One of my philosophical guiding lights is that when it comes to your body, it’s entirely up to you what you do with it.

Whether we’re talking about a woman’s reproductive rights, an aging legend getting into the ring to fight an in his prime you-tuber or whether or not you decided to take the jab back in 2020.

It’s your body, it’s your choice.

So if you wanna be a little fluffy around the mid-section, I won’t judge you for it.

But there are definitely some things I want you to aware of, especially if you’re past the age of 40.

First having high levels of body fat almost inevitably leads to negative health outcomes.

Excess adipose tissue, aka fat, is associated with everything from Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and various types of cancer.

And secondly, the older you get, the harder it is going to be to shift your muscle to fat ratio in a positive direction.

It’s never gonna be easier to get lean than it is right now.

So assuming your interested in living long, staying strong and looking like a goddamn sex machine while doing so, then the smart approach is to get down to an optimal body fat percentage while you can so the inevitable decline won’t actually effect you in a meaningful manner.

For men, the goal should be to get to between 10 and 15% body fat.

And although you won’t see too many 40+ fellas walking around with this level of leanness, these numbers aren’t crazy and anyone with a work ethic, a decent plan and some patience should be able to achieve them without having to turn into an insufferable fitness nut

15% puts you squarely in healthy territory and is something that once achieved, you can maintain relatively easily.

But there are a couple reasons you might want to get to 10%.

First, most fellas have the goal of having a six pack and at 10%, you’ll be lean enough to clearly see your abs.

And secondly, to optimize your bodies natural testosterone levels.

Body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase which converts your testosterone into estrogen (the primary female hormone).

The more fat you have, the more aromatase you’ll have.

And although 15% is certainly healthy, there is still enough body fat for this to be an issue.

So if you want to enjoy optimal health and high natural testosterone levels, then 10% is the gold standard for fellas 40 and up. If you can hit that, you are doing VERY well indeed.

For women, the goal is 18 - 25% because they naturally need more body fat then males do to enjoy peak health.

Although these goals are ambitious, they are far from unrealistic. It’ll certainly take some self discipline and hard work to get there, but not so much that you can’t enjoy a little treat every now and then.

And the benefits of getting lean are definitely worth it.

Stay Hungry,

Adam