Athletic performance in your 40s?

My high side of 50 goal is generally to be in good enough shape to continue to chase and be chased by 20-30 somethings.

Consistency is the key, some is better than none but more isn't always best. Lifting heavy with low reps and lifting light with high reps will both get you strength increases if you are lifting to fatigue/failure, one is more efficient but also more likely to cause injury. Do something every day but don't work the same muscle groups more than every 2-3 days. Functional strength is more important than maximal strength. Eat well. Get good sleep and recovery. It's cliche but it's true.

Go fast. Have fun.

Full lower body workout last friday w SVS and the kid.

I think at some point it's time to stop working on progression and instead say that certain levels are good enough. I've mentioned this before, but I do an upper body routine that includes benches at essentially 5x5 @185. That's my maintenance bench weight. I don't try to progress from there, and typically lift as little as possible to stay there, which is about 1-2 upper body days per week. That level (along with 5 or so other staple upper body moves) provides me with enough muscle mass and strength to keep my upper back healthy and provide some protective armor, but not enough to add extra weight I don't need my legs to be carrying.

I think the same is true for lower body and core - at some point it's enough. I have a much harder time staying at maintenance strength on my lower body however because every little nick and minor injury sets you back a bit. So lower body is always a bit of catch up. I also believe in reasonably heavy squats for skiing if you are doing anything dynamic on the slopes. Landing any substantial air on any slope that isn't perfect creates significant G forces, and I don't want the only time my body experiences those weights (impacts) to be when it's trying to balance on snow.

As for cardio, it seems I'm always trying to progress there. Ha. Chasing world class bikers around this town will makes you feel off the back quickly.

Timely discussion here on switching to maintenance and not worrying about progression as much.

I'm currently doing starting strength after being mostly a cardio guy for my entire life and making gains, but as a 40+ guy it certainly is at the forefront of my mind that my priorities are being strong and not getting injured, so I could care less about deadlifting 400 pounds.

So the question becomes, what is enough?

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Originally Posted by Iowagriz

Crowd source this group for a home workout - bumbells and a weight bench.

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Are "bumbells" malt liquor 40 ouncers?

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Originally Posted by oldnew_guy

Timely discussion here on switching to maintenance and not worrying about progression as much.

I'm currently doing starting strength after being mostly a cardio guy for my entire life and making gains, but as a 40+ guy it certainly is at the forefront of my mind that my priorities are being strong and not getting injured, so I could care less about deadlifting 400 pounds.

So the question becomes, what is enough?

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Another cardio guy here, I've done strength training in fits and starts, but I don't think I've ever stuck with it for more than 6 months or so at a time. Moving into old bull mode, I know this is something I need to work on if I want to continue snowboarding for the next 20 years or so.

I'll be interested to see how people respond to your question

^^^Excellent topic. I used to lift but have dropped doing it in my 40s, even though I tell myself I need to. Now I feel like I don’t know how to start up again, even though I know most lifts. Should I start with 3 days a week, 1 day on Chest / Tris, 1 day on Back / Bis, and one on. legs? Or do 3 days of 1-2 lifts per muscle group, 10 reps?

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Originally Posted by oldnew_guy

Timely discussion here on switching to maintenance and not worrying about progression as much.

I'm currently doing starting strength after being mostly a cardio guy for my entire life and making gains, but as a 40+ guy it certainly is at the forefront of my mind that my priorities are being strong and not getting injured, so I could care less about deadlifting 400 pounds.

So the question becomes, what is enough?

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Depends on who you are and what you are doing.

For me, as mentioned, I have a few minimums I use as a gauge. 5x5 benches at 185, 4x6 squats at 225, 4x6 deadlifts at 225 etc. I also have personal base levels for lats, curls, rows, tris. I'm 6', 185. That's not that strong for my size and nothing compared to what I did when I was younger, but it helps. You kind of have to find the levels and moves that keep you "fit." Sometimes I'm over those baselines but I try to not go under them, which is hard at times when you tweak something in the lower body from activities. But at least there's a goal to get back to quickly.

You might not need that much but I'm still getting airtime on skis and bikes, and don't want to give that up anytime soon. Plus soccer against 20 somethings. Anyway, FWIW. Good luck. Aging and staying fit is such a crazy thing, and very few rules to guide.

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

^^^Excellent topic. I used to lift but have dropped doing it in my 40s, even though I tell myself I need to. Now I feel like I don’t know how to start up again, even though I know most lifts. Should I start with 3 days a week, 1 day on Chest / Tris, 1 day on Back / Bis, and one on. legs? Or do 3 days of 1-2 lifts per muscle group, 10 reps?

