This article was created in partnership with Nugenix
In your 20s, prioritizing health and fitness isn't a difficult balance. But when it comes to the hierarchy of priorities in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, your physique often falls below your career and family in order of importance. It gets harder to maintain your fitness - even more so when you're trying to get back into shape after a break.
It doesn't help that building muscle becomes more difficult as we age and testosterone levels start to decline. Levels begin to drop when most men hit their late 30s or early 40s. From here, testosterone levels drop about 2 percent per year. But that doesn't mean you have to give up your physique — at least not without a fight. Sure, you're not 25 (or even 35) anymore, but you can still have bulging biceps, strong legs, and a huge chest.
"I'm a big proponent of doing compound exercises as much as possible," says Mark Mcilyar, a 57-year-old bodybuilder. "These movements have been shown to maximize a man's natural testosterone production, which is critical for men over 40 as we have much lower testosterone levels than we did 10 or 20 years ago."
How to train to increase testosterone
To naturally stimulate testosterone production, you should focus on exercises that recruit a significant amount of muscle mass. That means compound movements that hit the body's largest muscle groups (think glutes, legs, chest, and back).
te: If you're not that experienced with machines or weightlifting, you can still increase your testosterone levels with entry-level compound bodyweight exercises and freeweight movements, such as:
- squatting
- deadlift
- bench press
- the line
- pull-up or pull-up
- overhead press
- push up
Mix and match these moves to create a variety of home workouts. Perform three times a week on non-consecutive days. Do 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps with minimal rest between sets.
