QUICK LESSON

How do we go about gaining this muscle? We have ‘more mileage on the tank’ so can’t train as hard as we did in our 20’s, the hormones responsible for our lean fat-free muscle are dropping every year making us less responsive to training, and our recovery demands are increasing year by year… so just how are we meant to turn this beatup-rusty combi van into a jacked-up Porsche 911?

Through an intelligent and science-based approach – not young blood ‘brute force’. Park the ego mate – no place for that here anymore.

Time to let science and experience lead the way

In Muscle We Trust

Regardless of your specific goal - even if it is just to lose that famous dad-bod spare-tyre that hangs over the front of your dad track pants that your kids give you shit for, or getting fitter and healthier so you’re around for your family longer - developing lean, quality muscle tissue on your frame will be the best thing you can do for your self-esteem, your health, and your physique.

Annoyingly, as we age our body doesn’t want to hold onto lean muscle. But muscle is what we require to remain strong, less prone to injury and to generally maintain a higher quality of life well into our later years. It’s also what’s going help keep our physiques lean, and ascetically pleasing as opposed to eventually looking like zip lock bags full of gravy. Not a pretty thought!

Visit All The Reps

Different rep ranges will stimulate different muscle fiber types within a muscle (fast or slow twitch fibers). Sticking purely to one rep range risks leaving a lot of growth potential on the table because you’re likely leaving other fiber types untouched.

Click On Ty Below To Watch Rep Video

TIP - Beware of programs that only favor one rep range. They don’t need to cover them all in a single workout session, but over the course of the weeks they do need to spend time focusing on different ranges to ensure full fiber type stimulation.

HOW MANY SETS SHOULD I BE DOING ?

Least Sets Is Best

The number of working sets you perform on any given exercise should always be just enough to ensure a proper growth stimulus has been generated in the target muscle. That’s it. Anything more has a diminishing return. Remember we’re about stimulating the muscle to respond with growth NOT destroy it with too much volume.

Click On Ty Below To Watch Set Video

TIP - be sure the program you follow has set structures designed to allow maximal-all-out contractile-failure but with enough intelligence to allow this required intensity to not diminish over the entire workout because of too many working sets.

Food is meant to be enjoyed. There’s no doubt about that, but now it also has a ‘scientific’ purpose and more so than ever at this stage in our life.

This meal is to help continue the glycogen replenishment requirements induced from your earlier training session, but now with slower digesting food choices. Sweet Potato provides your Carbohydrate requirements, Lean Steak provides a strong Amino Acid rich protein source, and Olive Oil allocation to provide the good Fats requirements. With a side of vegetables for fiber and micro nutrient needs.

how is food different past the age of 35?

• More so now than ever before we need to ensure we are eating enough of the right nutrients to not only preserve the muscle we have, but to also facilitate the development of new lean muscle.

• The way we are eating will determine if our body’s hormone production capabilities are supported.

• The way we eat now will either contribute towards optimal gut health or a world of accumulating digestive problems.

• Correct individual nutrition at this point in your life will be instrumental in slowing your rate of aging.

• Past the age of 35, eating for our goals becomes so much more than just calories in and calories out – it becomes supporting optimization or sadly, regression.

When working with my TFA clients all their individual requirements are taken into account. Current body composition, personal health markers, individual goals, and lifestyle considerations are all factored in, enabling us to develop specific nutrition plans - exactly right - exactly for them.

Plans are worked out down to the last detail - the types of food, meal timing, the exact weights and quantities everything needed to provide the most effective and optimal approach for the individual client. As they progress and their body improves and changes, we make sure their meal plan does also.

Now because this magazine is designed for everyone, we can’t provide individual specifics here – but what we can provide today is general rules and suggestions that if you follow will greatly improve upon what you are likely doing already.

Start your day right providing your body a balance of all macronutrients. Protein in the form of scrabbled white eggs on a bed of mixed salad. Complex carbohydrates and good Fats provided via a bowl of Oatmeal with mixed nuts. Cinnamon & Sugar-Free Maple Syrup added for guilt-free flavoring.

Mid-morning - keep it fast and simple Protein provided via a simple can of tuna tossed through a mixed salad, served on a bed of rice for complex carbohydrates, and dressed with a small allocation of Olive Oil for good Fats requirements.

Lunchtime - Requires a balance of all macro-nutrients again. Protein provided from a serving of lean Chicken Breast. Slow digesting Carbohydrates from whole wheat pasta and good Fats supplied through a serving of Avocado.

This meal is the last chance at providing your body with what it requires to give yourself the best chance at performing a highly effective workout. This meal should include an easy digesting protein source (Whey Protein), an slow releasing Carbohydrate source (example - Oatmeal) and a Fat (example - Natural Peanut Butter) source to help influence a steady release of nutrients.

After an effective workout, your trained muscle are demanding nutrients to help support the recovery and rebuilding processes. Time to give it what it needs. An easy and fast-digesting protein source is required (Whey Protein) A fast and low fiber Carbohydrate source to help muscle glycogen replenishment (Banana). And in this meal, NO Fats are to be consumed We want rapid nutrient uptake of Protein & Carbs - Fats will just slow the digestion speed in this case.

