Two sessions a week, five movements, progressive overload and a notebook. The programme that builds a body for the next forty years, not the next holiday.
From about thirty, a man who does not train loses three to five percent of his muscle mass every decade, and the rate accelerates after fifty. Muscle is not only how you look; it is how you get out of a chair at eighty, how your metabolism works, how your bones stay dense and how your joints stay protected. Two hours a week under a barbell, done consistently for the rest of your life, is the highest-return investment in this magazine.
The five movements
- Squat. A barbell back squat or, if mobility is limited, a goblet squat with a kettlebell. Legs, hips, trunk.
- Hinge. The deadlift, conventional or trap bar, or a Romanian deadlift. The whole back of the body, and the movement that protects your spine when you lift a suitcase.
- Push. The bench press and the overhead press, alternated. Chest, shoulders, triceps.
- Pull. The barbell row and the chin-up. Back, biceps, and the balance to all that pushing.
- Carry. The farmer’s walk: two heavy dumbbells, walk forty metres. Grip, trunk, posture, and the closest thing in the gym to real life.
After thirty a man loses muscle every year he does not lift. The barbell is not vanity. It is the tax you pay to keep the body you have.
The programme
Two sessions a week, forty-five to sixty minutes, at least two days apart. Session A: squat, bench press, barbell row, farmer’s walk. Session B: deadlift, overhead press, chin-ups, farmer’s walk. Three sets of five repetitions on the main lifts, working up to a weight that is hard but leaves one repetition in reserve. Three sets of eight to twelve on the rows and chin-ups. Warm up with the empty bar and two lighter sets. Rest two to three minutes between heavy sets; this is not cardio.
Progressive overload
Add 2.5 kilos to the bar each session for the upper-body lifts and 5 kilos for the squat and deadlift, for as long as you can complete every repetition with good form. When you cannot, repeat the weight next session. When you fail twice, drop ten percent and build back. This linear progression works for six to twelve months for most men who start after thirty, which is longer than most men have ever followed any programme. Write every session in a notebook. The notebook is the programme.
Recovery, which is where the muscle is built
Protein at roughly 1.6 grams per kilo of body weight a day, spread over three or four meals; for an 80-kilo man that is 130 grams, which is a lot of eggs, fish, meat, yoghurt and beans and not a lot of protein powder. Seven and a half hours of sleep. A day between sessions. Walking on the other days. Alcohol kept to the weekend. Most men who stall are not undertrained; they are underslept and underfed.
The mistakes
Ego loading: adding weight before the form is right. Skipping the hinge because it is hard. Machines instead of free weights, because machines do not train the stabilisers that keep you from hurting yourself outside the gym. Training six days a week for a month and then never again. And not hiring a coach for the first ten sessions, which is the cheapest injury prevention there is.
Questions we get asked
I have never lifted. Where do I start?
Ten sessions with a coach who teaches the barbell lifts, then the programme above with the empty bar. Add weight slowly. Six months in you will be stronger than ninety percent of men your age.
Free weights or machines?
Free weights for the five movements. Machines for accessory work if you enjoy them. Never machines instead of the five.
What about my bad back?
Most bad backs are weak backs. Start with the trap bar deadlift and the goblet squat, progress slowly, and talk to a physiotherapist who lifts rather than one who says do not.
