I'm going to share with you my current plan to build muscle, keep body fat down, and improve my physique & performance overall as I get older.
And I'm going to also answer one of the most common questions I get, which is "why isn't what what I used to do in the past working for me anymore."
Now, anytime I talk about getting in better shape as you get older,
there's always one dude, let's call him "chad," who's like...
"you're young, you don't know how hard it is. we'll see how you look at 40".
I'm not at all saying it's not harder to get in great shape say in your 40s or 50 or 60s compared to your 20s or 30s.
It absolutely is harder & takes more patience...but it's also extremely doable and realistic.
But just because you haven't been able to do it, doesn't mean it's impossible.
That's something I learned and became very aware of a few years ago....that the stuff that me or you are complaining about not being able to do,
there's plenty of people out there doing right now.
And the majority of my clients are men in their late 30s, 40s and 50s who have successfully got in the best shape of their life.
I'm not talking about 1 or two guys who have done this. Dozens and dozens of guys.
Over 100 guys over the last few years who I've watched improved their fitness. Some of them so significantly, that its life changing.
So there's plenty of people doing it.
And before I dive into my personal plan - I'll answer the question of "why isn't what I used to do in the past working for me anymore?"
Listen, when we're young we can do any random exercise and it helps us stay lean.
We just started walking everywhere instead of driving or taking the train and we lose 10 lbs.
Or we just start going to the gym even though we're doing random shit and we notice some more definition in our body. (even if we're eating poorly)
It's like newbie gains to the max because we're younger and our metabolism is strong and it doesn't take much real strategy to see progress.
Now - fast forward to your 40s or 50s or 60s...and guess what? doing random exercise without a proper plan isn't going to be enough to physically change your body.
So it's not that you aren't capable of seeing the same results at your current age,
but you just need an actual game plan with your nutrition and a well-structured workout program.
And you likely need some accountability to stick to those programs....becauce you've likely got more going on in your life now.
More responsibilities, working more hours, and so on.
So you can't wing it or do random things and still expect to see results.
And that's why in my experience, when I work with guys in their 40s or 50s who were already active - but didn't have a proper strategy to follow,
and we get them following proven protocols that make sense for their particular life and situation..
they're able to see really great progress.
Even if they really struggled to do so on their own for years previously.
Now - lets dive into what my current plan is to build a better and better physique & fitness as I get older.
What I'm going to do, is spend the majority of each calendar year, let's say 8-10 months focusing on building muscle & getting stronger.
As opposed to trying to get leaner and losing fat.
And in those other 2-4 months I will work on minimizing body fat and looking shredded for summer time or if I have a trip planned or some other event that I want to look my best for. (maybe a physique competition, who knows)
But I'm at a point now where I'm pretty lean - I'd say 10-13% body fat at around 155-160 lbs.
And if I can stick around that body fat mark while adding 1 lb of muscle per month,
that is going to help me look better and better in the long term.
Because I'll have more muscle mass, and the same or less fat mass.
So for example. . . in 2 years from today, maybe I'll be 10-13% body fat but I'll be 170 lbs instead of 155.
You see what I mean?
I'll have more muscle on me at the same level of leanness.
So I won't ever be aggressively trying to bulk up or add so much muscle where I also end up gaining a ton of body fat.
Sticking in the 10-15% body fat range will allow me to continue building more muscle and getting stronger in the long term,
while staying lean enough that I'm happy with my physique and can get relatively shredded in just a few months if I really wanted to.
A common follow up question to this is - why do I want to spend the majority of the year building muscle? Why don't I stay as shredded as possible year round?
Well, to stay super shredded & lean year round - like 5-8% body fat and look insane with definition and vascularity....i'd have to eat significantly less than I would in a muscle building phase.
And not only would I sort of be stuck at that physique bc I wouldn't be capable of building more muscle and growing my physique from there...
but maintaining 5-8% body fat, kinda sucks.
Your nutrition is generally much less flexible and enjoyable.
You can't really go out to eat much, if at all.
And also, if you're in a relationship your partner needs to then sacrifice too and know that you can't take them out to eat or enjoy certain things that you might currently do together.
You also have way less energy, much lower sex drive, and it really takes over your life & is less of a balance.
Now, don't get me wrong, it's great to look as shredded as possible for a show, or a photoshoot, or the summer time, or for some temporary period.
But it is really hard to stay that shredded and to maintain that life that comes along with being 5-8% body fat long term.
Plus, like I said - because food is more strict, it makes it really hard to actually improve your physique from there.
Meaning, working on bringing up weaker muscle groups, getting stronger, adding more muscle, and so on.
So as of right now and where I currently stand with my fitness and physique and what I want,
this without a doubt seems like the most productive route to take with my training & nutrition
for the foreseeable future to ensure that I'm actually improving my body
over the next few years and decades really.
That being said, I'm totally aware that goals change and I might feel differently about this a couple years from now or 10 years from now.
I may decide I want to compete in men's physique more frequently for a year or two.
In which case, I would stay more shredded for a longer period for a couple years.
Or maybe in 10 years I fall in love with tough mudders, or martial arts, or long distance running and my performance in those areas becomes more important to me than my physique.
In which case I'd likely want to stay on the leaner side instead of mainly focusing on adding more muscle month after month for years.
Maybe I'd eat more around calorie maintenance and add more flexibility and endurance into my training.
But honestly, that is what I love about fitness....you can work on anything you want and your goals can change any time.
But there you go, that's my current long term plan to build more muscle, keep body fat low, and generally improve my physique as I get older.
and as of now, I'm excited to continue sharing my progress and journey with you as the years go by.
If you've been following me on IG or FB for a while now, you may have seen how long I've come already.
Just 5-6 years ago I had a much worse physique & if you go back 10 years ago I was just a super skinny kid who didn't even look like he worked out.
So I hope you stick along with me for the ride, because I'm very much looking forward to it.
And just to be clear, this plan I mapped out....
Anyone can do this. It's not just me. With consistency, the proper strategies, guidance, and adjustments to your training & nutrition,
anyone can do this too.
I don't care if you're 35 y/o, 45, 55, or 65. You can absolutely improve your body and health, build some muscle, lose some fat, and strengthen your metabolism.
Even if you've got a bunch of weight to lose as well.
So thank you for reading, and I hope it gave you some insight into my thought process for improving my fitness long-term.
-- Jesse