Podcast

In my early 40s, I was getting injured a lot — probably a third of the time.

When you’re constantly dealing with injuries, it’s almost impossible to stay consistent — which means you don’t make progress. And when you’re not making progress, training stops being fun. That was certainly the case for me.

Everything felt uphill — and I was getting super frustrated.

Fast forward to today: I train six times a week and genuinely love it. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m proud of my physique and I’m objectively fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been.

So what changed?

That’s what I want to share with you — six key lessons that helped me completely transform how I train in my 40s.

If you’re in your forties — or older — and you apply even just one of these, you’ll notice a big difference in how you feel and how you perform.

But stack a few of them together, like I’ve done, and you can take your training — and your results — to a whole new level.

So, let’s jump into the six lessons.

1. Warm-ups matters more than ever

Warming up thoroughly before a training session has probably been the most powerful shift for me when it comes to reducing injuries.

Back in the day, I’d skip or rush through warm-ups. Now, it’s completely non-negotiable.

Here’s a quick example, just to illustrate the power of a warm up.

About a year or so ago, I randomly decided one day to skip my normal warmup. Instead, I substituted it with some back rehab exercises that I wanted to get in the habit of doing.

I did the back rehab exercises and went straight into my workout _ with the first exercise being front squat. I kid you not, on he fourth rep of the first set —bang — my back completely went. It was really painful and it ended up setting me back probably a couple of months.

Only in hindsight could I realise how important my warm-up was for the training session that came after it. Skipping it for some random lower back exercises that in no way prepared me for that session was a pretty stupid thing to do. It wasn’t a coincidence that I got injured only a couple of minutes into the session.

So, what does a good warm up look like? It should cover three things.

• Something broad and general to get the whole body moving
• Something specific to the day’s workout. I.e if you’re doing a lower body workout, you want to prepare the lower body — hips, hamstrings etc.
• You want to get the body warm, so you should be breathing fairly heavily

I follow a rough rule of thumb: your warm-up should take about a third of the total workout time. So, if I’m training for an hour, my warm up will tend to take about 20 minutes.

If your warm up is thorough enough, you’ll notice your range of motion dramatically increase towards the end of the warm up. Your body should feel nice, warm and loose. If you’re not seeing increased range of motion — or looseness — it probably wasn’t enough.

2. Be Smart About Volume

As you get older, your body simply doesn’t recover as quickly — and it doesn’t tolerate as much volume.

This is something I’ve had to deal with first hand. When I was doing three heavy strength sessions a week, I was constantly feeling beat up. Now I only do two, and it’s made a big difference to how my body feels.

Everyone has a different tolerance, so it’s important to stay self-aware. If you’re feeling overly tired, stiff, or mentally flat — it might be a sign you’re doing too much. And you might want to experiment with dialling the volume back a bit, and seeing how your body responds.

3. Train at 80%, Not 100%

This ties closely to volume — but it’s more about intensity.

In my 20s and 30s, I trained like I was trying to win something every session. I pushed to failure in strength work. I went all-out in conditioning.

But now? That approach just wrecks me.

What works better is training just below the edge — sitting at around 80% to 90% most of the time. I’m always trying to leave a few reps in the tank. The goal is to leave the gym feeling good, not destroyed.

One way I put this into action is I train in blocks — four weeks of building intensity, then a test fifth week where I safely push the limits. This is then followed by a deload week, where I focus on active recovery.

Another way I put the 80% rule into practice is most of my conditioning now is zone 2 cardio — low-intensity stuff. I will go to the limit in benchmark workouts, and these tend to happen only so often.

Training this way keeps my body feeling good and ready for the next session. And that consistency adds up over time.

4. Be Smart with Exercise Selection

A good way to frame this lesson is with some advice a previous trainer once gave me.

He said this: “Each day, ask yourself — what version of this workout moves me away from pain, not towards it?”

That really stuck with me.

Since then, my current trainer Jamie (who is super awesome) has helped me let go of certain exercises that didn’t serve me anymore — back squats, olympic lifts, handstand push-ups, double-unders etc.. These exercises simply aren’t worth the cost.

Nowadays, he programmes me exercises that give me the right training stimulus with the least risk.

Now, it’s easy to say this, but it’s actually quite hard to do.

And, honestly, it did take me a bit of time to accept this type of approach. Some of those exercises that were risky for me — they are actually kinda fun to do. But I had to realise that it’s about staying in the game, and it’s about being consistent.

Once you let go of the stuff that’s hurting you, you realise there are loads of options that still challenge you, keep things fun, and don’t leave you limping the next day.

5. Follow a Well-Rounded Program

Every time I’ve over-focused on one thing too much, like clock work, I’ve picked up injuries.

Too much running? Calf issues.
Too much pressing? Shoulder pain.
Too much air bike? Knee problems.

A well-rounded program spreads the load and avoids overuse injuries.

These days, my training program is super well rounded (and again I give a lot of credit to my trainer Jamie for making sure this is the case).

My training program is built around five pillars:

• Strength work
• Zone 2 cardio
• VO2 max efforts
• Mobility
• Walking

Nothing’s overdone. It keeps me feeling good, and it’s much better for long-term health — which of course matters more and more to me as I get older.

So, it’s worth looking at your training program. How well rounded is it?

6. Get Individualised Programming

This ties everything we’ve talked about together.I’m fairly knowledgeable about training. But working with a great coach has shown me there are levels to programming — especially as you age.

Jamie, my coach, constantly spots things I would miss. He helps me avoid mistakes, adjust for how I’m feeling, and refine the details of what I’m doing.

And it’s not just what he knows — when you’re deep in your own training, you sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees. No matter how smart you are
So.nowadays, when I do pick up an injury, it’s usually because I strayed from the plan that Jamie had set for me.

So I’d say: if you can find a great coach and get a personalised program, it’s worth every penny.

Here are the six lessons again:

1. Warm-ups matters more than ever
2. Be Smart About Volume
3. Train at 80%, not 100%
4. Be Smart with Exercise Selection
5. Follow a Well-Rounded Program
6. Get Individualised Programming

These are the things that keep me on the right side of injury — and let me train hard, week in, week out.

And that’s really the secret: consistency. It beats intensity every time.

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