Warren Buffet once popularized the concept of comparing the pres- ervation of your health and wellbe- ing to that of owning and maintain- ing a car. The catch here however, is that this ‘car’ you have is the only one you’re ever going to get in your entire life - no trade-ins or swaps unfortunately!

Viewing our wellbeing as our vehi- cle to live life seems to make a lot of sense, yet very few of us prioritize it with longevity and maintenance in mind. Rather than maintain our health as the priceless commodity that it is, it’s far more common to see people thrash themselves, test the limits and turn a blind eye to the wear and tear that is inevitably occurring.

Whether we like it or not, the consequences of our actions all add up. Unfortunately, with age these con- sequences become more noticeable, and we just can’t get away with the same stunts as we used to. Not only that, but we unavoidably begin to feel the compounding effect of little things we’ve neglected over time.

With that said, it’s never too late to start taking better care of yourself. Proactively taking steps to train smarter and avoiding potential in- jury is a much better option than waiting for something to break! So in order to get everyone train- ing smarter, stay as injury-free as possible, and optimize their fitness goals - here are some tips to stay in the game!

Warming Up

Warming up prepares all the systems in the body for action. It gets your blood flowing, improves tissue pliability, and optimizes motor recruitment. A good warm up drastically reduces the risk of injury, and if done right, it also improves the quality of your training! Always warm up the key muscles you’re planning to train for the session, but don’t forget to activate any supporting and accessory muscle groups too!

Cooling Down

While warming up is crucial for optimal performance and injury prevention, cooling down assists with the recovery process. Spending that extra time at the end of a session to cool down could determine whether or not you wake up the next morning feeling sore! It’s easy to fall into the trap of just heading home as soon as you finish your last set of exercises, so plan ahead and give yourself a buffer of time at the end of your workout.

Rest Days

While some might admire the enthusiasm conveyed by going to the gym every single day, even professional athletes schedule rest days as part of their programs. Regular training paired with insufficient rest is a recipe for burnout and lackluster training outcomes. The amount of rest days needed varies hugely from person to person so it’s important to spend time figuring out what works best for you.

SLEEP

Humans do not function well when they are sleep deprived. Practically every measurable health outcome studied in sleep science associates poor sleep quality and deprivation with increased risk of developing significant health diseases. Respect your body by prioritizing adequate, high quality sleep each night - it’s biologically one of the most important processes for your health.

Stretch

Stretching gets its own section because inflexibility is arguably one of the biggest factors contributing to limited biomechanical function and injury risk. Let’s face it - most of us find stretching boring, uncomfortable, and time-consuming. But, I can assure you it’s not as painful, upsetting, and cumbersome as tearing your hamstring. Stretching should be included during cooling down, and I encourage developing a routine that incorporates a dedicated mobility session at least once a week.

Work On Your Weaknesses

This one is often met with quite a bit of resistance, and I fully understand why - nobody likes to train the things they suck at. The problem with never addressing your weaknesses however, is that they become your vulnerabilities. Not only that but continuing to neglect parts of your conditioning will lead to muscle imbalances and biomechanical faults over time.

Mix Things Up

The well-known saying “use it or lose it” remains as relevant as it always was when it comes to the human body, meaning it’s important to try to keep all systems stimulated in different ways. Resistance training should try to include isometric, concentric, eccentric, plyometric components where possible. Be sure to have some cardio in your program. Playing a sport can challenge balance and functional movement patterns. By exposing yourself to different types of exercise your body becomes much more well-balanced and dynamic. When it comes to longevity, variety is king.

Listen To Your Body

Our bodies have a pretty good internal monitor and alarm system. While it is natural to feel some degree of discomfort when pushing high intensity exercise, it’s important to recognize when your nervous system is sending warning signals. Perhaps you’re feeling a bit tired and not quite 100% committed to an exercise, or maybe that pain in your calf that’s been around all day is getting worse as you keep training. Start listening to that internal system a little more often - chances are, your gut feeling is probably right!

Get Feedback

All too often I have clients who claim to have ‘excellent’ form and mastery of various popular exercises, only for us to assess those movements and engage in a somewhat embarrassing process of motor retraining. I encourage everyone to seek feedback on what they’re doing from time to time - whether you ask a training buddy to check your form, take a short video of yourself, or just make use of a good mirror in the gym to critique yourself. Feedback is great for identifying inconsistent movement patterns before they become bad habits!

Consult A Professional

While reading general tips and tricks can fill some gaps in knowledge for most - the truth is that everyone is unique and has different needs. Nothing beats talking to a physiotherapist dedicated to working with you to develop the best training parameters for you. This is particularly important for those with longstanding injuries, loss of confidence, or biomechanical faults. Good physiotherapists are masters of movement and should be able to take all the guesswork out of the process. You’ll get much more value out of your physios these days by engaging with them for injury prevention and maintenance rather than waiting for

Jeff Wang is an integrative physiotherapist and health coach based in Auckland, New Zealand. Jeff has recently retired as head physio on the international ATP tennis circuit tour, and joins the Tailored Fit Alpha expert panel. The is now dedicated and focused his attention on optimizing health and performance for the modern individual. He dissects the systems that make professional athletes great and repackages them to be compatible and optimal for whoever finds they need some help in their corner.