When you get up to the wrong side of the forties, you realise that it is time for you to pay off or to be paid off
Any small injury you had in your twenties or even thirties, depending on how you treated it, comes back at you. Your diet becomes more distinctive the moment you’re on nasty carbs, you get your Santa belly growing, and restrictive diets are not as rewarding as before
In terms of fat, what is easy to gain is harder to lose, and in terms of muscle, quite the opposite
So can you manage to keep fit in that difficult era
I thought the thirties were the most challenging times. I felt like a switch was turned off, then came the forties, and now, on the verge of my fifties, literally just a couple of months ahead of my fiftieth birthday, I see it differently
It is not really that things are getting harder it is more that you start understanding adaptation whether you like it or not
Two words, resilience and consistency, still lie at the foundation of all
Now, on top of that, you have to add compassion and a duty of care, because you are not dealing with a body in its thirties anymore, and if you keep treating it the way you do, eventually it will remind you
Pay more attention to recovery and proper form. Rest and care are vital, and understanding this will make you feel secure and supported in your progress
I think you get the gist take care of your body and give it the time and nutrition it needs to put itself back together
It might sound a bit soft around here, where everybody is getting ready for HYROX tournaments, but before you run, you have to walk both figuratively and literally and that’s what I do
Walking on a treadmill at a 15 degree incline for 40–45 minutes after workouts boosts growth hormone and testosterone while burning calories safely. Anything that keeps you in Zone 2 supports effective low impact conditioning
Some prefer running at the epicentre of their programme I don’t, especially since the doctors saw my runner’s knee on the X ray 10 years after I stopped running, and as I told you before, it is payback time
You want to run, get your condition up first, get your muscles ready and twice a week test yourself, build up the stamina gradually, but not every day, at least not for me
Can This Lead to HYROX Training
Absolutely
In fact, I think this is a smarter beginning than throwing yourself directly into high intensity hybrid sessions because before you start dragging sledges, burpee broad jumps and running yourself into the ground, your body needs a foundation, and that is the whole point of Foundation Training
You build resilience, work capacity, recovery, elasticity, and cardiovascular base first, and later you specialise, because before performance comes foundation and before intensity comes capacity
Foundation first
Performance second
Ok Enough Talk So What Do I Do
First, a warm up is essential
It is warm up not warn off
We need to increase blood circulation and stretch the fibres, because in a few minutes they will be depleted to the last bit, but not before we ask them. Now they have to be warmed up
Anything to your liking is adequate good old jumping jacks, head turns, swimming forward or backwards, and high knees
Foundation Training Is Based on Constant Movement
I tried many types High Intensity Interval Training, Tabata, EMOM
Still, at this age and stage, especially when you almost become a novice beginner again, nothing worked better for me than good old resistance training and some cardio every other day
This is not punishment training
This is not crawling out of the gym, barely walking and thinking you achieved something
You are training to stimulate and recover not destroy yourself
The whole structure is based around movement and flow
Chest and back days are built around push and pull supersets. One push movement, one pull movement back to back, then rest
Arms and shoulders work the same way. One shoulder movement, one bicep movement, one tricep movement, that becomes one full superset
Again constant movement
Less standing around, less phone time, less ego lifting
Just movement
The purpose is simple keep the heart rate up while rotating muscle groups, letting one recover while the other works. It keeps the session flowing, keeps the body awake and truly keeps the mind more engaged as well
The ideal weight is the weight that pushes you while still leaving something in the tank. Not sloppy reps, not ego lifting
8–10 reps × 3 works well for most movements heavier compound exercises can go 6–8 reps × 4
Some push to failure every set, but at this stage, smarter training is better. Protect your joints and tendons by avoiding overexertion and ensuring long term progress without setbacks
You want longevity now, not one glorious gym session followed by physio appointments and painkillers
Recovery Matters More Than Ever
This is why I keep talking about recovery
Stretching becomes part of the training itself. Recovery becomes part of the programme itself. At this age, you are not only training muscles you are also maintaining movement, elasticity, and durability
Even the cardio has a purpose
Inclined walking keeps the joints safer while still allowing you to burn weight optimally and maintain conditioning. Running stays in the programme, but is earned gradually
No ego running
You earn the distance
Respect Leg Day
Leg day is probably the day that should be respected the most
This is not the day to impress yourself. This is the day that decides whether your knees, hips and lower back will still cooperate with you ten years from now
Controlled resistance training. Squats, deadlifts, unilateral work, wall sits, lateral movement, and calf work all have a purpose there. You are not only building strength but also preserving balance, stability, and mobility
One thing I added later on, which helped my knees more than I expected, was inclined backwards walking
Slow, controlled and awkward at first, but surprisingly effective
Most people think foundations are chest and arms. They are not
Foundations are knees, hips, calves, lower back and balance. That is the stuff that decides whether somebody is still moving properly at sixty
Especially with heavier compound lifts, form matters more than weight and recovery matters more than ego
Don’t Forget the Core
And now the abs
Actually, let’s not even call it abs
Think of it differently
This is your core
Some people say direct ab work is not necessary. Maybe for aesthetics alone, they have a point, but this is not about beach muscles anymore. This is about stability, posture, balance and protecting the lower back
Simple progression, but brutally honest
It shows very quickly where your balance, coordination, stability and core strength actually stand
Then comes dead bug work. Funny name, serious exercise. Slow controlled movement while keeping the lower back planted to the floor
Again, not flashy. Not explosive
Control
That is the whole point
Then, lower abdominal work and rotational work enter the picture. Leg raises, scissor kicks, woodchopper movements or simple dumbbell rotations. You are teaching the body to rotate, stabilise, and control movement rather than endlessly bending forward for sit ups
At this age, that matters more
A strong back with a weak core is future back pain waiting to be scheduled
For me, this is the essential foundation. Anything beyond that is up to you
The Bigger Picture
The goal here is not to build the most impressive gym routine possible
It is to build a functional, stable and durable body that will still support you properly years from now
If you do it properly, it is really rewarding
I know the temptation of these weekend HYROX classes and all, believe me, I’ve been there
But if you do this properly, you will get there
As I said before, to run, you first have to walk
Gain good habits. Wake the body up. Find your weaknesses and fortify them. See how your body recovers, what makes it happy
Then those classes become your playground rather than a survival test
Controlled progress is the key
And yes, this can absolutely become a foundation for HYROX style training later on
But first, your body needs to survive the training before it performs
Foundation first
Performance second
