How to Get Abs in Your 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and Even Beyond!

Let’s face it — getting abs in your 40s, 50s, or 60s isn’t easy. But it’s not impossible either.

As we age, our bodies change — metabolism slows, hormones shift, and fat tends to settle in places it never used to. But when you understand what really determines how your abs look, you can start making smarter choices to bring them out — or at least get that lean, defined core that looks great at any age.

There are three main factors that determine how your abs look and how visible they’ll be:

1. Your body fat percentage

2. Your fat storage genetics

3. Your ab muscle density

Let’s break these down.

1. Body Fat Percentage: The Most Important Factor

This is the big one.
You can have incredibly strong abs — but if they’re buried under a layer of fat, no one’s ever going to see them.

In general, for men, visible abs start showing below about 15% body fat, and for women, around 20%.
The leaner you get, the sharper and more detailed those abs will appear.

But here’s the catch — getting there takes work.
It means maintaining a calorie deficit, eating clean, and being consistent with your workouts — especially as your metabolism slows with age.

2. Body Fat Genetics: Where You Store Fat Matters

This is where things get unfair.
We all store body fat differently.

Some people carry most of it in their lower body — hips, thighs, and glutes. Others carry it in their midsection or upper body.

You’ve probably noticed how some people can gain weight and still keep a lean face or visible abs, while others lose their abs the moment they put on a few pounds.
That’s all genetics.

As we age, this becomes even more pronounced. Our bodies naturally start storing more fat around the midsection.
That’s why many people in their 40s and beyond struggle to get that flat, defined stomach even when the rest of their body is lean.

3. Ab Density: The Shape and Thickness of Your Ab Muscles

The third factor is ab muscle density — basically, how thick and round your abdominal muscles are.

Some people are genetically blessed with full, blocky abs that pop even when their body fat isn’t ultra-low.
Others have flatter, smaller ab muscles that just don’t stand out as much — even when they’re shredded.

Now, training your abs can help — exercises like cable crunches, hanging leg raises, and weighted planks can make your abs thicker and more visible.
But genetics still play a big role in how much they can actually “pop.”

Why Sit-Ups Alone Won’t Get You Abs

A common misconception is that doing endless crunches or sit-ups will burn belly fat and reveal your abs.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

You can’t spot-reduce fat.
Your body decides where to lose fat based on genetics — and it usually loses it in the reverse order that it gained it.

So if your belly is where fat goes first, it’ll be the last place it comes off, no matter how many ab exercises you do.

This is why people can have strong abs that are completely hidden — the muscle is there, it’s just buried under a layer of fat.

Why It Gets Harder as You Age

In your 20s, your metabolism is faster, hormones are higher, and you can eat pizza on a Friday night without major consequences.
But once you hit your 40s and beyond, your body becomes less forgiving.

Testosterone drops, muscle mass declines, and your metabolism slows — all of which make it harder to burn fat and stay lean.

To make matters worse, your body naturally becomes more insulin-resistant, meaning it’s easier to gain fat — especially around the stomach area.

This doesn’t mean it’s hopeless.
It just means you need to be more strategic — dial in your nutrition, strength train regularly, and manage stress and sleep (which both play a major role in fat storage).

The Real Path to Abs Over 40

Here’s the truth: almost anyone can have visible abs if they’re willing to put in the work.

But it requires commitment — consistent training, mindful eating, and often, saying no to certain foods and drinks that interfere with your goals.

It’s all about balance.

Ask yourself — what’s the goal?
Is it to get super shredded and have razor-cut abs? Or is it to have a lean, strong, healthy-looking body you can maintain for years to come?

For most people over 40, the second goal is far more realistic — and it still looks incredible.

Final Thoughts

Getting abs in your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond isn’t about doing more crunches or chasing perfection.
It’s about understanding your body, staying disciplined, and working toward the healthiest version of yourself.

Even if your abs never look like a magazine cover, being leaner, stronger, and more confident at your age is the real win.

If you found this helpful, check out my free training over at GetFitOver40.com/Get-Fit-Now-Training-Share. It’s a great way to kickstart your journey toward a leaner, stronger body — without the gimmicks or the fads.

