1. Most over-40 training advice is bullshit.
There are 40-somethings in the best shape of their lives and 30 year-olds (even 20 year-olds) that would get winded just touring a Planet Fitness. So there’s a whole lot of individual context there.
Over-40 type advice should focus less on exercise and more around managing stress.
Now stress has become a vague buzz term — I think of it as managing increasing demands on time & energy versus decreasing capacity to recover.
And if you buy into that definition, then “over 40” training wouldn’t (nor shouldn’t) be limited to just people of a certain age.
I argue that if your average 21 year-old worked 50+hours a week, looked after busy kids and aging parents, slept less than 6 hours a night, and had to deal with non-stop bills, worries, existential angst, and a lengthy commute for good measure — I guarantee they’d benefit from “Over 40” programming.
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2. Even if you have plenty of time to train, set a limit for your workout (say 60 minutes) and stick to it.
It’s not about hormones/cortisol. It’s creating a sense of urgency by forcing you to pick-up the pace as time winds down, which also helps keep motivation high even as energy wanes.
#GetShitDone
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3. Every successful person performs the same task in their personal morning routine:
They all have a morning routine. That’s it.
Having a routine/rhythm to your day is important. Not whether you gratitude journal for 20 minutes or recite your personal life mission in Aramaic.
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4. “How many times a week should I train a muscle?” is asking the wrong question.
Some muscles recover much faster than others (biceps vs. hamstrings).
Some training protocols require more recovery time (heavy barbell eccentrics vs. higher rep or bodyweight work).
Some people recover faster than others. (Young, conditioned lifters vs. older).
And the same person will recover faster when nutrition, sleep, and restorative activity are all dialed in.
I think changing frequency every so often is the important thing.
Though if you must have an answer, every 3.25 days.
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5. Quit dating and settle down, will ya?
A friend of mine is a notorious “speed dieter.” In the past 10 years he’s hopped from Paleo to Carb Backloading to high carb/low fat to Carnivore. I’m sure I’m missing a few.
But he’s not a “failed dieter.” He says he’s had good results with them all, and I believe him.
You could even argue, and a lot of guys on Twitter do, that this is a good thing.
You’re experimenting with your body and finding out what truly works best for you. You’re a real-life bio-hacker, hopefully minus the buttery coffee and “fasting to build mass” mindset.
But at a certain point, you gotta stop and come to terms with what all these “effective” diets you’ve tried have in common.
They all control calories, if not by tracking then by excluding foods or incorporating “rules” like time restriction.
They all keep you mentally engaged.
The rules of the diet are easy to stick to or work with your lifestyle.
You get to eat foods you enjoy (including some fun foods) and not foods you hate.
And thanks to the above, you get results. Which also makes it easier to stick to.
One you connect those dots things become much clearer. You realize that MANY things can work provided you consistently hit the essential physiological & psychological parameters.
It also gives you the underpinnings to start creating your own, personal diet philosophy. One built exclusively for you, by you, and can be intelligently tweaked and adjusted as you learn more and gain experience.
(Though if you’re a coach you still have to humbly accept that some things just work better for some people, sometimes.)
It reminds me of that classic Charlie “Bird” Parker quote that I often cite when discussing writing training programs.
“First you learn the instrument,
Then you learn the music.
Then you forget all that shit and just play.”