Maintaining peak fitness and strength as you age requires dedication and a strategic approach to training, nutrition, and lifestyle habits.

Former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink shares his personal approach to staying “jacked” after 40, offering practical advice on workouts, diet, and mindset shifts essential for aging well.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. The Importance of Consistent Exercise

Willink emphasizes the non-negotiable role of exercise, especially as you get older. While younger individuals might maintain fitness with minimal effort, aging bodies require regular movement to stay strong.

Prioritize Weight Training: Strength training is crucial for maintaining muscle mass, bone density, and overall strength. Willink suggests lifting weights regularly, incorporating compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups.

Include High-Intensity Training: Sprinting and explosive movements keep your cardiovascular system robust and help retain muscle fibers that are often lost with age.

Mix Martial Arts and Functional Movements: Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts not only build strength and endurance but also improve mobility, balance, and mental resilience.

2. Eat Smart, Not Less

Aging doesn’t mean you need to cut calories drastically. Willink shares his personal experience of maintaining his weight and muscle mass by continuing to eat a substantial amount while staying active. He stresses eating “cleaner” as you get older, meaning avoiding junk food and alcohol.

Avoid Processed Foods: Junk foods might taste good temporarily but leave you feeling sluggish. Willink compares eating a donut to a quick high followed by a crash, emphasizing the importance of strategic thinking about food choices.

High Protein Intake: Willink keeps his protein intake high to support muscle maintenance and recovery. He suggests focusing on lean meats, protein shakes, and whole foods rather than processed alternatives.

Stay Hydrated: Fasting recalibrates your taste buds, making even water taste better. Willink encourages fasting to help realign your body’s hunger cues and appreciate the basics.

3. Metabolism Doesn’t Have to Slow Down

Willink believes that the perception of a slower metabolism with age is often due to reduced activity levels rather than physiological changes. Research supports this, showing that metabolic rate primarily declines due to decreased movement. Willink’s consistent weight and eating habits demonstrate that staying active allows you to maintain your metabolism.

Move More, Eat More: Keeping the body’s energy demand high by eating and burning more calories can stoke the metabolic fire. It’s better to maintain a high intake and high activity level rather than restricting both.

Reassess Food and Activity Regularly: Willink shares how quickly his weight can fluctuate based on his training. Whether gaining or losing weight, small adjustments in food intake can have significant effects.

4. Train for Resilience, Not Just Performance

Training while fasting and operating under physical duress are principles Willink learned in the SEAL Teams. He compares fasting to wearing a “nutritional weight vest,” a method of training the body to perform well in less-than-ideal conditions, making it more resilient when food is available.

Adapt to Uncomfortable States: Training in a fasted state builds mental and physical resilience, recalibrating how the body uses energy. Willink often performs at his best during 36-hour fasts, feeling more focused and ready for challenges.

Reframe Hunger and Performance: Hunger doesn’t necessarily equate to weakness. Willink views fasting as a tool that enhances focus and cognitive clarity, even in physically demanding situations.

5. Strategic Thinking: Apply Military Discipline to Everyday Life

Willink advises applying long-term strategic thinking to all areas of life, especially fitness and nutrition. This means considering the long-term effects of daily decisions, such as skipping workouts or eating poorly.

Think Long-Term: Every workout or meal choice impacts your future. Avoid the short-term gratification of junk food or skipping exercise by focusing on how these choices affect your body over time.

Stay Conscious of Your Habits: Avoid operating on autopilot when it comes to food and fitness. A conscious, deliberate approach helps you align your actions with your health goals.

6. Adjust Sleep to Fit Your Lifestyle

Willink is a proponent of consistent sleep patterns rather than fixating on total hours. He emphasizes waking up at the same time each day, even if it means sacrificing a bit of sleep to maintain a routine, arguing that this consistency is key to regulating your body’s internal clock.

Create Sleep Pressure: Regular exercise increases your body’s need for rest. Willink finds that staying physically active helps him sleep deeper and better, even on fewer hours.

Consistency Over Perfection: Rather than aiming for an exact sleep duration every night, focus on going to bed and waking up at the same time to stabilize your body’s rhythm.

Conclusion

Staying fit and strong over 40 isn’t about complicated diets or excessive workouts. It’s about consistency, making smart choices, and applying discipline in all areas of your life. Willink’s straightforward approach offers a realistic roadmap: train regularly, eat wisely, and think strategically. Following these principles can help you stay “jacked” at any age.