Stay consistent, stay strong — and I’ll see you in the next one.

Why the Scale Doesn’t Really Mean Anything

I lost 30 pounds approximately in around 3 months during my recent heart health issue. That averages around 10 pounds per month of weight loss.

So if I started out fairly lean before the 30 pounds of weight loss then I must have been totally shredded after losing 30 pounds? Unfortunately that is not how things work.

Let’s get into the math a bit of what happened:

10 Pounds is equal to 35,000 calories as an energy comparison when in fat stores, normally to lose 10 pounds of fat in a month, one would need to be in a 1200 calorie deficit everyday consistently. So if was burning 3000 calories per day via my BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) and combined activity, then I would need to be eating 1800 calories per day to be in a 1200 calorie deficit.

So unless I was in such a deficit every day for those 3 months, how is it possible to lose that much weight so quickly?

I can guarantee I was not in a calorie deficit during this time, there where of course days where I ate very little but other days I ate like a horse and during this time my actively was either zero to not much above zero. Meaning I was most likely only burning around 2000 calories or just above per day. I would need to be eating 800 calories per day to be in a 1200 calorie deceit to lose so much weight!

So what the heck was going on then?

Muscle has a water consistency of around 80% while fat has a water consistency of 20%.

Out of 10 pounds of muscle, 2 pounds is cellular, while out of 10 pounds of fat, 8 pounds is cellular. As you know, water has zero calories so the energy from either muscle or fat has to come from the cellular tissue. This means fat has approximately 4 to 5 times the energy per pound compared to muscle so you should be able to gain 4 to 5 pounds of muscle while losing 1 pound of fat while maintaining a neutral calorie input.

Example of what this means:

If I weighed 180 pounds and gain 8 pounds of muscle while losing 2 pounds of fat, I would end up weighing 186 pounds without having to eat in a calorie surplus.

This is one reason why a person can be in a moderate diet (calorie deficit) and actually gain weight at the same time. This can happen when a person is dedicated to weight training at the same time and is able to put on a fair amount of muscle during the diet phase. As a person get’s leaner this does get harder to do as fat stores are not as prevalent and the bodies ability to continue to gain muscle has it’s limitations.

Get Fit Over 40 - Human Trainer Back Workout

Moving forward with my series utilizing the Human Trainer Body Weight Suspension System, I focus on the back and go over some of the best core exercises to strengthen and build your back muscles. Pull-ups are some of the best exercises you can do for your back, the Human Trainer allows you to do some great variations of pull-ups and even give yourself a bit of assistance if you can not yet do a full pull-up on your own.

I also show you how you can do a traditional row using the Human Trainer and again add some variation to it for better focus on the back.

Make sure to also checkout my Human Trainer Chest Workout Video and also my quick Preview Video for the Human Trainer.

Get Fit Over 40 - Human Trainer Suspension System Chest Workout

Todays YouTube Workout Video focuses on the Chest using the Human Trainer Body Weight Suspension System.

As promised I wanted to make some videos for my viewers where I show you how to use the Human Trainer Body Weight Suspension System. I was thinking about splitting them into two videos, an upper body and lower body video but then quickly realized that the videos would have to much content and I would be rushing thought them and getting really tired ;)

So anyways I am going to break the videos down into each separate body part, some will have only one or two exercises and some will have several for each body part but this way I can really focus in and show you how to use the Human Trainer Body Weight Suspension System.

GetFitOver40 Update Video - Human Trainer and Upcoming Fitbit Flex Review

Here's a bit of an update and preview video all in one for you. First of all I did shoot my Fitbit Flex Wristband Movement and Sleep Tracker Review Video today but still need to edit and post it so hopefully I can have this for you later in the week, It is not a comparison video to my Jawbone Up but I do make a few cross references to it during the video review. So stay posted for that one...

I was so excited to try my Human Trainer Suspension System that late last night I gave it a go and got a really great workout in, I have to say it really does give a good workout, even with my limited knowledge of how to really get the most out of it at this point. SO in this video I show you a few exercises I learned last night while testing it out, again keep posted for my upcoming review of the " The Human Suspension Trainer System"