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I'd suggest start with 2 days per week upper, 2 days lower (and one of those days can be both so you only lift 3x week.) Start with 10-12 reps and aim to feel it a day or two later but not with pain, just with soreness. Easier to start with less and work up then to start with a lot and pull something.

I use the Caliber app (free version) to track sets and reps - I’m guessing there are other apps that do the same I did no research on which were best.

Made a big difference for me - both in going into a workout being able to easily see where I was at last time - and also to get a sense of how rest impacts my next workout (having 4-5 days off in between hitting a body part rather than 2-3 leads to me being able to lift noticeably more)

It also generates a “overall strength score” and tries to show you how “balanced” your strength is across areas of your body. I’m less clear on the value of these metrics for me personally but it’s there to look at - could potentially indicate when you have plateaued and need to switch things up.

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Originally Posted by EWG

I'd suggest start with 2 days per week upper, 2 days lower (and one of those days can be both so you only lift 3x week.) Start with 10-12 reps and aim to feel it a day or two later but not with pain, just with soreness. Easier to start with less and work up then to start with a lot and pull something.

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Thanks. How many sets to start do you think?

I can't get warmed up for cardio in under 20-30min. Other older folks can just start skinning at days pace from the get go.

Using a bike trainer on Zwift it was eye opening to see how much better I performed in a standardized test after warming up for 30 minutes versus 5-10.

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Thanks. How many sets to start do you think?

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First week or two I'd do 2 sets of work after one light warm up set. Then 3 from then on, with or without the warm up set as needed. Listen to your body, it'll tell you if you are going too fast.

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

^^^Excellent topic. I used to lift but have dropped doing it in my 40s, even though I tell myself I need to. Now I feel like I don’t know how to start up again, even though I know most lifts. Should I start with 3 days a week, 1 day on Chest / Tris, 1 day on Back / Bis, and one on. legs? Or do 3 days of 1-2 lifts per muscle group, 10 reps?

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I’d recommend you start by doing full body lift days focusing on multi joint movements 3 days a week. I’d start with 2 sets of each exercise, see how you feel, and increase or back off depending on how you feel. You don’t want to be super sore or even sore, just slightly sore. Most importantly only move up in weight by 10lbs per session for large lifts and 5lbs for lighter lifts. Even if it feels like you have more in the tank (unless it feels really really easy).

You can design this yourself with a little research or buy a program. Ben Bruno has a really good 6 week program that you can repeat and also gives you access to ask questions and get some coaching.

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Originally Posted by Meconium

I can't get warmed up for cardio in under 20-30min. Other older folks can just start skinning at days pace from the get go.

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Originally Posted by bennymac

Using a bike trainer on Zwift it was eye opening to see how much better I performed in a standardized test after warming up for 30 minutes versus 5-10.

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i've thought about jumping on the peloton for 10-15 min before going on a tour to get some kind of warm up in. esp if w other people who may be faster. not sure if beneficial if it's 30-45 min until i start skinning though?

Appreciating the discussions here.

Appreciating the discussions here.

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Originally Posted by oldnew_guy

Timely discussion here on switching to maintenance and not worrying about progression as much.

I'm currently doing starting strength after being mostly a cardio guy for my entire life and making gains, but as a 40+ guy it certainly is at the forefront of my mind that my priorities are being strong and not getting injured, so I could care less about deadlifting 400 pounds.

So the question becomes, what is enough?

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I’d say bodyweight bench press, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift.

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Originally Posted by TAFKALVS

I’d say bodyweight bench press, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift.

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Dude, you’re not >40? Why TF are you posting in this thread.

We’re in our thirties we can eat shit, not drink water and still rage on skis from off the couch! Sure, when our 40s roll around that program will shift. But you legitimately confuse me as to why you are posting in a thread about fitness in an age bracket that does not apply to you for which you have no personal or professional experience.


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Last thing we need is some whipper snapper giving the geriatrics advice here.

Go ride a skateboard to the arcade or something, and get off my lawn.

Doesn’t hold anyone back from posting about Ukraine or Real Estate either.

Plus, its the over 50 thread now...but if possible I'd ride my skateboard to the arcade. Gotta stay fresh for the 30s vs. 50s ski off!

Skateboarding is for Gen X’ers in their 50s trying to relive their youth. It’s super lame. No 30 year old skateboards, yuck.

Ski Off! Skateboarding in the opposite of lame.

I’ll ski off if @LVS can somehow emulate being 40. Maybe wearing those drunk goggles? How about a bike off? I’ll let you use your eMTB? Better yet… wait for it a skate off.


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