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Summary
On episode 646 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Brad Williams, host of the Over 40 Fitness Hacks podcast and a personal trainer and gym owner for over 15 years who focuses on helping people over 40 fight the aging process while still enjoying their social lives.
They dig into the myths around progressive overload theory, why slowing your tempo (time under tension) is often smarter than chasing heavier weight after 40, and how neuromuscular learning explains the fast early strength gains beginners see.
The conversation closes on balance training and injury prevention, including stories from both Brad and Allan about falls, a torn rotator cuff, and a blown disc, and why doing your rehab properly matters as much as the training itself.
Links
- https://over40fitnesshacks.com
- Fit for Task Muscle and Strength Workshop – https://40plusfitness.com/muscle/
Key Takeaways
- Progressive overload isn’t about maxing out. It simply means adding a little more weight once you can safely handle the current load; chasing max weight or letting tempo turn sloppy stops being progressive overload and starts being injury risk.
- Slowing your tempo is often smarter than adding weight after 40. Brad recommends stretching the eccentric, lowering, phase to several seconds; you get comparable muscle results with less mechanical stress on joints and connective tissue.
- Time under tension recruits more muscle fibers at lower loads. Brad uses tempos as slow as 4 seconds up and 5 to 6 seconds down on lifts like the military press, prioritizing longevity and control over raw numbers on the bar.
- Slower protein digestion and recovery after 40 mean training has to get smarter, not just harder. Brad emphasizes quality reps and adequate protein over chasing the same heavy numbers he could move in his twenties.
- Balance training should be a standard part of every program past 40, not an afterthought. Slips, trips, and falls become a real risk with age, and off-balance and off-center work reduces that risk directly.
- Strength training protects you even when a fall happens anyway. Allan describes falling down a flight of stairs and walking away unscathed because of his resistance training, then breaking his arm on a later fall, illustrating both sides of balance versus strength.
- Know your surroundings and know how to fall. Brad’s worst injury, a blown L5-S1 disc, came from tripping over gear he knew was a hazard but didn’t bother to move because he was “just grabbing a few items.”
- When you are injured, do every bit of the prescribed rehab, and no more than prescribed. Brad describes pushing his recovery timeline faster than his physical therapist advised and setting himself back months as a result.
- Brad’s three strategies to get and stay well: stop focusing on just one thing and work across all the “buckets” at once (diet, movement, stress, and sleep); score yourself on each bucket regularly instead of guessing how you’re doing; and pay close attention to how specific foods, meats, and supplements affect your body differently as you age.
“The whole point of the concept was do it safely.”
Brad Williams
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 649 – How to design your perfect strength training program after 40
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 646
Published: 2024-06-11
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): Brad Williams, our co host, coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)