The Thirties

Life fills the thirties with transitions. It''s a time of incremental changes that, when the decade is over, you realize amount to an epic journey from carefree youth to high-stress adulthood. Girlfriends become wives, marriages produce children, jobs turn into careers, promotions deliver power. There hasn''t been much time to think about your body, but what the heck: Your twenties were just a few years back.

And that''s the dilemma of the thirtysomething man, this tendency (physically speaking) to look back, not ahead. Once you reach the middle years of this decade, however, there''s no escaping the fact that you have just as much in common with a 40-year-old as a 29-year-old.

Granted, there''s not much reason to start thinking like a 40-year-old at first. For much of your thirties, your body is not significantly different than it was in your twenties. But the imperceptible declines that occur with age start kicking in during this decade: Muscle mass, strength, aerobic capacity and metabolism (the rate at which the body burns fuel) all begin a shallow downward glide at about the same time. From here on, your overall physiologic function dips by about 1 percent a year.

The critical caveat to all this, however, is that declines are influenced to a huge extent by your level of activity. Look at the "Exercise and Age" chart. The top line shows how slowly the aerobic capacity of a fit man falls off over the years. The lower two lines, in contrast, show how fast the aerobic health of a less-active and a sedentary man decline with time.

With activity, "you''re still declining at 1 percent a year, but you''re at a much higher level," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., director of the exercise physiology lab and associate professor of health and physical education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Follow the top line down to the 100 percent mark and you''ll see that if you stay active, you won''t drop to the fitness level of the average 30-year-old for another 30 years.

Acting Your Age

The main challenges of the thirties, then, are a paradox. You want to (and can) maintain the physique of a college boy, but at the same time, you want to (and must) start adjusting to some limitations and liabilities. There are a few points to remember.

Reduce high-impact activity. "Back off just a bit," says Carol Espel, program director for The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers in New York City. "You''re still in good shape and shouldn''t stop doing high-impact exercise, but if you run three days a week, consider skipping it one day and replacing it with biking, swimming or stair-climbing." Think twice about participating in aggressive contact sports like football and soccer, unless you are already participating in them on a regular basis.

Be prepared. With all the responsibilities in your life, it''s common for your exercise plans to get derailed. As long as you later get back on track, that''s not a big problem—unless. Being young at heart, there''s a tendency to assume you can launch yourself at full throttle into any activity, even if your body isn''t up to speed. "I often see men who decide out of the blue to play an intense game of tennis," says Benjamin Gelfand, P.T., supervisor at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma in New York City. "If they''re not prepared for it and make a sudden cut to the sideline, they can tear a muscle and tendon."

Nobody''s saying you can''t play anything without training first; just don''t let your competitive urges propel you beyond your capabilities.

Pay attention to your body. When gauging your capabilities, how do you know where the line is? Your body will tell you. Pain, stiffness, soreness, a sense of holding back—these are the body''s dashboard lights. But the best early warning system won''t help if you ignore its signals. If ever you find yourself saying, "I''m not going to let that stop me," stopping may be exactly what you should be doing.

Make flexibility a priority. "Stiffness is one of the first signs of aging that you''ll notice," says Gelfand. That''s not surprising, since loss of flexibility starts earlier in life than other signs of aging—as early as your teens. Beyond that, Espel observes that stretching is the most often overlooked part of a man''s workout. Yet flexibility is crucial not only for preventing injury but also, because muscles build strength and endurance only in the range through which they move, for achieving all forms of fitness goals. Flexibility also becomes an issue in the thirties because you''re likely to be spending less time moving your body and more time chained to a desk. "That''s especially important when it comes to the back," Gelfand says, "because the forces on your back are greatest when you''re sitting."

The thing about flexibility is that you achieve it one joint at a time. "Your hamstrings can be flexible, but the rest of your body could still be tight," says Espel. In other words, you''ll need to devote more time to stretching. Here are some stretches to supplement those described in Flexibility on page 32.

