Turning 30 or being in your 30’s is when you MAY notice things (your fitness and body) start to change. I mean you have a career, family, responsibilities. You’ve been around the block and aren’t really new to the game of life anymore; in fact, you may notice that you have a bit more stability.
Being in your 30’s is kind of cool, and a pretty fun time.
Now your body on the other hand… well, that seems to have started to slow down a bit. Those weekend binges don’t seem to be gone in just a few days; they seem to stick around longer. Your body doesn’t appear to recover as fast as it once did, aches are developing, posture changes, energy levels are done and not to mention that weight just seems to come on AND stay on.
Well, I guess it the trade off huh.
With all that said, 30 is supposed to be a cool time in your life, but that doesn’t mean that your body and fitness has to suffer. In fact, what you should notice is that being just a bit smarter we can still get the same, if not even better results that what you did in your 20’s.
Below are some tips for those in their 30’s wanting to look and feel better than they did in their 20s’.
1. Eat more protein
Protein matters, and as you get older and set in our ways with a career and our family, we will find that you will start UNDER-EATING the good stuff (protein, low glycemic carbs, and fats) and overeat the bad stuff (processed foods, sugars, etc…). When we make protein the cornerstone of a healthy diet, then you’ll notice not only a decrease in muscle lost (this happens faster than you want) but an increase in muscle mass.
Ideally, we recommend that most should aim for about .8-1g per pound of bodyweight.
Side note: This recommendation can change if you’re carrying over 20% BF for men and 30% BF for women and I would base this more on lean mass than total body weight.
2. Stretch your hip flexors, hamstrings, and chest daily
As you hit your 30’s all of a sudden things just tighten up. Low back pain becomes a ‘thing.’ Seriously, doesn’t that just make you feel older, also you’ll start walking a bit more rounded over on top.
This is due to being a desk jockey, with your knees bent and being rounded over a key board, it’s not uncommon to be in this position more than standing or walking for some.
The easy fix for this is just to take the time to stretch your chest and hip flexors out daily. It’s an insurance policy to make sure that you reduce the risk of getting hurt (then you’ll really feel old) and to making sure your moving well into your 40-50’s
3. Sprint
Maybe not necessarily SPRINT but doing bouts of high-intensity cardio or exercise can have a huge impact on body fat.
Being in your 20’s cardio was just something that maybe you did. Either on a machine or casual run with friends but NOW some effort needs to be put into it.
Don’t underestimate the benefits that high-intensity cardio can make to not only your health but your physique.
Side Note: if you’re looking for examples of this check this blog out below for different cardio ideas (HERE)
4. Get your hormones checked
Ahhhhh hell. Yep. Gotta start getting the hormones checked. Make an appointment with your GP and get a basic hormone panel. What you are looking for is deficiencies with key hormones such as testosterone, thyroid, and estrogen.
Men that are in their mid 30’s on especially get your testosterone checked; I can’t tell you how many times that the numbers were SCARY low. Also, explains why some men may seem over moody or may cry at a car insurance commercial. We call this MAN-o-pause.
Ladies, this goes for you too. Get your hormones checked AND (here is the important part) ask for a copy of the results so you can learn and research for yourself.
Hormone panels are subject to the GPs interpretation of what they consider low or optimal, and from working with multiple clients, I can say that the interpretation per GP is night and day. What some consider medically low, others consider fine. It’s silly.
So get a copy and do some research of your results and if you don’t like what the GP has to say seek out a second opinion or a physician that focuses on hormones only.
5. Time to count calories
Yeahhhhhh… calories do matter now. The days of eating a pizza and waking up looking fine are probably in the sunset by now.
You may notice that if you eat a pizza that it takes over a week for the body to get rid of it. Annoying, isn’t it?
You’ll want to start tracking your food if you’re serious about the fat loss, and you’ll want to start being aware of food quality. This doesn’t mean organic, but oatmeal over Twinkies is the idea.
Just start out using a basic food tracking app such as myfitnesspal and track for three days (make sure one of those days is on the weekend). This will give you a good idea of where you stand.
Side Note: If you want more info about this click HERE.
6. The technique is going to matter
The days of crappy form are over. When you’re in your 20’s, you can haphazard do a lift and still recover the next day to do it again. Ahhhh… the benefits of being younger lol.
If you want to maximize the workouts then FORM trumps weight. Let me repeat that, proper form trumps weight any day.
I’m not saying don’t go hard, but when you notice that your form falls below 80% of correctness, then it’s time then lighten up the load because you’ll also find out that in your 30’s injuries do happen a bit easier AND they take TWICE as long to recover from.
7. Cycle the sugar
Right off that bat, I’m not saying to follow a low carb diet, but a lower sugar diet is ideal.
As you get into your 30’s, you’ll find that your body doesn’t rebound quite as well from sugar overloads (think more than 75g of simple sugar a day) and especially if you’re not active the risk of getting diabetes is WAY up.
I’m sure you know of a few close friends of yours that have diabetes and as you can tell… NOT FUN. Make the habit now to start cutting the sugar intake down; you’ll find that not only will you feel better but you’ll notice a more steady, and stable, energy levels.
In Health and Awesomeness,
Travis Merritt, BS, CPT, (and other cool letters behind the name) is the Owner of Rowlett Transformation Center in Rowlett, TX.
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