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What is 40fit?

40fit supports a community of athletes age 40+ with Fitness, Community and Lifestyle resources. The goal is to support performance, lifestyle and quality of life for 40 plus athletes. By combining the resources of evidenced based science, anecdotal experience, and the community, individuals are challenged to look at aging through a refreshing perspective and reach their maximum genetic potential.

Why?

The more I trained using various methods, the more I realized there was something missing.  I noticed that even though I was significantly more fit than most of my peers, my experience in training was not the same as the “younger crowd.” The higher my fitness level became, the more I realized the value of fitness and lifestyle factors that I paid less attention to in the past. This is true for almost any athlete seeking higher levels of performance and capacity. Any inexperienced athlete can make quick and sometimes astonishing gains.

40fit programming is based on my own personal experiences as an athlete, evidenced based science and the collective experiences of the community. The programming model is a conjugate of these inputs and represents an adaptive construct to support the maximum genetic potential of each individual athlete. There is no one system that can meet the needs of all individuals, and anyone who would tell you otherwise is selling something for the purposes of selling something. The programming in the training model will constantly change and be a work in progress. We will not follow fads or training techniques just because someone else recommends them or they have become sexy. The foundation of any training should be based on what works, not what sells. I know that puts us at a significant disadvantage to spread the word, but I hope that the results of those who engage in our training will be evidence enough.

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  2. #26 - Are You Overtraining? Part 2: Prevention and Treatment

#26 - Are You Overtraining? Part 2: Prevention and Treatment

Oct 5, 2018

Last week Coach D discussed the signs and symptoms of overtraining. Today he talks about strategies for preventing overtraining and treating it when it does happen.

 

  1. Nutrition - this is one area that blocks the progress of many novice trainees. Your eating habits need to support your training. First and foremost, make sure you are getting enough protein. For most men, this is going to be at least 200g per day, and for most women 150g a day. The majority of that protein should be from animal sources. Secondly, don't ignore carbohydrates! As you advance in your training, you will need adequate stores of glycogen to complete heavy strength training and HIIT sessions, and skimping on carbs will impair your performance. How much carbohydrate an athlete needs will be specific to the individual, but most of them will require moderate to high carbohydrate levels.
  2. Sleep - sleep is the body's time to repair, remodel, and build new tissues, and thus it is a critical component to the recovery process. You can't short your sleep for very long before it becomes a drag on your recovery. Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
  3. Mental health - psychological stress is a form of stress! Not all stressors are physical in nature. If you have significant psychological stress, either from your job or family or any of the curveballs that life is known to throw from time to time, then that is likely impacting your ability to recover from workouts. Take some time to ensure you are giving yourself space to relax, to let your brain rest, on rest days. Small habits add up here. Try to turn off electronics an hour before bed. Sleep in a dark room. Take a walk everyday. Try yoga or meditation.
  4. Programming - all programming only works for so long. If you've been training consistently and hitting it hard for awhile, it may be time to adjust your programming. There are many ways to approach this, but it could be as simple as reducing the volume or frequency of your workouts, or cycling the intensity so that you're going heavy fewer times per week.
  5. Review your progress and change programming if necessary. Have you made progress in 6 weeks? 3 months? The more advanced an athlete you are, the longer it will take to make measurable progress. But if you're not making progress on a timeline appropriate for your level of advancement, it may be time to change your programming. This is where your training log is a critical tool!

 

Additionally, for novice strength trainees an excellent resource is Mark Rippetoe's The First Three Questions article. Many novices end their LP prematurely by failing to account for some basic recovery issues, especially nutrition. Rippetoe lays out the first three questions a novice should ask themselves if they find themselves stuck during the novice linear progression.

 

Interested in learning the barbell lifts, but don't have a good coach in your area? Visit our friends at Starting Strength Online Coaching to get paired with a top notch Starting Strength Coach who will coach you through all the barbell lifts and manage your programming on a daily basis

 

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