Adults over 40 may not need to spend hours in the gym to maintain muscle, preserve mobility and stay strong.
uncertain
Adults → need → mobility
According to Los Angeles fitness entrepreneur Carl Daikeler, just 10 minutes of targeted resistance exercise each day can help preserve muscle, mobility and long-term function.
uncertain
minutes → accord → muscle
Daikeler, 63, who has spent 28 years leading BODi, the fitness brand formerly known as Beachbody, says his approach to exercise stems from a practical desire to stay healthy without having to be a dedicated fitness enthusiast.
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approach → spend → desire
"I don't like to eat healthy, I don't like to work out," Daikeler told Fox News Digital at the Strong New York conference in September.
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Daikeler → like → September
"I'm just constantly trying to figure out how I can hack my way without having to overturn my life to become one of these diehard health and fitness people, because I'm never going to become that.
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I → try → people
For adults looking to stay healthy in midlife, Daikeler recommends what he considers a "minimum effective dose" — short, targeted resistance workouts at home instead of lengthy gym sessions.
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he → look → sessions
"Ten minutes a day, and you can establish and build and maintain muscle," he said.
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he → establish → muscle
Federal physical activity guidelines say that adults should perform muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups at least two days per week, in addition to regular aerobic activity.
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adults → say → activity
Rather than doing a full-body workout every day, Daikeler recommends rotating muscle groups — focusing on the chest one day, upper body the next, then legs and glutes — to build consistency without requiring lengthy gym sessions.
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Daikeler → do → sessions
"Ten minutes a day, and you can establish and build and maintain muscle.
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you → establish → muscle
"
"Do that consistently, and you're going to find your strength return, your muscles return, your joints will start to respond appropriately," he said.
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he → do → that
The 10-minute approach can be especially valuable for people taking GLP-1 medications, who may be trying to preserve muscle mass and bone density while losing weight but may feel intimidated by traditional gyms, Daikeler said.
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Daikeler → take → gyms
For individuals seeking more significant weight loss, he recommends extending daily activity to 20 or 30 minutes, incorporating a balance of strength training and cardiovascular exercise.
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he → seek → training
The balancing act
Daikeler cautioned against focusing exclusively on either cardio or resistance training, noting that different exercise types serve distinct functions in the body.
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types → caution → body
"Your body's like a furnace," Daikeler said.
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Daikeler → say → furnace
So you want to build muscle.
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you → want → muscle
But then you want to stoke that coal, and that's cardio.
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that → want → coal
So, you need a balance of both things.
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you → need → things
"
While resistance training builds muscle and strengthens bones and connective tissue, cardiovascular exercise challenges the heart and lungs, helping to maintain overall fitness, he said.
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he → build → fitness
Shifting focus to function
As adults age, Daikeler says the primary motivation for maintaining physical activity should shift away from aesthetic goals and toward functional mobility and independence.
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motivation → shift → mobility
Reflecting on his personal experience visiting his father in an assisted living facility, Daikeler observed how residents struggled with basic movement and balance.
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residents → reflect → movement
Many residents relied on walkers and canes, and often stopped walking before talking to one another because they feared tripping over cracks in the pavement, he recalled.
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he → rely → pavement
"This is no longer about my abs," Daikeler added.
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Daikeler → add → abs
"I need to work out in order to be able to walk and talk at the same time into my 90s ...
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I → need → 90s
"
Maintaining healthy physical habits means accepting daily short-term discomfort to protect long-term independence, Daikeler noted.
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Daikeler → maintain → independence
"If I do 20 minutes of discomfort, the rest of the day is awesome," he said, adding that the goal is to consistently incorporate resistance training, cardio and flexibility work into a daily routine.
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goal → do → routine
The Aporia
