Say goodbye to the quarantine and quintessence of your forties with these tips from the best coach

Look in the mirror and what do you see? From the end of the 1930s, it is not uncommon for men to be confronted with a thickening waistline, "scarves" and a belly.

Fighting the spread between ages and decreasing fitness are the main concerns of many of my celebrities and my high-flying clients.

Yet my promise to them – and to you – is that it does not have to be that way.

I have been working as a personal trainer for 25 years and since then, attitudes towards fitness and aging have been dramatically changed.

Reaching his 40s once meant hanging up his coaches, but today it probably means investing in a new pair and working toward a new fitness goal.

I know from experience that it's not only possible to maintain your fitness as you get older, but also to improve it.

So what are you waiting for?

How to stay motivated

1. Who do you want to be? Instead of trying to answer the question "who am I?", Think about "who am I becoming?" Decide who you should be and become that character.
2. Prioritize yourself. Too many people do not do it. You deserve only the best and have the power to be unstoppable. Be sure to feed yourself, fall asleep and make yourself responsible for the process.
3. To be realistic. A huge goal may seem unattainable so stay focused by challenging yourself with small goals. With a series of small wins, your confidence and motivation can be increased for months.

You are what you eat

Your diet influences not only your weight, but also your health and vitality.

Eating nutritious and stimulating foods for hormones will not only help nourish your body with what it needs, but you will not be hungry either.

Losing fat, developing muscles

This can be achieved by eating a lean and balanced diet based on high quality proteins, such as meat and fish, and low GI carbohydrates.

Your daily diet should include many green vegetables, including kale, broccoli and watercress, which are rich in antioxidant vitamins.

In addition to this, eat plenty of foods rich in vitamin K, a natural boost of testosterone, such as Brussels sprouts, spinach and prunes.

Do not forget the fiber

Fiber is a crucial part of our diet that most people can not get enough of. It nourishes healthy bacteria from the intestines and is essential for better digestion. Experts recommend 30g a day, but on average, British men only have 20g a day. So increase your intake by preparing your diet with high fiber foods such as nuts, beans, legumes and whole grains.

Fast forward

Fasting is good for weight loss, stimulates the production of hormones and gives a rest to your digestive system. I recommend 16: 8 fasting two days a week.

This mild form of intermittent fasting means that you fast for 16 hours and have an eight-hour consumption window, during which you consume 700 to 800 calories.

Most people find that it's easier to fast at night – for example, stop eating at 4 pm and have breakfast at 8 am the next morning. A day of fasting could include:

Breakfast: Porridge with 2 tablespoons oats and a handful of berries.

Breakfast: 150g chicken, mixed
salad made with 80g of lettuce, 100g of kale or spinach and 100g of two others
raw vegetables, chopped or grated.

Having dinner: 150 g of white fish, mixed salad, as above.

Make sure to drink two liters of water each day when you are fasting.

And remember, successful fasting involves planning in advance and not cheating – it works, but only if you give it 100%.

Gift of GABA

GABA is a neurotransmitter that attenuates nerve activity in the brain and promotes deep relaxation.

You can take a supplement, but you can also increase your levels by eating foods rich in glutamate, which will naturally boost the production of GABA.

Eggs and poultry, cheese, ripe tomatoes and mushrooms are good sources. Fermented foods are also good because they contain beneficial bacteria that increase the production of GABA.

Fast track to fitness

True fitness is the balance of strength, mobility, endurance, stamina and stability.

Forget long HIIT cardio sessions and intensive workouts – both can kill you when you're 40 or older and even cause injury.

Instead, follow the tips below, but remember to consult your doctor before starting a new exercise or diet.

Warm up and stretch

Before starting any workout, be sure to warm up to activate the muscles you are about to use. After a workout, take the time to stretch yourself properly.

Stretching your muscles when they are hot will not only improve your flexibility, but will also improve your recovery process. Even on days when you're not exercising, gentle stretching will make your mobility and posture easier.

Weight and see

Concentrate on bodybuilding, which strengthens muscles, strengthens bones and improves the body's body by bringing the body to produce more testosterone and HGH.

Make sure the weights you use are heavy enough – too light will not stimulate the production of HGH.

By lifting weights, I tell my clients to focus on:

Power: When you lift a weight, there are positive and negative parts of the
movement. The positive part is what moves the weight when you push, pull or lift it.

The negative is when you bring the weight back to its starting position. For example, in a bench press, the positive part is when you push the bar up and down when you lower the bar towards your chest. Concentrate on the positive aspect of each elevator and think about being able to.

rhythm: The speed of each lift is also important. The positive aspect of an elevator should take half the time of the negative appearance.

This explosion of power means that you will get fast results in terms of muscle, bone and hormonal benefits.

The love of cracking

Squats and lunges are excellent examples of compound movements – exercises involving large groups of muscles working together to create one big movement.

They are an essential part of any training program because they raise the heart rate, burn calories, improve muscle coordination and increase mobility.

Do not train too much

Long sessions of traditional cardio can accelerate aging. Pushing your body repeatedly to the extreme by training for marathons or other endurance feats can put it under more stress than it can withstand.

And that can interfere with testosterone production.

All about hormones

As men age, their hormone levels decline, affecting health, well-being, and fitness.

Men lose 1.5 to 2% of testosterone a year after age 30 and, at the same time, the production of human growth hormone (HGH) – which boosts protein production, helps the body burn fat and regulates blood sugar – slows down too.

The good news is that exercise and diet can stop hormonal decline – provided you follow the right approach.

Supercharge your sleep

Recovery is often overlooked as part of a fitness program, but it is extremely important, especially when you are over 40 years old. And the best recovery time is when you sleep.

When you consider that sleep is something we spend a third of our lives doing, we should be really good at it.

Yet, we sleep less than ever. Here are my tops that will help you sleep better.

Drink green tea

Green tea contains an amino acid that increases the happy hormone levels that are serotonin and dopamine and reduces mental and physical stress.

However, it contains caffeine, so if you are sensitive to its effects, avoid it before bedtime.

Detox your room

Make sure your bedroom is suitable for sleep. Eliminate smartphones and tablets to prevent the blue light that they emit does not stop you from sleeping.

Make sure the room is calm and dark and that the right temperature allows you to sleep, between 16 and 18 ° C is considered optimal.

• Excerpted by Matt Roberts' Mernie Gilmore, Younger, Tighter and Stronger: The Revolutionary Men's Fitness Plan, lasting for 8 weeks, (Bloomsbury Sport, £ 16.99), published April 18