Adults over 40 may be able to maintain muscle, mobility and strength without spending hours at the gym. Los Angeles fitness entrepreneur Carl Daikeler says 10 minutes of targeted resistance exercise each day can support muscle and long term function.

Daikeler, 63, is the co-founder of BODi and has spent 28 years leading the fitness brand formerly known as Beachbody. His approach centers on finding a practical way to stay healthy without becoming a devoted fitness enthusiast.

“I don't like to eat healthy, I don't like to work out,” Daikeler told Fox News Digital at the Strong New York conference in September. “I'm just constantly trying to figure out how I can hack my way without having to overturn my life to become one of these diehard health and fitness people, because I'm never going to become that.”

For adults trying to remain healthy during midlife, Daikeler recommends what he calls a “minimum effective dose.” That means completing brief and targeted resistance workouts at home rather than relying on lengthy gym sessions.

“Ten minutes a day, and you can establish and build and maintain muscle,” he said. The goal is to make strength work manageable enough that people can perform it consistently.

Federal physical activity guidelines say adults should perform muscle strengthening activities involving every major muscle group at least two days each week. Those sessions should be completed in addition to regular aerobic activity.

Daikeler does not recommend performing a full body workout every day. Instead, he suggests rotating muscle groups by focusing on the chest one day, the upper body the next, and then the legs and glutes.

That rotation can help people develop consistency without requiring long visits to a gym. “Do that consistently, and you're going to find your strength return, your muscles return, your joints will start to respond appropriately,” he said.

The 10 minute strategy may be especially useful for people taking GLP-1 medications, according to Daikeler. These individuals may be trying to preserve muscle mass and bone density while losing weight, yet may also feel intimidated by traditional gyms.

People pursuing more significant weight loss may need to extend their daily activity to 20 or 30 minutes, Daikeler said. He recommends combining cardiovascular exercise with strength training rather than concentrating exclusively on one form of activity.

Different types of exercise perform distinct functions in the body. Resistance training builds muscle while strengthening bones and connective tissue, while cardiovascular activity challenges the heart and lungs and helps maintain overall fitness.

“Your body's like a furnace,” Daikeler said. “The coal in that furnace is muscle. So you want to build muscle. But then you want to stoke that coal, and that's cardio. So, you need a balance of both things.”

As people grow older, Daikeler believes their motivation for exercise should move away from appearance and toward mobility and independence. His view was shaped in part by visits with his father at an assisted living facility.

Daikeler recalled seeing residents struggle with movement and balance. Many used walkers and canes, and some stopped walking before speaking with one another because they were afraid of tripping over cracks in the pavement.

“This is no longer about my abs,” Daikeler added. “I need to work out in order to be able to walk and talk at the same time into my 90s ... It's no longer about aesthetics and vanity. It's really about mobility.”

Maintaining those physical habits requires accepting some immediate discomfort to protect future independence, according to Daikeler. “If I do 20 minutes of discomfort, the rest of the day is awesome,” he said.

His broader goal is a consistent daily routine that includes resistance training, cardiovascular activity and flexibility work. The time commitment can remain modest, but the emphasis stays firmly on preserving strength and making everyday movement easier later in life.