Anthony Minichiello Reveals The Secret To Staying Fit In Your 40s

"Movement is key to longevity."

Anthony Minichiello Reveals The Secret To Staying Fit In Your 40s

We all have heroes whose workouts we try to copy in the hope of gains. The Internet isn’t short of them either; you’ve got Hollywood royalty such as The Rock and Chris Hemsworth, all the way through to Instagram fanatics like Salt Bae or Jo Lindner.

But what about those who really understand what it takes to succeed as an athlete? Enter: Anthony Minichiello. The former Sydney Roosters winger turned fullback, who is now a retired legend, is someone who is living proof that fitness is not just for a minute. In fact he has some fans on Instagram saying he’s: “retired but looks younger than most current.”

So what’s his secret?

He understands that a few bicep curls and bench presses are not going to provide you with holistic health. Especially in your 40s. He’s also still a bit of a shredded unit. So, how do you get ripped like him? DMARGE interviewed Mini to find out what he used to do during his playing career to keep himself at the highest level, and how he continues to maintain his fitness now he’s a regular civilian.

Reflecting on the aforementioned bicep curls and bench presses, Mini says he doesn’t actually hit the weights room all that often: “I like to mix my training up nowadays from one strength session a week, mixed with 3 to 4 bodyweight MiniFit workouts.”

He adds: “Weekends are a bit of fun, with some gymnastic strength training [Mini was formally a gymnast in his younger days]. Core workouts pretty much every night in front of the TV, and tennis once or twice a week.”

“I would do some type of these every day. On some days it could just be a 6-minute core session in front of the TV, it all depends how my body is feeling.”

Today, we’re inundated with the sheer amount of fitness content available to us, it can often be tricky to find out which route is best for us individually. You’ve got those who only hit the weights, some who prefer cardio, the bodyweight workout brigade, along with the many other types of fitness discipline such as pilates and yoga.

RELATED: Chris Hemsworth’s Bodyweight ‘Extraction’ Workout Will Have You Begging For Mercy

Anthony too has trialled and errored: “I’ve definitely changed my training since playing professionally. During my career I wasn’t a big guy, so I had to push heavy weights to mix it with guys that were 120kgs with lots of speed and power, on top of running, running and more running.”

“These days I don’t run anywhere near as much as I did back then. I’ll still go on the odd run, but tennis is my sport of choice now. I like being outdoors and keeping the body moving, so I try to do anywhere between 10,000 – 25,000 steps every day.”

“Movement is key to longevity, so even on some days where I haven’t worked out, but I have done 15,000 steps, I might just do a 6-minute core session at night and I’m happy with that.”

But, this doesn’t necessarily mean Mini’s not always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to mix up his training regime. He tells us: “I like variety with my training. One day I might do a HIIT workout, the next one handstand conditioning, then tennis the day after. I don’t mind BFR bands either.”

“I pretty much have all the stuff at home, from BFR to dumbbells, barbell, rings, parallettes. My daughter loves gymnastics so we now have full gym bars and air track which is fun! I used to start my day with a 7 a.m. session, 5 days a week, but once you have kids it changed everything, so learning to be adaptable is key.”

“You want to get into a healthy movement habit, something every day even if it’s a stretch at night before bed. It will set you up for long term muscle and connective tissue health.”

That’s some great advice for anyone in their 40s (and beyond) looking to stay fit forever. And if you found that interesting, why not have a read of Mini’s nutrition secrets and intermittent fasting, too?