Beginning over 40 bodybuilding is a great way to help reverse the aging process, lose those love handles, reduce fatty thighs and eliminate flabby arms. Bodybuilding is a great way to recondition you, a bit like reconditioning a used engine, but the results can be a lot more impressive - you look great and feel 10 years younger. Bodybuilding is a great way to fight off stress and channel those day to day frustrations into a positive result for you.

The truth is that you are never too old to start bodybuilding. There are many examples of men and women over the age of 40 who have picked the weights later in life and made a real difference to their health, lifestyle and mental well being.

The first step in improving you physical and mental wellbeing through effective weight training or bodybuilding is to set yourself realistic expectations. If you intend to improve you body within a few weeks after spending many years on your butt then you need to snap out of it. Set your sites on a goal which is a little closer to home. Don’t get me wrong, you can achieve amazing results with a short time frame but you need to take it one step at a time. Contrary to belief, there are never any quick fixes!

You need to truthfully ask yourself how physically active have I been in the past. For those of you who have always been active in some capacity you will be able to adapt a lot quicker to bodybuilding than those whose only exercise is walking to the refrigerator and back.

The second step in starting a bodybuilding program is to get yourself a physical assessment from either a doctor or at the very least a trained fitness instructor. A physical instructor may ask you if you have had the all clear from your family doctor anyway. The fact is that the older we get the more we need to look after our health and recovery. But as you grow through your bodybuilding program you will find that you become stronger, healthier, more confident and able to take on a lot more of the world around you.

Once you get the all clear from you doctor, and assuming you have chosen a gym that is best suits you and your schedule, you are ready to get your gym instructor to set you a weight training program. This is your step three.

To help the gym instructor develop a weight training program for you make sure you are honest about your vision of achievement. What I mean here is that you need to let them know what your physical goals are, no matter how ridiculous you think they sound today. If your goal is creating a new body, compete in a bodybuilding contest or simply tone up your body and lose fat you need to let your gym instructor know. Each program they develop will be based on an individual’s goals, body type and fitness / medical history.