Once you get into your 30s, things start to change, it takes longer to recover and injuries can sideline you, affecting your ability to stay fit.
What worked in your 20s, doesn’t cut it anymore and you need to understand these 4 steps to set yourself up for the years ahead so you get the most out of your life and don’t spend your days worrying about your body declining and letting you down.
Unfortunately most guys fail to “stay fit” and keep training like they’re 18 and end up injured, frustrated and stagnant with their training.
A lot of things change in your 30s that impact your ability to make progress. Working with these changes is the key to getting results in your 30s and 40s with training.
Training like you’re still 20 instead of prioritizing ways to “stay fit” is why you keep getting hurt in your 30s.
These are the top four reasons I see guys struggle with making any progress with their training after 30.
- Poor sleep
- Increased stress from work
- More commitments with family
- Not addressing underlying weaknesses and injuries.
If you focus on addressing even one of these issues while striving to stay fit, you’ll see a big improvement with your results.
Step 1: Dial in your sleep
Recovery becomes even more important as you get into your 30s. If you want to stay fit, have more energy, build more muscle, and reduce injury risk, sleep is the biggest lever to pull.
You are also juggling more intense work schedules, kids, and higher stress as you get into your 30s, so sleeping is crucial.
Here’s what to do:
- Get your phone out of your bedroom.
- Start a pre bed time wind down with technology.
- Turn off devices 30-60 minutes before bed.
- Get into a regular wake schedule.
Step 2: Up your protein levels
Retaining muscle becomes more challenging and important as you age. Upping protein is essential to aid this and to also help with growth and repair.
A simple guide to aim for is 1.5 X your bodyweight in grams of protein.
If you’re an 80kg man that works out at 120g of protein a day. 80 x 1.5 = 120.
If you struggle to reach this with food alone, you can add a protein powder to add an extra 40-60 grams a day.
Step 3: Focus on a well rounded strength program
Just training the beach muscles won’t cut it anymore. It’s time to start addressing a lot of the imbalances that have built up over the years from sports, bro splits and long hours at work.
Here’s what to do to stay fit in your 30s:
- Focus on training you back and glutes twice as much as your chest, arms and quads.
- Prioritize single limb work to help iron out a lot of weaknesses that have built up.
I’ve trained a lot of strong guys who can squat and bench a ton but once we switched to gymnastic rings or single leg work like lunges they were weak and unstable.
Step 4: Walk more every day
Walking is the final part of staying strong and pain-free in your 30s. It helps with stress, recovery from exercise and lymphatic drainage.
It will also help with joint mobility as the more time spent walking means less time sitting.
I feel stronger, fitter and more mobile at 35 than I ever did at 25 since I’ve changed my approach to training and dialed in these four steps.
Invest in the basics now to stay fit and reap the benefits of exercise in your 30s, 40s and beyond.
You can listen to our podcast on the biggest traps I see guys over 30 make here.