There are muscle gaining mistakes that can affect anyone of any age that lifts weights, and then there are those that are even worse when you get to be 40 years old. In this video, I’m going to show you the 8 biggest muscle building mistakes that you can make and how they are amplified when you get to be a little older.
The first is the warmup. This one is tricky since many people forget to warmup at all when they are getting ready to lift weights. On the other hand, those that turn their warmups into workouts themselves are doing far too much and it’s actually holding back the progress they should see on their workouts. Four sets working up to your working weight on compound exercises and 2 sets working up to your working weight on single joint exercises is a good recommendation of what is needed. A general total body core temperature raiser like jump rope or a bike is also important for overall prep.
When it comes to the actual training you can never forget to prioritize strength training. It doesn’t matter what age your are, training for strength via progressive overload on the big lifts should always be the base of your training pyramid. The issue comes when the pursuit of that strength comes at the expense of responsible training. This means that chasing numbers at the expense of your joints and muscle health is a big mistake. Ensure that you own the weight you’re lifting by incorporating paused lifts at every opportunity.
Not including enough of a focus on developing your mind muscle connection (and maintaining it as you age) is the next big workout mistake for men over 40. This is because the ego tends to get in the way and focusing on getting the weights from point A to point Z becomes more important than ensuring that the muscles you were trying to train to get them there are actually doing the job.
Since we focus on quality of reps, the way to expand this out to the entire set and the whole workout is to include some metabolic training into your plan. This is actually important for trainees at all levels since metabolic stress is one of the three known drivers of muscle growth (along with eccentric muscle damage and progressive overload) but it is particularly so for men over 40. The reason this works so well is that it doesn’t leave you with the soreness that makes it tough to recover between workouts and the joints are given a break by the lighter weights.
Next you cannot forget to do what we preach all the time on this channel, and that is train like an athlete. This not only means taking a scientific interest in the type of training that you do but to actually get out there and include some athletic activities in your workouts. Things like running, jumping and doing agility work are all things that your body will lose if you don’t use them. The old phrase of use it or lose it has never been more true.
This also brings about the importance of doing corrective exercises. Things like face pulls and band pull apart may seem like small and unnecessary exercises but they are not. Particularly when you get older, these exercises have a high value and allow you to get more out of the more commonly performed exercises simply by making sure there are no imbalances in place to get in the way.
As you can see, there are many things that you must make sure you’re getting right if you want to look your best not just in your 40’s but well past. This is what the ATHLEAN-X Training Systems allow you to do better than any other program out there. If you’re ready to start training like an athlete again and look better than ever before, click the link below and start training with me today.
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Great Content, go-to tell you I'm learning from you daily ,appreciate you no nonsense , science based as well as actual life experience training & teaching .
I'm 56. After watching this, all I can say is, "I'm f**ked."
I'm just about to turn 40. Is there anything about this that would be different if recommended to women? I ask since the title specifies men. I don't expect so, but it never hurts to check.
I would like to see a video on response to injury. I've done a lot of the things you mention here, but I still get sick, pull muscles, joint pain, and everything that comes with being almost 60yo. What do I do when that happens? Stop working out? Do everything but what hurts? Keep working everything but reduce weight/intensity?
I am 55, been hitting the iron much of my life; this video really speaks my lingo! Great advice!
We're the same age! wow glad I saw this old video and that I am on the right track with my exercises and the cardio advice you have given, now I just need to improve my nutrition working on it steadily. Tanks again!
Top notch videos 👍👍
Found this very helpful.
Jeff Cavaliere = Role Model that this generation needs
The key when uou get older is too listen to your body ! Your never going to recover like you used to and after years of weight training your joints are going to have wear and tear. You need to adapt and change your overall out look. Introduce de load weeks . I find even though im not ripped all year round like I sued to be I cant train with a calorie deficit anymore as my body needs the full to heal. Yes I dont look as good as I once did but I look a great deal better then most guys my age. I also incorporate more compound exercises now as it helps the CNS and also promotes growth hormone. I manage to stay relatively injury free ( rotater cuff is my main issue ) and thsts because I'm not over training and wasting my time with useless isolation movements. Also as an older guy try one on one off if your schedule allows . Its all about adaptation that leads to longevity in body building game.
As I side note ive had both hips replaced , one had to be revised , which then disclocated, July 2021. Dispite age and injury you can still smash it at the gym ! Side note. Im 6ft 2 , 233 llb and at a guess body fat of about 14 % , 51 years old .
I'm 62… Warm up warm up warm up… I've preached this for years and no one listened. They're all gone and shot. And look like poo
Talk is cheap… Where is your workout program for guys over 40???
Excellent video – spot on 💪🏻
47 and 10% body fat and it isn't genetics. I just stopped eating fried foods and avoid restaurant portions. Dropped 24 pounds five years back. I don't miss any of it. I'll have some fries everyone once in a while but now I feel sick after and don't look forward to it.
