Bros,
TLDR; Hit my early 40s and sharing what I am doing to lose fat, build muscle and get nookie.
I've gotten fat over the past couple of years. I've hit the weights off and on but a couple of months ago I started trying to be more consistent and, over the last 5 weeks, I've upped the commitment to 3-4 days per week and tightened up the diet. This program was worked for me in the past. I like it, as opposed to starvation diets, because it is sustainable.
The program I usually use is a little different from a typical cycle with focus on specific body parts on a given day (chest day, legs day, back day, shoulders day). Instead, it tends to be more whole body / core exercises and lifts. I'm doing 3-4 days per week. Here's an example:
Day 1: 4x8 Front Squat, 4x8 DB Shoulder Press, 4x10 Jump Squats, 4x8 Dumbell Bench, 4x10 Windshield Wipers, 4x 4-point plank (60-90 seconds).
Day 2: 4x8 Hang jump shrug, 4x8 bent-over row, 4x8 single leg romanian deadlift, 2x4x8 single-arm pulldown, 4x8 reverse wood chop, 4x side bridge (60-90 seconds)
Day 3: 4x8 High pulls, 4x10 step ups, 4x8 incline bench, 4x8 dumbell press and bend, 4x8 cable push-pull rotation, 4x 3-point plank
Day 4: 4x5 dumbell 1-arm snatch, 4x10 good morning, 4x8 bent-over dumbell row, pullups (to exhaustion), 2x4x10 corkscrews, 4x8 core rows.
I tend to stick with 8 reps because it seems like a nice balance to me. I tend to alternate between two dissimilar exercises at a time so that I have less time resting. It's about an hour to warm up, stretch and get through it. I use whey before the workout and typically have a meal right after with carbs and protein.
I don't usually go lower than 8 reps because that would mean more weight and I tend to baby my knees, wrists, shoulders and back. If anything is bothering me, I'll switch out an exercise and give whatever a chance to heal. I usually do 2 on, 1 off, 2 on and rest off weekends.
The program above continues for a few weeks and then it switches to a mostly different group but same principles. Traditional bench instead of dumbells, jacknifes instead of shoulder presses, dynamic planks, lunges instead of squats, etc.
Occasionally, I switch up just for shits and do something I don't tend to so as much like pushing the sled (holy shitballs) or arms day.
Diet plan is pretty simple: High protein, avoid carbs, especially bread, except at breakfast and after a workout. Eat clean, never hungry. Limited booze and "cheating" is allowed on the weekends but don't get carried away. Aim for a caloric intake that yields about .5 - 2 pounds of weight loss per week.
Some example meals:
Typical breakfast: Small whole wheat bagel/ham/egg sandwich OR eggs/bananas OR greek yogurt/bananas.
Snack: Yogurt/Cottage Cheese/Almonds
Pre-workout: Whey.
Lunch (after workout): Whole wheat/brown rice/chicken/guac/pico burrito OR turkey/veggie/chili OR venison/rice/broccoli
Snack: Yogurt/Cottage OR Cheese/Almonds OR protein bar (rarely)
Dinner: Chicken and veggies OR Burger and veggies OR fish and veggies.
Final snack (maybe): same as above.
Sleep: At least 8 hours.
I'm seeing ongoing strength gains, less soreness, weight loss at about 1 lb per week. YMMV. Just putting it out there for discussion and thoughts.
