Ask Stew: What Suggestions Do You Have for an Athlete Who Just Turned 40?

If you do not make lifestyle changes as you age, you may find yourself either broken from over-training or out of shape and unhealthy from not training at all. If you want to find a happy and effective place between those two extremes, you’ll have to make a trial-and-error search of training programs and routines, nutrition plans, sleep strategies and diet supplements.

Here is a question from an active duty Navy officer who just turned 40. He’s aiming to continue his active lifestyle for another 40 years or more.

Stew, I know you have a few years on me. Do you have any lessons learned over your nearly 40 years of training? I am feeling that my late 30s and early 40s are a bit different than my previous decades. Is there anything you wish you had done differently with nutrition, supplements and daily routine? I think I need to stop thinking I am still in my 20s. Thanks, Active Navy officer (18 years).

Great question. I never thought about it until you mentioned it, but I have been training since I was 12 years old, so that is 40 years. Wow!

I will say my first 20 years were effective, but not smart. By the time I turned 30, I was broken after constant training and sports throughout my teens, followed by college rugby, and then special ops prep, training and the job for 8 years.

And yes, I have learned a few things over those years that have worked well for me, as well as for many of the people I now coach in person or through my writing.

The Beginning

I began training with calisthenics and dumbbells over 40 years ago as a young pre-teen. I had no reason other than I saw it as a personal challenge to do push-ups and pull-ups. That was a good place to start. I mixed those workouts with Little League and constant outdoor activities (bike, skateboard, seasonal sports, PE classes).

On my 13th Christmas, my parents got a concrete weight set and bench press, along with some Joe Weider workout books from a Sears & Roebuck catalog. These were basic bodybuilding workouts and produced great results for the young 13-year-old body. You do not need top-of-the-line equipment to see results.

Learning about split routines and recovery was important, as it taught me to build recovery days into my training. There are many ways to do this and you must find the ones that make sense to your abilities and facilities, as well as the time per day and days per week you wish to train.

The Hard Gainer and Hard Loser Issues

In your teens, it may be difficult to gain weight and you may eat more, add protein shakes, and lift weights and find that you do not gain much weight. Many young athletes get frustrated trying to gain weight, grow muscles and get bigger for certain sports.

As you age, eventually eating like you are a teen will catch up to you and you will find you are now an “easy gainer” and hard loser. There will be a year when you discover you cannot outwork your diet, especially if it’s a bad diet. That may be when you’re 30 or 40 years old, but it is guaranteed to happen.

Many see it in their twenties, as they become less active after college, do sedentary work and continue to eat like they were young and active. You must make changes on both ends of the calories in and calories out equation.

Sleep, Nutrition, Supplements

You cannot underestimate the importance of sleep and nutrition for recovery. When I was younger, I wish I had known about the need for sleep to help recover from the previous day’s physical activities and to prepare for the workouts on the following day.

I did not really learn this until I was in my early 30s. Finding the right portion sizes for the foods you eat is something you have to discover for yourself. There is a fine balance between eating for recovery and energy to train without eating so much that you gain excess weight.

When the portions get smaller and the extra weight stays off, you may often find that you aren’t meeting the energy demands for training. I keep some simple carbs with me during workouts just in case I need the extra energy to finish a workout. A tangerine, banana, juice or Gatorade can do the trick if you are pushing hard and starting to get a lightheaded feeling.

My supplement choices have evolved over the years from extra whey protein to collagen protein sources since my body responds too well to the whey protein during lifting cycles and I gain extra weight.

Over the last 20 years, my training routines have been much better since I created what I now call Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization. Each season focuses on complementary elements of fitness.

For instance, spring and summer focuses more on calisthenics and cardio progressions (muscle stamina and endurance). Fall and winter focuses more on weight progression with a regression of impact cardio options. That means less running. The combination of lowering running mileage and reducing the volume of calisthenics over the course of a year was life-changing for me and the new approach almost completely eliminated over-training injuries.

Before I started that, I was dealing with constant over-training injuries, work-related aches and pains and the lingering consequences from a decade of contact sports like football and rugby.

The final magic piece that I would introduce weekly to your training schedule is the mobility day. Never skip mobility day. This once-a-week activity is life-changing for everyone and not only the aging tactical athlete.

We started adding mobility days to our local special ops training programs and it has positively affected over-training issues, as well as recovery and overall performance.

I even came up with a program series called Tactical Fitness Over Forty that implements all of the above into programming designed to rebuild after injury and help an athlete take their training back to advanced levels.

You can carry these recommendations into your 50s and 60s. As I age, I will do more non-impact cardio, yoga-based stretching, calisthenics and some weightlifting, but my most important goal is to stay light and under 200 pounds for this six foot frame. Being lighter just makes everything so much easier and less painful.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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