An article yesterday on Yahoo! featured Jada Pinkett Smith (Will Smith’s gorgeous wife) looking incredibly fit and toned in a bikini. The 40-year-old mom of three had posted this photo to her Twitter followers, tweeting “To my Forty and over crew! Don’t believe the hype…We DO get better with age!”
Jada’s message and her lifestyle are both inspiring and a good model for those of us busy women trying to balance work, taking care of ourselves AND taking care of a family! Even if you don’t yet have kids of your own, I think we’d all LOVE to look like Jada when we reach 40!
So how does Jada do it? Follow these tips to find time and energy keep fit after 40.
1. Eat for Energy
According to Jada, her mom was an awful cook…and like mother like daughter! Jada says that she was raised to believe that you eat because your body needs fuel. With Jada’s busy schedule, she has learned that she has to eat the right foods to keep her energy levels high throughout the day. Her diet is high in lean protein, lots of greens and whole-grain carbs to keep her moving. According to a June article in Rolling Out, Jada’s favorite breakfast is steel-cut oatmeal with sautéed kale, grilled chicken and sesame seeds. For lunch, she chooses fish with green salad, and for snacks, apples with peanut butter.
2. High-Energy Workouts
Jada works out 5 times per week and her favorite workouts are kickboxing, martial arts, sculpting exercises and yoga. As we age, hormone changes cause our metabolism to slow and we may find we need to work out harder and eat fewer calories just to maintain our weight. High-energy cardio activities like kickboxing help to keep Jada lean.
Weight training exercises are also important, as they’ll help to keep our muscles looking toned and sculpted. Strong muscles also burn more calories even when we’re at rest, so strength training helps our weight loss or weight maintenance goals as well. Finally, as we’ve likely all heard, women start to lose muscle mass after 30. In fact, this muscle loss can be up to 9% for each decade after our 30s! Incorporating strength training into our routine in our 40s not only helps with weight maintenance and tone, but also helps prevent this age-related muscle loss and improve our bone density so that we can live long, healthy and active lives.
Jada’s yoga routine also underlies the importance of stretching and lengthening our muscles as part of our fitness routine. As we age, our joints tighten and we lose flexibility, so stretching is an important part of maintaining fitness as we enter our 40s and beyond. We can attain these benefits by stretching following our workouts, or with a once or twice per week yoga class, or a yoga routine at home.
3. Spousal Support
Power couple Jada and Will hit the gym together! Having a spouse or significant other as a workout partner is great motivation – when one is feeling low energy, a pep talk from the other can give you the kick in the pants you need. You and your better half can even train together in the weight room and cheer each other on. Even if you’re doing separate activities, you can consider trips to the gym as quality time spent together since you are making the choice to do this healthy activity as a couple.
Jada also rallies support from other family members and friends by spending time together being active. When Jada’s mom is in town, they head to the gym together. Jada also enjoys Sunday hiking dates with her girlfriends. Consider adding mom, a cousin or a gal pal to your fitness plan – it’s a great way to make time for each other without having to sacrifice the important time give yourself when you work out.
4. Get the Kids Moving Too!
Jada and Will get active with the kids in activities the whole family enjoys like surfing and snowboarding. They also take the kids to the 
gym, and this is a great way to set a good example for a healthy lifestyle.
Even if your kids are too little to go to the gym, they’re never too little to enjoy active play. Challenge your kids to a race in the park – or several! Turn it into interval training! Or head to the park to play tennis, bicycle together or take the dog for a jog.
Most of us women have MULTIPLE commitments – demanding jobs, volunteer activities, a social schedule and/or a family to care for. This can make it tough to fit in fitness on some days! Looking for a workout and diet plan that will give you the results you want without cutting into your schedule? What if you could see those results in just 30 minutes a day at home OR at the gym – your choice! The Athlean-XX for Women training program is just that! I won’t lie and say that it’s easy – these are 30 energy-packed minutes…but they’ll get you in the best shape of your life! Not to mention that the Nutrition Plan is one that the whole family can follow, because you won’t be starving yourself or limiting your diet to just certain foods. Give Athlean-XX for Women a try! Oh…and if you want to get your significant other involved, have him check out Athlean-X for Men!