The New Fit: How To Own Your Fitness Journey in Your 40s, 50s, and Beyond

by Aaron Leventhal

Break through the plateau and curate a meaningful, impactful fitness experience with this science-based approach to exercise and wellness over the age of 40. After 40, the average person loses 7% of lean muscle mass each decade, and performance can drop by up to 5% per year. No matter how much you love your movement practice— whether it's running, pilates, or spin classes— your body isn't responding like it used to in your 20s and 30s; you aren't getting leaner, faster or stronger. You are not alone. The truth is that as we age, we have different needs from our fitness practice, and fitness after 40 is anything but a one-size-fits-all proposition. It's about learning to curate the right plan for you based on individual factors and normative data. In The New Fit, fitness coach and former professional athlete Aaron Leventhal offers a clear path forward built on the concepts of connection, education, and progression. Leventhal breaks down popular myths from modern consumer fitness programs, while teaching the science, the reason, the "why" behind exercise. Based on best practices developed over more than 20 years in the fitness industry and anchored in the latest research on exercise and longevity, this timely book empowers readers of any age to take charge of their own wellness journey, discover their optimal program, and continue to make the adjustments needed to see results into the future.

Genres: Health, Self Help, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 7, 2025

Reviews

[Kyle Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

On balance, I really liked this! It was a really good book for somebody like me that has a little bit of an idea of what they’re doing with their fitness routine, but wants to figure out whether and how to tweak it upon heading into middle age. That said, I don’t necessarily feel like you could use this book by itself to craft an exercise program; instead it tends to steer you towards a conclusion that you should be working with a personal trainer. The feel of the book is in some sense one where I assume he gives new clients a copy of the book to read in order to understand his philosophy around mid-life exercise routines and then works with the client to cater a program to fit their individual goals. I also get the sense that the majority of his clientele are high-end athletes (which, as the fitness coach for Minnesota’s MLS team, makes sense), so there’s an element for me of trying to figure out how to hit a lot of his key points of emphasis while maintaining realistic expectations for how often I’ll actually be working out.

As far as strengths of the book, there are a lot of helpful nuggets in here about why it’s so important to get exercise in my 40s and 50s and how as I get older, I need to be more observant in terms of which exercises are producing results, what kind of activities get me motivated to actually follow through on my best-laid exercise plans, and what kind of diet sets me up for success in my workout program. He also repeatedly emphasizes that as we age, we should exercise with an eye towards injury prevention, moving with confidence, and longevity. For me, this was a helpful confirmation of the approach I’ve taken to fitness in the past few years in primarily wanting to set my body up to be able to stay active for many years to come and to try and have the foundation in place to avoid injury when I do something active (even passively active, like goofing around with the kids).

A couple of other points that I found helpful; one was his conviction in the benefit of foam rollers. I’ve been an occasional foam roller throughout life, but he mentions that “if you can’t roll on a foam roller pain-free, the tissue you are compressing is tight and unhealthy. This can be the source of injury or a leading indicator of future injury.” After reading that section, I did some foam rolling on an area of my hip that had been persistently bothering me and already felt significantly better the next day. Another helpful section was the one on sleep. He writes, “I tell everyone how important sleep is, so I’m embarrassed to admit that I was not taking care of myself, and my lack of sleep was affecting my mood, fitness, work, and relationships.” Sleep hygiene is a constant work in progress for me, but hearing the importance of it in another place and feeling connected in the struggle to bridge the gap between intention and execution helps to put that goal back into the forefront of my mind. The one other thing I struggle with and will try and think of ways to improve on is to have variety in my training. I tend to lift free weights and occasionally run, but think that mixing it up and trying to find other activities that bring me enjoyment will help in motivating me to continue to progress.

Speaking of progressing, the real gem of this book is his ‘fit score’ concept, which is a set of exercise assessments that help you gauge your fitness level relative to others of your age and sex who are healthy, strong, and fit. I really love it because the assessments test strength, flexibility, endurance, and again are focused on putting your body in a position to be able to handle and enjoy an active lifestyle rather than trying to win a competition or compare yourself against hardcore athletes. I also like his emphasis on designing a workout program that puts a premium on being able to measure progress and work towards goals, and the fit score is a nice tool in that toolbox to get a sense of how the progress I’m making in my fitness program is translating to my overall health.

The last third of the book walked through some case studies and then there were several appendices that discuss some exercise ideas for various scenarios. This didn’t resonate as much for me, and again felt like a pitch for hiring a personal trainer to help guide you through a program to meet your goals rather than guidance that would be tangibly beneficial in putting together your own fitness plan. But that’s just me! Skim that part if you feel like I did! The first two-thirds of the book more than made up for the weak back section.

[L K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not filled with wordy explanations or details. It is direct and to the point which I liked. I definitely appreciated that it wasn't long winded or "preachy".
This book didn't, for me personally, resonate much but that is due to the fact I have never been a part of a regular work out routine, diet regimen, etc. This book seems more geared towards people that are familiar with the basics. This is not the author's issue at all. Though not useful for me, I can see it being wonderful for others.

[Patricia Sutcliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has lots of useful workout tips and helps one understand the benefits of pushing oneself to the limits. I was not previously aware of the impact on hormones and how important it is to have short bursts of full power to achieve the release of hormones needed for better metabolism

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful book for fitness. Giving it a 4 out of 5 because of poor nutrition advice.

[JW · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worthwhile if you're starting out with exercise four decades in.

[Amit Talpade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book started out with promising ideas and I learned a few new thigs as well. However after the first few chapters the information felt recycled and tired.

[David Nee · Rating 4 out of 5]

covers a lot!

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

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