The thirties workout differs from the twenties workout in that you''re easing off ultra-high-intensity aerobic exercise, which means your aerobic exercise will require slightly more time. To make up for lost minutes and make room for stretches, you''re doing only two sets in the weight workout instead of three (consider compensating by completing more reps in the sets you do), says Carol Espel, program director for The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers in New York City. You should still be able to keep your workouts to 60 minutes or less with this schedule.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday

* 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at 70 percent of your maximal heart rate

* 20 minutes of strength training using the Core Routine (two sets) on page 121

* 5 to 10 minutes of stretches

Tuesday and Thursday

* An easy workout of either the extra exercises described in the workout in the Twenties chapter or the stretches described in this chapter

Lower-Back Stretch

We torture the lower back all day, slouching in office chairs and hunkering over computers. Waking up lower-back muscles is a simple matter of assuming a position to which the spine is unaccustomed. Here''s one move you can do right in your office without looking like you''re rehearsing a bit from your secret life as a contortionist.

Lie on your back, bend your legs and tuck them in toward your chest. As you do this, place your hands on the backs of your upper thighs and gently pull them closer to your chest. Hold for 30 seconds. Remember to keep breathing throughout the stretch.

Seated Upper-Back Stretch

Sit cross-legged on the floor and interlock your fingers in front of you, palms facing away from your body. Straighten your arms, keeping your fingers locked, and roll back onto your hips while extending your arms forward, so that your back makes a C shape. Hold for 30 seconds; don''t hold your breath.

Seated Chest and Shoulder Stretch

Remain sitting, this time placing your hands behind your back. Interlock your fingers with your palms facing your back and slowly raise your arms toward the ceiling, back and away from the body as far as is comfortable. Keep your back straight. Hold for 30 seconds; again, keep breathing throughout the exercise.

Forward Neck Stretch

The neck is overworked and underappreciated. "Some men''s necks are so tight, they''re like rocks," Espel says. If that doesn''t strike you as a factor in physical performance, ask yourself if having a headache is: Stiffness in the neck is a leading cause of headache pain.

Sit upright in a chair and interlock your fingers behind your head. Gently press your head forward with your hands so that your chin moves toward your chest. Keep your arms relaxed. Stop when you feel a tug along your neck, and hold 30 seconds.

Now hold your head up straight again. Slowly let your head fall to the left side, with your left ear dropping toward your left shoulder, using your left hand to pull your head downward—but not too far. Relax the opposite shoulder. Don''t shrug. Hold 30 seconds, breathing throughout the exercise. Repeat on the other side.

Lying Hamstring Stretch

To stretch the muscles at the back of the upper leg without putting stress on the lower back (which many hamstring stretches do):

Lie on your back with your knees bent and both feet flat on the floor; then bring your right knee to your chest. Remember to breathe. You can hold this position for 30 seconds for a stretch of the hamstrings and lower back, or proceed to the next step.

Extend your right leg straight up toward the ceiling. For an extra stretch, you can use your hands to pull your extended leg back so that your raised foot is directly above your chest. If you can''t comfortably reach the extended leg, use a towel around your ankle. Hold both ends as you gently bring the extended leg toward your chest. Remember to keep your extended leg straight, but don''t lock your knee. Repeat with your other leg.

Calf Stretch

If you don''t have a step handy for the heel-drop calf stretch described in the Flexibility chapter, stand about three feet from a wall, with your toes pointed toward the baseboard. Step forward with your right foot, bending your right leg. Keep your left leg straight, with your left foot planted at its starting position. Placing your hands on the wall for support, lean forward as far as is comfortable. Be sure to keep your left heel on the floor. You should feel this stretch in your left calf. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat with the other leg. As you become more flexible, try standing farther away from the wall.

Seated Torso Twists

Sit on the floor with your left leg extended straight in front of you and your right leg bent, with your right foot positioned on the outside of your left knee. Keeping your back straight, place your right arm on the outside of your right knee. Twist your torso until you can touch the floor on the left side with your left fingertips. Turn your head so you are looking over your left shoulder and behind. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing the entire time, then repeat on the other side.

Modified Raised-Leg Crunches

In the Abs chapter we explained raised-leg crunches, in which you "crunch" while lying on your back with your legs propped up on a bench or chair.

As your abdominals become firmer, stronger and able to take on greater challenges, add difficulty to the raised-leg crunch by making the usual 90-degree angle of your extended legs shallower—to 80, 70 or even 60 degrees. "The lower the angle and the closer your feet move toward the floor, the harder it is," Espel says. To be sure you''re isolating your abdominals, however, keep the small of your back pressed to the floor at all times.