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Adults over 40 may not need to spend hours at the gym to maintain muscles, maintain mobility and stay strong.
According to Los Angeles fitness entrepreneur Carl Daikeler, just 10 minutes of targeted resistance exercises each day can help preserve muscle, mobility and function long-term.
Daikeler, 63, who spent 28 years running BODi, the fitness brand formerly known as Beachbody, says his approach to exercise stems from a practical desire to stay healthy without having to be a fitness enthusiast.
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“I don’t like eating healthy, I don’t like working out,” Daikeler told Fox News Digital at the Strong New York conference in September. “I’m constantly trying to figure out how I can make my way without having to turn my life upside down to become one of those health and fitness enthusiasts, because I’m never going to be that.”
While resistance training builds muscle and strengthens bones and connective tissue, cardiovascular exercise engages the heart and lungs, helping to maintain overall fitness. (iStock)
For adults looking to stay healthy into their 40s, Daikeler recommends what he considers a “minimum effective dose”: short, focused resistance training sessions at home instead of long gym sessions.
“Ten minutes a day, and you can establish, grow and maintain muscle,” he said.
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Federal physical activity guidelines state that adults should engage in muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups at least two days per week, in addition to regular aerobic activity.
Rather than doing a full-body workout every day, Daikeler recommends rotating muscle groups — focusing on chest one day, upper body the next, then legs and glutes — to build consistency without requiring lengthy gym sessions.
“Ten minutes a day, and you can build, grow and maintain your muscles.”
“Do it regularly and you will get your strength back, your muscles, your joints will start to respond appropriately,” he said.
The 10-minute approach may be especially helpful for people taking GLP-1 medications, who are trying to preserve muscle mass and bone density while losing weight, but who may feel intimidated by traditional gyms, Daikeler said.
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For people wanting to lose weight more significantly, he recommends extending daily activity to 20 or 30 minutes, incorporating a balance of strength training and cardiovascular exercise.
The balancing exercise
Daikeler cautioned against focusing exclusively on cardio or resistance training, noting that different types of exercises serve distinct functions in the body.
“Your body is like a furnace,” Daikeler said. “The coal in this oven is muscle. So you want to build muscle. But then you want to fuel that coal, and that’s cardio. So you need a balance of the two things.”
Establishing a healthy routine requires accepting short-term daily physical discomfort to ensure long-term day-to-day comfort and mobility, the expert said. (iStock)
While resistance training builds muscle and strengthens bones and connective tissue, cardiovascular exercise engages the heart and lungs, helping to maintain overall fitness, he said.
Focus on function
As adults age, Daikeler says the primary motivation for maintaining physical activity should shift away from aesthetic goals and toward functional mobility and independence.
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Reflecting on his personal experience visiting his father in an assisted living facility, Daikeler observed how residents had difficulty with basic movement and balance.
Short daily resistance workouts can help adults over 40 maintain muscle, mobility and overall strength, the expert said. (iStock)
Many residents used walkers and canes and often stopped walking before talking to each other because they feared tripping over cracks in the sidewalk, he recalled.
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“It’s not about my abs anymore,” Daikeler added. “I need to train to be able to walk and talk at the same time until I’m 90… It’s no longer about aesthetics and vanity. It’s really about mobility.”
Maintaining healthy physical habits means accepting short-term daily discomfort to protect one’s independence in the long term, Daikeler noted.
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“If I do 20 minutes of discomfort, the rest of the day is great,” he said, adding that the goal is to consistently incorporate resistance training, cardio and flexibility work into a daily routine.
Gn Health
