The Prime of our Lives

People act like your 30s are some sort of rare physical challenge.

I turn 35 tomorrow. I've never felt, looked, or been better and I don't see progress slowing down any time soon. And why should I?! I'm turning 35….not 65.

Your 30s simply reflect the habits and foundations that you built/prioritized in your 20s.

I made a habit of training – no matter what – in my 20s. It stuck.

I overtrained, did stupid things in my training (due to being influenced by bad advice online), dealt with serious injuries, reassessed, and rewired my training strategy.

My own experiences and injuries made me a better personal trainer, as well as a more understanding, empathetic person.

All that took place in my 20s.

While I made MANY mistakes, the habit of prioritizing health, lifting weights, and taking nutrition seriously was strong and it is a part of me, no matter what life throws at me.

The injuries in my mid-late 20s could have derailed me and discouraged me from taking my training so seriously. But it didn't because that was never an option. I just changed HOW I trained (partially due to necessity and partially due to realizing there's better, more time efficient, less joint damaging options).

Sure, as we get older, stupidity is less forgiving. We accumulate more responsibilities and have less time to dedicate to ourselves. But so what? Adapt, train in a way that fits your schedule, using equipment you enjoy, and always be disciplined enough to train hard. Not long. Not super high volume. But hard. Sets should be difficult. Volume doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, especially if you're frequency is high and you're consistent. Whether you do higher volumes or lower volumes depends mainly on personal preference, time available to train, and which option allows you to get stronger (adding more reps and/or more weight) most frequently.

I found that I enjoy focusing on fewer exercises per session (3-5) and doing 2-3 sets per exercise. But, I train very frequently – albeit briefly (20-30 minutes per session) – and I hit each muscle group twice per week. So my volume is definitely not high, but it's not terribly low either. I just spread it out across more sessions. This allows me to have short, focused, high quality sessions and I seem to get stronger – again, adding reps or load – more often then when I do more exercises and sets per session. Most importantly, I really enjoy training like this so I come back and train 5-6 days per week, week after week, all the time.

Like I always tell my clients: if it ain't fun it won't get done.

If you haven't established solid health and fitness habits in your 20s, don't sweat it. You're never too old to begin setting the foundation for a life of health, fitness, and vigor. If you're in your 30s, you're still young – in your prime, actually!

I see so many people online in their 20s acting like they're old, or thinking that everything's going to come crashing down once they turn 30. And then when it doesn't crash and burn on their 30th birthday, they act like they've discovered some secret hack (biohack, even) to health and longevity.

Haha!

Quit fooling yourselves. 30s are nothing. The fountain of youth. We've still got a LONG time to live and we should expect to live healthfully during the next 4-5 decades. Things will eventually get harder. But the decade of one's 30s is not the one to fear. It's one to embrace.

Life is hard. But it's harder if you're dumb, fat, and weak.

Establish positive habits. Exercise regularly and consistently. Expect to progress and you will.