Mid-life fitness: Yes, you can still get abs in your 50s

"Most of the men we see advertising underpants, fragrances and sportswear are in their 20s and 30s, creating the mistaken impression that decline is inevitable." Photo / Anastase Maragos

Watching 51-year-old Fred Sirieix work out in the jungle [in UK reality show I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!] alongside a much younger man and look every bit as statuesque, lean and athletic filled me with (entirely wholesome) joy. As an exercise fanatic about to turn 60, I know just how adaptable an older body can be, but most of the men we see advertising underpants, fragrances and sportswear are in their 20s and 30s, creating the mistaken impression that decline is inevitable, and fitness is reserved for the young.

Matt Roberts, personal trainer to many celebrities and older men, knows just how good someone in their 50s can look if they exercise intelligently. “You haven’t got to change much from your 20s and 30s, if you have the mindset that if you gain weight you can lose it, if you have got out of shape you can gain that back. If you are in the shape you were in when you were 20 or 30, you don’t have to lose that. There may need to be a few minor tweaks to your programme, but not many.”

What is exciting, as we grow older, is the discovery that we’re a lot more robust and capable than many of the middle-aged stereotypes give us credit for. I’ve exercised consistently since I was 17 and find I’m still able to lift, sprint and remain in almost exactly the same shape I was in my “prime”. If I wanted to pull on the jeans I wore in 1986, I could do so without difficulty. (I wouldn’t, the Eighties were a dark time for men’s fashion.)

The key for me has been to move in some way every day. Exercise is sewn into the fabric of my life, like brushing my teeth or eating. The question is only what kind of movement shall I do – there are no days when the possibility of missing it even crosses my mind. I rarely train for more than half an hour (unless it’s a long mental-health run) and I always make at least part of my session feel like I’m working hard. My guide is the scrunched face. Every session needs at least one moment when I look like someone is making me chew on lemons.

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Sirieix has talked in the past about his approach to exercise and it’s clearly embedded in his life. Typically for someone very busy, he is often away from a gym and travelling, and so he relies primarily on bodyweight exercises, often finding himself in hotels (and jungles).

He is on record as being a devotee of the legendary White House chef Andre Rush. Rush famously performs a daily 2222 press-ups in memory of the 22 military veterans who die by suicide on average every day. Rush, like Sirieix, is as devoted to his exercise as he is to his food. The man who runs the banquets for dignitaries visiting the President served 23 years in the US Army and is built like someone who would need a specially widened tank.

Sirieix, inspired by Chef Rush, performs multiple repetitions using only his own body weight. In a Men’s Health interview, he said while on the road he does 300 push-ups – 30 every minute for 10 minutes. He then does bodyweight squats, also 30 every minute for five minutes. Next he does some shadow boxing with two 2kg dumbbells – these are very small and portable (and could easily be replaced by water bottles if you don’t have any).

He is already very athletic in appearance, and can preserve his general shape without needing to lift heavy weights – although when at home he performs a lot of boxing training and picks up some more challenging loads.

Matt Roberts sees the benefits of long endurance workouts, but for someone hoping to lose fat and gain muscle in their 50s, he suggests bigger weights could really help.

“Endurance maintains muscle structure. If you want to build muscle mass, a lot of guys who are in that post-50 category may find it hard to build muscle size that way, but it can maintain what you’ve got. If someone wants to build up, they’ll need to be lifting a weight sufficiently demanding that they can only lift it for eight to 10 repetitions.”

Roberts’ clients looking to change their body composition to one with more muscle and less fat would typically be given a mix of workouts on alternating days – heavy one day and Sirieix-style endurance the following day.

The perfect week would look like this: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, heavy routines split between body parts, and on the intervening days high repetition sessions alongside high-intensity interval (HIIT) training. The rest of the week would be gentle cardio – a 45-minute bike or run at a pace where sentient conversation is still possible. All this, coupled with trimming some daily calories, should be enough to stimulate the body towards healthy change.

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Sudden unsustainable diets and exercise regimes are not only impossible to maintain but often unhealthy. One of the really cheering aspects of Sirieix’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity is that he doesn’t have a classic six-pack (neither do I). Except for a few genetic exceptions who distribute fat away from the stomach naturally, most of us would have to drop our body fat percentage to an unhealthily low point for our abs to be very visible.

Roberts says this is particularly relevant to older men. “There is definitely a point at which body fat can be too low. We know that for guys, super-low body fat can go hand in hand with difficulty in maintaining testosterone levels.”

Roberts says, from the images he’s seen, it looks as though the TV maȋtre d’ has the right kind of fat to be healthy. “It looks like the fat he’s got is subcutaneous, just under the skin, and that’s actually good, healthy fat, perfectly OK. We don’t want that bloated look around the stomach with the high level of visceral fat around the organs.”

For those just turning to exercise hoping to build muscle and lose fat, it genuinely isn’t too late. Lock in for the long haul, prepare to work hard and start by learning safe lifting techniques with the aid of a good trainer. Ensure you both account for any injuries and, once your guide is happy, start lifting and moving. The key is to remain focused on your long-term goal and measure progress as you go.

Samuel Quinn, personal training lead at Nuffield Health, says that constant monitoring creates a sense of momentum when change feels very slow to come. He measures small changes in the body composition of his clients, so they know they are advancing even if this isn’t obvious to the naked eye.

“There’s temptation at every turn with social events, different cravings and the element of convenience eating. And there is lots of conflicting advice out there – fasting, magic juice supplements. I recommend adopting a simple, stress-free approach – this makes what could seem impossible turn into a feeling of ‘Right, I can do this.’”

As a man who relishes exercise and is ceaselessly amazed by my six-decades-old body and its ability to move and remain capable, I applaud Sirieix and those who cast the show. Although not funded by a heart charity or the NHS, it’s possibly the most effective public information film we’ve seen for decades. If the Frenchman can inspire more men in their 50s to swap banana bread for a bench press, I for one would give him a medal – regardless of his ability to transport pig’s testicles.

Five tips to get a flat stomach

By Samuel Quinn, personal training lead at Nuffield Health

• Have a clear, long-term goal to aim for and consistently go for it, training single-mindedly towards your target.
• Count the calories you consume every day to maintain your current weight and shave off a small, attainable number.
• Focus meals on healthy protein, vegetables and carbohydrates. Have one (accounted for) less healthy meal every week for morale.
• When your body has adapted to your exercise regime, change it. This will relieve boredom and give you a fresh set of results.
• Lift heavy weights (once you’ve mastered the technique and dealt with injuries). Weights burn calories even after your workout has finished.