increasing his health risks and decreasing his mobility and fitness.
Older guys who still have relatively high Testosterone levels, well-oiled machine metabolisms and sky-high energy levels to allow them to stay in shape don’t necessarily say No to booze and junk food 24/7… but the devil is in the dose.
A couple of beers at the weekend is fine, catching up with friends is great and good for the soul.
But a couple of beers every night alone in front of the TV is a whole other kettle of fish. If booze and junk food are your go-to for entertainment, it’s time to change before it’s too late.
#2 Jumping On Every New Diet Going
It’s not just guys who over-indulge struggling to avoid weight-gain.
Plenty of men are technically On A Diet… they just get nowhere with their efforts, and continually stop and start new fat-loss ‘projects’.
I regularly hear from coaching clients about what diets they’ve tried that ultimately didn’t work, and at times I’ve never even heard of the diet. It’s usually a new spin on something that’s gone before, but this time with more avocado.
Ask any guy in his 40s, 50s or older what he does to stay slim, and I can practically guarantee his answer will start with:
“Well, I just…”
Then he’ll list a few staples he focuses on for breakfasts and lunches (fruit, vegetables, yogurt, oatmeal, lean meats, high protein wraps/sandwiches, eggs). Then he’ll say:
“Then for dinner we just have whatever, just a regular tasty but pretty healthy dinner”
Yes, he will occasionally indulge in junk, desserts, takeout, restaurant meals and enjoy them guilt-free, but most days his diet will sound pretty ordinary, based on the same core foods.
Whether it’s your maintenance diet or a fat-loss diet, if your approach has a snazzy name, it’s probably not going to work for you long-term.
Embrace some dullness and a Diet With No Name, and watch the fat slowly melt away.
#3 Program-Hopping In The Gym
As with diets, many older guys are trying to get in shape by working out, but it’s just not happening.
Belly stays where it is, arms still as skinny as before.
Whether it’s boredom, high expectations or a program that’s just too hardcore for them, men can struggle to stick with any approach for long enough to see or feel much progress.
Here’s how it goes:
- the first couple of weeks of a new program are exciting, you’re getting better at all the new exercises and moves, but then
- progress slows, and then
- progress stops so
- we get annoyed and start searching for a new program.
- And repeat.
By this point I think you can guess the answer from older guys who have built a workout habit and stayed in shape, when it comes to what their ‘secret’ is:
“Well, I just…”
Again, there will follow a list of staple exercises and activities he does week-in week-out, to retain (or even build more) muscle, and to get his heart rate up.
And there’ll probably be a few personal favorite exercises he does that he just enjoys for the hell of it (for me it’s preacher curls for biceps).
His workout approach won’t have a fancy name, it’s just what he does. And it’s what he’ll continue to do for as long as his body will let him, which will be a couple more decades at least.
As with diets, as you get older just stick to your workout staples, and feel free to add in some excitement here and there.
#4 Having Expectations From Their Healthy Habits
I run my own personal training facility here in Ireland. There are basically two types of personal trainer:
- “Lose X lbs of Fat and Build Y lbs of Muscle in 6 Weeks With My Super Duper Program”
- “I will help you get in shape and stay that way, but we need to do it in a way that ‘sticks’ for you, in and around your hectic life”.
I am the latter type. I could make a lot more money if I switched to the former approach, but it goes against everything I believe about getting in shape.
You see the problem with starting to exercise or going on a diet with expectations of a certain amount of progress by a certain date, means you are more likely to do dumb, unsustainable things just to hit that arbitrary target.
We need to have a good relationship with food and exercise in order for healthy eating and workout habits to stick.
Punishing ourselves with gruelling workouts and crazily-restrictive diets, telling ourselves we’ve been ‘bad’ and lazy, is not the way to go.
By having zero expectations from eating well and exercising, older fit guys don’t get flustered at any short-term lack of progress.
The only goal is to keep turning up each week and doing what’s been working, what they’ve managed to sneak into their busy lives that’s yielded such great results.
We Need Some Perspective to Stay In Shape
It’s really not rocket science, right?
It’s a case of doing the dull effective things over and over again, with a sprinkling of unnecessary-but-fun stuff (occasional booze, junk, random exercises) to keep things varied and interesting.
It’s not looking for shortcuts or being distracted by the latest Shiny Object diet or workout plan.
By committing to becoming Someone Who Just Works Out And Eats Healthily Most Of The Time, instead of aiming for a huge amount of progress in record time, we can make these habits stick well into our old age.
And soon, YOU can be the one explaining to your admirers, “Well, I just…”.
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