Over 40? These 6 Lessons Will Change the Way You Train Forever

In my early 40s, I was getting injured a lot. Probably a third of the time that I trained. And when you're constantly dealing with injuries, it's almost impossible to stay consistent. And this means that you don't make progress. And when you're not making progress, of course, your training stops being fun. And that was certainly the case for me. Everything felt uphill and I was getting super frustrated. Now, if I fast forward to today, I train 6 times a week and I genuinely love it. I'm in the best shape of my life and I'm proud of my physique and I'm objectively fitter and healthier than I've ever been. So what changed? Well, that's what I want to share in this episode. 6 key lessons that helped me completely transform how I train in my 40s. Now if you are in your 40s or older and you apply even just one of these, you are going to notice a big difference in how you feel and how you perform. But if you can stack a few of them together, like I've done, you can take your training and your results to a whole new level. So let's jump into the 6 lessons. The first one is this: warm-ups matter more than ever. Warming up thoroughly before a training session has probably been the most powerful shift for me when it comes to reducing injuries. Back in the day, I would skip or rush through warm-ups. I just didn't enjoy them. However, now it's completely non-negotiable. And I want to give you a quick example just to illustrate how powerful a warm-up can be. So about a year or so ago, I randomly decided one day to not do my normal warm-up and instead substitute it with some back rehab exercises that I, that I just felt like doing at the time. So I did these back rehab exercises and then I went straight into my workout. And the first exercise was front squat. And I kid you not, the first set of the front squat, I think on my 4th or 5th rep, bang, my back completely went. Really painful. And this ended up setting me back probably a couple of months before I was able to feel like I could get back to squatting again. It was really, really painful. And it was that day, and only in hindsight could I realize how, how good my warm-up was for that session. It really set me up right for that session. And what I did is I substituted it for some random lower back exercises that in no way prepared me for that session. And it was not a coincidence that I got injured literally a minute into the session. So what does a good warm-up actually look like? Well, it should cover 3 things. First of all, it should just be something broad and general. You want to get the whole body moving. Secondly, it should be something specific to the day's workout. So if you're doing a lower body workout, you probably want some stuff in there for the hips or the hamstrings, and you want to get that lower body feeling nice and mobile. And lastly, you just want to get the whole body warm, and that probably means that you want to be breathing fairly heavily. And I tend to follow a rough rule of thumb: your warm-up should take about a third of your total workout time. So if you're training for about an hour, my warm-up will tend to take about 20 minutes. And if your warm-up is thorough enough, you're going to notice that your range of motion is dramatically increasing towards the end of the warm-up. And your body should just feel nice and warm and loose. And that's exactly what you're looking for. If you're not seeing that increased range of motion or your body is not feeling loose, it probably wasn't enough. So that's the first lesson, and for me, actually, probably may be the most important of all of the lessons. Warm-ups matter more than ever. Lesson number 2 is be smart about volume. As you get older, your body simply doesn't recover as quickly and it doesn't tolerate as much volume. And this is something that I've had to deal with firsthand. When I was doing 3 heavy strength sessions a week, I was constantly feeling beat up. Now I only do 2 and it's made a big difference to how my body feels. Now I think everybody probably has a different tolerance, so it's important to stay self-aware. If you're feeling overly tired, stiff, or mentally flat, it might be a sign that you're doing too much. And you might want to experiment with dialing the volume back a bit and seeing how that makes you feel. And I think overall it's just super important to listen to your body. Volume is one of the fastest ways to overdo it. Lesson number 3: Train at 80%, not 100%. Now this ties closely to volume because but it's more about intensity. Now, in my 20s and 30s, I trained like I was trying to win something every session. I pushed to failure in my strength work and I went all out in my conditioning. But now, that approach just tends to wreck me. What works better is training just below the edge. Sitting at around 80-90% most of the time. I'm always trying to leave a few reps in the tank. And the goal is to leave the gym feeling good, not destroyed. Now, one way I put this into action is I actually train in blocks. So over a period of 4 weeks, I'm building intensity. Then the 5th week tends to be a bit of a test week where I safely push the limits. And then this is followed by a deload week where I focus on active recovery. And then things start all over again. Another way I put the 80% rule into practice is most of my conditioning is now actually zone 2 cardio, fairly low intensity stuff. And I will only really push myself to the limit in benchmark workouts, and these only tend to happen every so often. And training this way keeps my body feeling good and ready for the next session. And that consistency adds up over time. So, that's the third lesson: Train at 80%, not 100%. Lesson number 4: Be smart with exercise selection. So, a good way to frame this lesson is with some— is with some advice that a previous trainer once gave me. And he said this: "Each day, ask yourself, what version of this workout moves me away from pain, not towards it?" And that really stuck with me. Now, since then, my current trainer Jamie, who is super awesome, has helped me let go of certain exercises that don't serve me anymore. So these are things like back squats, Olympic lifting, handstand push-ups, and double unders. These exercises simply aren't worth the cost. Nowadays, he programs me exercises that give me the right training stimulus but with the least amount of risk. Now, it's easy to say this, but it's actually quite hard to do. And honestly, it did take me a bit of time to accept this type of approach. Some of those exercises that were risky for me, they're actually kind of quite fun to do. But I had to realize that it's about staying in the game and it's about being consistent. And once you let go of the stuff that's hurting you, you realize there are actually loads of options that still challenge you, keep things fun, and don't leave you limping the next day. So that's lesson number 4: Be smart with exercise selection. Lesson number 5: Follow a well-rounded program. Now, every time I've overfocused on one thing too much, like clockwork, I end up picking up an injury. When I do too much running, I get calf injuries. When I do too much pressing, I get shoulder pain. When I do too much work on the air bike, my knees tend to get really painful. And a well-rounded program spreads the load and it avoids overuse injuries. Now these days my training program is super well-rounded, well-rounded. And again, I give a lot of credit to my trainer Jamie for making sure that this is the case. My training program is built around 5 pillars: strength work, Zone 2 cardio, VO2 max efforts, mobility, and walking. And here you'll see nothing's overdone. It keeps me feeling good, and it's much better for long-term health, which of course matters more and more as you actually get older. So it's worth looking at your own training program. How well-rounded is it? And I think the more well-rounded it is, the less likely you are to pick up an injury due to overuse. All right, we're on to the last one. Lesson number 6: get individual programming. And this ties everything that we've talked about together. Now, I'm fairly knowledgeable about training, but working with a great coach has shown me that there are levels to programming, especially as you age. And Jamie, my coach, constantly spots things that I would miss. He helps me avoid mistakes, adjust for how I'm feeling, and he helps me refine the details of what I'm doing. And it's not just about what he knows. He's definitely an expert in what he does, but when you're deep in your own training, you sometimes can't see the forest for the trees, no matter how smart you are. And nowadays, when I do pick up an injury, it's usually because I've strayed from the plan that Jamie has set for me. So I'd say this: if you can find a great coach and get a personalized program, it's worth every penny. And yes, of course, I highly recommend Jamie, the personal trainer that I work with, and I'll put a link to his website in the show notes. All right, they are the 6 lessons. So let's wrap up. Warm-ups matter more than ever. Be smart about volume. Train at 80%, not 100%. Be smart with exercise selection. Follow a well-rounded program and get individualized programming. These are the things that keep me on the right side of injury. And they let me train hard, week in, week out. And that's really the secret— consistency. Consistency beats intensity every time. Thanks for listening. And if this helped, I'd love it if you subscribed or shared the episode with someone who trains in their 40s or beyond. All right, see you in the next episode.