NO, WE’RE NOT saying that 40 is old. But for many, 40 is when fitness levels start going down and the belief that you’re past your peak begins to set in. A new 47-year study published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle has backed up that claim, finding that physical performance peaks at age 30, and that fitness and strength begin to dwindle as early as age 35.
And yet, there are a stubborn crop of outliers. Some famous men look better, move better and lift heavier after 40 than most of the population at 25. Put it down to good genetics, access to elite trainers, or having enough money that they can work out all day long instead of working, but not everyone has declined by age 40.
Here’s what 10 seriously fit and famous men over 40 can teach the rest of us about training, eating and ageing well.
Chris Hemsworth, 42
Chris Hemsworth’s approach is all about functional strength. He does heavy compound lifts like deadlifts, squats and presses, and pairs them with boxing, surfing and jiu-jitsu for conditioning. He trains six days a week, mixing weights with HIIT circuits, and takes recovery seriously.
Hemsworth’s focus shifted after he found out he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene, which raises his genetic risk of Alzheimer’s. Rather than spiral, he started prioritising brain health, folding in more zone-two cardio and stress management alongside the muscle-building.
Alan Ritchson, 43
Alan Ritchson spent two decades doing little more than bodyweight training like pushups, pull-ups, dips and sit-ups. Then he packed on 20kg of muscle to become Jack Reacher. He did it through short, high-intensity sessions rarely longer than 30 minutes. He has a strict five-day split, favouring supersets and back-to-back movements that keep his heart rate elevated throughout. He trains almost exclusively in the 15 to 25 rep range to maximise hypertrophy.
As Ritchson himself put it when speaking to Men’s Health UK: “I want to be 100 years old and still playing Reacher.”
Chris Evans, 45
Under trainer Simon Waterson, Chris Evans packed roughly 20kg of lean mass onto his frame in around three months for his first outing as Captain America, and kept refining the formula across every subsequent Marvel film.
Evans’ routine barely features any cardio, as his focus is on putting on mass rather than getting lean. It does, however, include a big focus on building athleticism and explosiveness to prepare for stunt work. The basis of his routine is compound lifts, layered with plyometrics and gymnastics-style bodyweight work.
Evans has never been too specific about his exact diet plan, but he has revealed some of his guiding nutrition principles in a number of interviews. “I never count calories,” he admitted in his cover story with Men’s Health. “I wasn’t trying to lose [weight] or tone, I was just looking to gain. The rule of thumb was: if you’re not eating, go get something.”
He also makes use of supplements. “I would take a lot of amino acids,” he said. But his primary focus was eating nutritious whole foods with plenty of protein. “I eat lots of chicken, turkey and fish,” he said. “If you’re looking for great value protein, choose free-range turkey. It delivers 25.7 per cent protein per helping, compared to 22.7 per cent for your average T-bone steak.”
Jason Momoa, 46
Jason Momoa’s training is mostly outdoorsy stuff he’d do anyway. He does rock climbing (his favourite), hill sprints, boxing, surfing and biking. In the weight room, he’s a fan of the AR-7 method: high-volume circuits of compound moves like dips, pull-ups, push-ups and squats, done in descending sets of seven, six, then five reps with barely a breath between them.
Momoa has been open about how a daily pint of Guinness is a non-negotiable for him. He eats clean and trains hard during the day, specifically so he can have a few pints of Guinness every night. “The dog wants his bone,” he told Men’s Health US. “Keep it clean, I’m working, and then at night I can have my three Guinness.”
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41
Cristiano Ronaldo is still banging in goals at the world cup at age 41, largely because he’s kept himself in such good nick. He reportedly sits around 7 per cent body fat and trains twice a day when his club schedule allows. Mornings for technical work, speed and agility, then a separate gym session for functional strength and explosive power.
His conditioning is football-specific, with short, explosive interval work that mirrors the demands of a match. He’s also famously strict with his diet, having no alcohol, minimal processed sugar and six smaller meals a day with lean protein and whole grains. Even his sleep is engineered. He’s spoken about splitting rest into several shorter cycles across the day rather than one long block, working with a sleep coach to maximise recovery windows around training.
LeBron James, 41
About to enter his 24th NBA season and still competing at an elite level, LeBron’s longevity has become his greatest asset. He’s invested heavily in a recovery arsenal that includes at-home cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, compression boots, daily percussion massages and a hot tub–cold plunge contrast routine straight after every game.
LeBron treats sleep as the single most important recovery tool he has, aiming for eight to ten hours a night and topping up with naps during the day. His longtime trainer Mike Mancias has said recovery starts the night before a session, not at the gym door. His training itself blends strength work, plyometrics and mobility. Yoga has also been part of his routine for over a decade, which he credits for his durability.
Kevin Hart, 46
Kevin Hart’s stature has always made his physique a bit of a punchline. But at 5ft4, he trains like someone with something to prove. And he can bench press 100kg, which is doubtlessly more than many who would poke fun at him. He’s in the gym six days a week doing snatches, isometric holds like planks and unilateral work. “We’re not bodybuilders,” his trainer told Men’s Fitness, “but we make progress with heavier weight on the bar or bigger dumbbells.”
He’s also known for his endurance, having completed multiple marathons. For cardio, he does 60- to 90-minute HIIT sessions mixing weights, CrossFit and a few miles of running.
John Krasinski, 46
John Krasinski famously went from a regular guy on The Office to an action star in 13 Hours and Jack Ryan, taking his body fat from around 26 per cent down to roughly 9 per cent in the process. His reward was being named People’s sexiest man alive in 2024.
Early on, trainer Jason Walsh had him doing double sessions (one for fat loss, one for muscle) five days a week. For Jack Ryan, he switched to trainer Simon Waterson, who built up his strength with a simpler push-pull split.
John Cena, 49
John Cena started lifting weights at 12, went on to earn a degree in exercise physiology and has never really stopped training. He’s still working out five days a week, hitting every muscle group once. He’s put up genuinely elite lifts: a 277kg squat, 218kg bench and 295kg deadlift.
His diet is unglamorous but effective. He has six to seven meals a day to stay north of 3,000 calories. It’s mostly chicken, eggs, fish, brown rice and oats. Function over flavour.
Kumail Nanjani, 48
Kumail Nanjiani’s transformation for Eternals is one of the most talked-about in Marvel history – and that’s saying something. He trained for five days a week for nearly a year to pull it off, adding around 15kg of muscle.
He mainly did heavy compound lifts alongside electronic muscle stimulation in sessions that hit no more than two or three body parts at a time so each got proper attention. Of course, he also had a strict calorie-controlled diet that meant giving up treats.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to purchase a downloadable pdf of Men’s Health’s Muscle After 40 bookazine.