But I love potato chips.
👍👍
Great stuff. Thank you
I'm a 74 yr old female. I have lost 36 lb in 90 days with KETO IF and weight and resistance band training at home. I have learned so much from you about quality versus quantity and the mind muscle connection. These incites took my workout to whole new level.. I have lost over 20 inches over all. Thank you so much for your highly educational, safety focused and inspiring videos. Blessings to you.
am 42 and am asking should I work everyday, I am thinking about recovery… you didn't mention it in this video thank for your answer
I’m confused. You said “if you don’t use it you lose it” and to do things like jumps, but then said with cardio be careful of your joints. Do I push myself to do things like jumps if my knees aren’t the best or not?
Man you must train at least 8 hours per day to do all of these things you mention in your – by the way great – videos. 🙂
I'm 45…i haven't been in gym for years…would you say it's too late for me to start?
Spanish ????
Thanks Jeff. Excellent. Eight Commandments and I don't need to go to Mt Sinai to hear them
I appreciate the metabolic training suggestion.
Wow man awesome tips!! I’ll be 50 next year and I’ll definitely use this methods thanks
25 years or so ago between 17-23 yrs old I was running almost 20miles a week, 100 unbroken push-ups 35 unbroken strict pull-ups, 30 strict unbroken dips all in each 3 workouts which included full body weight training. Like a Greek statue I was…Not to brag but to give a backdrop. A year ago I couldn’t do a single dip, no more than 2 or three pull-ups and struggled with 5 push-ups. Through going to the knees with push-up and gradually adding another regular push-up, using a resistance band to assist with dips, I can now whip out 10×20 unassisted push-up in various forms and 3×12 unassisted dips and by bent barbell rows I can complete about 40 pull-ups partitioned of course. I’m 45 now and filling out my shirt like I almost used to. This dude has great tips for middle age guys. Its not over, it’s just different. it took me a year. Young people, don’t take your athleticism for granted!
There is so much good information here! Thank you!
I have found that at just turning 70 and after converting to carnivore/keto 5 years ago (very low carb) I dropped weight where i went from 200
Lbs to 160lbs and gained muscle fairly quickly and my skin looks great as well as my blood test have continued to get better and better after eating this way fwhere i started. Which means i have no inflammation. I feel better i look better and definitely not looking or feeling 70 and im running 5-8 miles 3’x’s a week or more if time permits. And im still skiing as wel. No brag just fact:) Im just sayin. So there. 🙂 peace out
Wait until you get into your late 40s
Jeff I know this is a 2-year-old video but it just came across my YouTube feed again. Are you saying that for those over 40 years old, lower weight and higher reps of quality are better?
Ok, I'll hope somebody reads and replies: At 48 I'm picking back training and getting healthy after 15+ years of growing the belly. As you all may know, time is also a factor now, can't do 3 hrs. at the gym like back in the day so I'm doing these 30-40 min. workouts: Day 1: HIIT, Day 2: Upper body, Day 3: Core, Day 4: Lower body, Day 5: Stretching. I pick 1 excercise per muscle group and try to change them after around 4 weeks and do abs all 5 days. Any thoughts? I follow Jeff's channel for my excercise picks.
I'm 61 but identify as 31 thx to Jeff…and Jessy, of course.
Is pilates good, or effective, for a man in their 40s. I'm thinking of the small muscles attention he addresses
Great video thanks! I'm in my fifties and I've found all your 8 points to be very true. As you age, controlling the quality of your food seems to become almost the ONLY way to manage your weight! Otherwise, a good joint and muscle using system, like Kung Fu or Chi Gung, Yoga, or things like that, are a great way to use gravity as your weights and normal use as your therapy.
I even met one very elderly lady who attended these traditional European peasant line dances twice a week, she told me "If I didn't do these dances I wouldn't be able to move at all!", lol. Definitely true, have a plan to use your whole body as you age, or else you'll start losing the use of it here and there as the years go by!
Great video. I’m 60 now been training since 14 competed till almost 30 but got a huge amount of knowledge from this.
69 years old in April. Your videos are correcting my techniques for the years ahead.
So I'm turning 60 in a couple months and have been weight training pretty much my whole life. Served 14 years in the USMC and then 20 more with the fire service, always active and training. About 10 years ago I noticed that I can no longer get the lactic acid burn I used to get no matter what kind of training I do, very frustrating. I'm ask my doctor and other men my age and nobody has an answer. Are any of you experiencing this, if so do you know why? Is it less testosterone?
True words of wisdom Jeff. As I trained a lot when I was in my 15s – 20s I still remember what my gym trainer taught me. Bravo e grazie mille.
Now I just need a program that incorporates all this.
Thank you
I'm WAY over 40. I thought my warm up was walking or biking to the gym. But a few weeks ago, I pulled an upper inner thigh muscle while doing a back squat. Now I have to work around it until it heals. Stretching is important!
thanks