Getting older doesn’t have to derail your gains if you make smart choices with your diet and workouts. That’s according to a 46-year-old man who transformed his fitness.
Gerry Skehan, a communications professional based in Berlin, had always gone to the gym regularly, but working a desk job for more than a decade took a toll. He wasn’t seeing the same progress as in his 20s, despite working out just as hard.
“Since turning 40, I felt that it was natural that I would develop a dad bod,” he told Business Insider. “I wanted to look like someone who is exercising and I felt like I didn’t.”
While there’s nothing wrong with a dad bod, Skehan wanted to break through his fitness plateau.
In August 2024, he started working with Adam Enaz, a personal trainer and dietitian who specializes in fitness transformations.
In the half a year since, Skehan said, he has improved his strength and energy, seen more defined muscle, and lost fat. His routine involved keeping tabs on his calories, protein, and exercise weight and reps.
“Despite your age, you can really achieve at lot,” Skehan said. “Before I started, was feeling quite sluggish. This has rebooted me. I feel a lot more lively and spring out of bed in the morning.”
For fat loss, count calories and protein
Skehan said paying attention to his diet was the first step in burning fat and achieving better muscle definition, since he would previously overeat without realizing.
“It was more about being aware of what I’m consuming. In the past I had no idea how many calories I was having,” he said.
Since working with Enaz, he follows daily and weekly goals for protein and calories. While he mostly eats home-cooked meals, a flexible plan which means he still enjoys social events or an occassion indulgent day without getting off track overall.
“I’m able to go for a drink or go for dinner with friends as long as it fits the goal,” Skehan said. “Sometimes I don’t hit all the correct macros but at the end of the week it’s taken into account. It doesn’t feel like this obsessive thing. It’s pretty easy to stick to.”
A flexible approaching to dieting can make it easier to sustain over time, and consistency is more effective than maintaining a strict plan, dietitians previously told Business Insider.
Build strength and muscle by tracking workouts
Skehan’s current routine includes four to five sessions per week, with full-body workouts to hit each muscle group using exercises like lunges, squats, bench presses, and shoulder presses.
He uses combination of free weights and gym equipment like the Smith machine, which is like a barbell rack with rails and safety ledges so the bar can only move up or down. That provides more support and prevents the bar from swinging sideways or dropping.
The routine provides the best of both worlds in functional strength and muscle gains, according to his trainer. “Machine-based exercise is more stable so they can go heavier,” Enaz said.
To build muscle — and see the results quickly — it’s essential to consistently increase the weight or reps (known as progressive overload), Enaz said.
“It’s easy to see and track. In the past when I had trained, I didn’t feel like things were as precise,” Skehan said. “I actually look forward to it, it doesn’t feel like a burden.”
Stay spry with mobility exercise for better gains
A few minutes of stretching in each workout has made a big difference for Skehan in terms of how he feels and his exercise performance, too.
“Any time I don’t stretch, things tend to bother me,” he said.
Improving your mobility (especially as you get older) can help you avoid getting hurt, and also lead to more gains, since limitations in your movement can actually impair muscle growth, according to Enaz.
“People in their 20s, their bodies are more flexible and less prone to injury,” Enaz said. “Range of motion is really important.”
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