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Summary
On episode 673 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan and co-host Coach Rachel sit down with Tom Mouland, known online as Tom the Trainer. Tom learned the value of training when he was younger, but it took a serious back injury to push him to get the education that resolved his own pain. He became one of the top trainers at one of the largest fitness businesses in Canada and now coaches online and hosts the podcast Tom the Trainer Fitness.
Tom lays out a structured periodization model for anyone over 40 who already has some lifting experience and wants to move their physique to the next level. He starts clients on full body training to build the neuromuscular connection and skill in compound lifts, then progresses to an upper/lower split for recomposition, and finally to a push/pull/legs split to maximize muscle-building intensity, cycling through the whole progression again with new exercises once it plateaus.
The conversation also covers using stability, or the lack of it, as a training tool, how and when to deload, why bulking and cutting cycles are a bad idea for most people over 40, and a simple, balanced approach to nutrition built around a modest calorie deficit and a planned refeed meal.
Links
- https://www.instagram.com/tomthetrainerfitness
Key Takeaways
- Tom’s periodization progression runs from full body, to upper/lower, to push/pull/legs. Full body training, run for around 12 weeks at lower intensity, builds the neuromuscular connection and skill in compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and rows before adding heavy load. From there, upper/lower splits allow more volume per muscle group for recomposition, and push/pull/legs splits let you push intensity even higher since each muscle group gets at least 72 hours of recovery before it’s trained again.
- You have to earn the right to isolate smaller muscles like biceps and calves. Isolation exercises get added in as clients move from full body into the split routines, not at the start. Building competence and volume tolerance in the big compound lifts first gives a much better return on time invested.
- Full body training is specifically optimized for body fat reduction, not just general fitness. Because you’re training the whole body frequently at moderate intensity, you burn fat efficiently while still triggering enough muscle protein synthesis to hold onto and build some muscle, setting up the body to respond well when training intensity increases later.
- Stability, or the deliberate removal of it, is itself a form of progression. Moving from a machine, which fixes the path of the lift, to a barbell, to independent dumbbells, progressively demands more from stabilizing muscles beyond the prime movers. Tom uses this to build joint resilience and unlock strength gains, the same way Coach Allan describes using a leg press to build up a client’s squat by adding stability first.
- A deload is a planned reduction in training stress, not a full week off for most people. Signs you need one include irritability, trouble sleeping despite feeling worn out, stalled strength numbers, and elevated stress. Tom prefers cutting training days or intensity for a period rather than stopping entirely, because a full week off risks someone not coming back to the habit.
- Bulking and cutting cycles are a bad idea for most people over 40. That bodybuilder approach works because it’s easier to optimize for mass or for fat loss separately rather than both at once, but Tom argues the health tradeoffs, recovery demands, and unsustainable extremes make it the wrong model for anyone not competing or being paid to do it.
- His nutrition approach, the “luxury lifestyle allowance,” uses a modest calorie deficit with a balanced macro split rather than extremes. A rough starting point is 35 percent protein, 35 percent carbohydrates, and 30 percent fat, adjusted over time. He includes a planned refeed or cheat meal to down-regulate hunger hormones and make the plan sustainable, and treats food as the dial he turns least often, relying on training and activity to drive most of the change.
- Recovery, not training intensity, is where the real adjustment needs to happen with age. Coach Allan notes his own recovery now takes roughly 50 percent longer than it did in his mid-40s, even though his training intensity hasn’t had to drop. Tom tracks this through a detailed client check-in form rather than a fixed rule, since recovery needs vary person to person.
- Tom’s three strategies to get and stay well: regulate your sleep by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day; build morning and evening routines, filling up your cup in the morning and deliberately letting down your guard at night to clear the day before moving on; and consistently work on both physical and mental health through regular training and personal development.
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 683 – Heal your pain and anxiety with Nicole Sachs
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 673
Published: 2024-12-17
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): Tom Mouland, our co-host, Coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)