BURNING QUESTIONS

Harley, Totnes

Is your metabolism over the hill after 40? Will you ever see your six-pack again? Our team of boffins weighs in

Don’t let yourself be discouraged by that little groan you make when you get out of bed – there’s no reason why you can’t outmuscle fat in middle age. But to tip the scales in your favour, you need to know what you’re up against.

When you hit your thirties, your body starts to selfsabotage: testosterone, progesterone and human growth hormone (HGH) begin their slow decline, causing a reduction in muscle mass that makes your metabolism stutter. By the time you reach 40, your T-levels are deteriorating at a rate of 1% each year, making muscle gain more difficult. Meanwhile, an enzyme in fatty tissue converts lingering testosterone into oestrogen, causing your waistline to expand, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol begin to rise. High cortisol levels stimulate muscle breakdown and cause fat to accumulate around your middle. In short: the middle-aged spread. “Cortisol levels are inversely related to testosterone, too,” explains sports scientist Harry Aitken. “The higher your stress, the lower your T.”

But there’s no need to resign yourself to a life of slippers and elasticated waistbands just yet. To get your hormones working for you again, start by revamping your diet. Diminishing testosterone slows down your basal metabolic rate – your daily calorie burn – so stoke your fat-burning by eating at regular times, rather than erratically or late at night.

Prioritise protein at each meal “to maximise muscle retention”, Aitken advises; meanwhile, leafy veg is a must to root out excess oestrogen.

The youthful bro split of chest day and legs day will no longer be optimal – and neither will the treadmill. Instead, prioritise functional full-body workouts, which activate “fast-twitch” muscle fibres, adding mass in all the right places. “Consider circuit-based exercise, which mixes heart rateescalating, full-body cardio with strength training,” suggests PT George Palmer. This provides a spike to your T-levels and boosts your metabolism. You’ll be torching fat long after Countdown is over.