Failure is an inevitable part of success. Setbacks, straying off course via distractions, illness, injury, or outside stresses - any number of things can sometimes make it feel like it's never going to work. Back in 2008, I had other travel plans that would also involve a lot of walking. Was badly out of shape (18+st) but started walking around our 2.5m block every other night - and was able to do the walking when I got there. But, I didn't kick on, and went back to the same old habits, and it took another 8yrs and 2+st (and some other false dawns) before finally getting on top of it.

The trick is picking success points out of past failures, and using those to set up future successes. In 2016, in worse shape than in 2008, I felt the same aches and pains but now had the experience that told me it would get better, and this time combined with the motivation of not wanting to go on blood pressure meds as well as taking my diet seriously, it all clicked into place.

And recently, feeling fresh due to lower training volume around traveling, I tried my hand at a 210kg deadlift PR - no joy this time around, but these are my takeaways:

• Last time I tried pulling 210kg it was glued to the ground, giving me a renewed appreciation of gravity!
• This prompted me to step back from chasing numbers and do more hypertrophy-focused training
• Change in training meant a bunch of new movements and rep ranges and less mental stress around performance hopes/expectations
• Strength was gained even without that as a focus
• Renewed interest in getting back to strength training, with lived experience that numbers/performance aren't as important as just turning up and working
• I'm going to get this - it's just a matter of time

Regardless of the outcome, each attempt at success is a step in the right direction. The only true failure is not taking any steps at all.

• Initial groin tweak so went in goal for the remaining 40mins
• Tweaked calf on the same leg while in goal by compensating for the sore groin
• Properly pulled the calf attempting a clearance
• Staved a finger saving a shot on goal

I've been weight training 7yrs now and you could count the number of injuries I've had on one hand and only 2 of those stopped me from training as normal - compared to most recreational sports (or this game of 5-a-side in particular!), it has a low rate of injury:

Immediately after getting home, I performed some air squats and deadlifts and noticed minimal discomfort, and was happy enough that my weight training wouldn't be impacted too much, even if it'll be a few weeks before getting back to football - and then it stuck me - if I'm able to perform these movements without too much pain, then the muscles involved aren't doing much work and therefore aren't being trained, and it's likely this lack of training/weakness that has lead to the injuries.

To rehab the calf, I'm following the Bill Starr protocol. It goes against the common practice of resting the area, instead, you actively work it with the goal of minimising scar tissue and follow-on issues. Today, for example, I did 3 sets of 25 calf raises with 90kg - a bit of pain and discomfort but tolerable, and it immediately felt a bit better after. I've been adding 2.5kg daily and will do so for another few days, before starting to drop the number of reps and continue that for a further week.

After that, I'll be introducing some sport-specific training that I hope makes me more resilient to the rigours of football:

• Wide stance/sumo deadlifts and squats (adductors/groin)
• Copenhagen planks (adductors/groin)
• Barbell calf raises - standing and seated

Only just getting back into football after a couple of years away, so going to give this a try, and see if I can stave off hanging up the boots for another while yet!

The asterisk* marked ones are all new movements for me,  so those are fairly easy PRs and I'd expect to beat them regularly as I gain experience in them. But, it's good to mix things up from time to time to help keep things fresh (while not straying too far from the tried and trusted path), and when combined with progress being made on my better-trained movements, it all helps feed that important action->result->motivation cycle.

The new programs are from Reactive Training Systems founded by Mike Tuchscherer who's responsible for introducing RPE to weight training, and they have a lot of volume (I mean, a lot!) - think this helps with my cardio, but the primary target is hypertrophy with these lower-weight-high-reps sets, and this is coupled with some traditional strength training sets of heavier-weight-lower-reps. Idea is to build, and then strengthen muscle, using these contrasting rep schemes. Enjoying it so far, and due to peak for some max attempt strength tests in July, so will get an idea then as to how effective they've been.

Comparison between my normal walk and a 10kg rucksack on the same 3m route:

Take the calories with a pinch of salt as fitness trackers are generally nonsense, but the heart rate scores are fairly accurate and seem to confirm that this is significantly more of a cardio workout, whilst still retaining the low-impact benefits of walking. Over the coming weeks I'll be adding more weight, so will be interesting to see that impact on these metrics...

This does take me back to my original weight loss a number of years ago. To maintain my 1 stone monthly loss rate, I started going for 2 walks per day instead of 1, as effectively I went from a rucksack with 44kg in it to no rucksack at all - simple physics tells us it takes more energy to move more mass, and this helped make up for that lost calorie burn rate ( I did a lot of dumb things like this during that period). Now, I'd recommend that weight loss be driven solely by diet, and whatever influence exercise has on that is just a bonus - there can be enough of a swing in calories burned in moving the heavier version of yourself around, that the diet at the lower weight is what's really going to control any rebound.

Oh, and the weighted rucksack can also be used for safely adding load to push-ups and chin-ups

The current guidelines for adults are:

• 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (brisk walking) OR 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (running or more intense conditioning methods)⁠
• Two sessions of full-body strength training⁠

And, regardless of age or gender, we should all strength train in the same manner. Based on an individual's circumstances, consideration may be required on certain movements and how they ramp up, but the principle of  "progressive overload" should be followed. Start with a manageable weight and then increase reps, weight, or both over time. This will quickly add up for most people, surprising them with what they are capable of - e.g. squatting and deadlifting your bodyweight in 12wks is within the grasp of most people.

Grip strength (correlating with overall strength) is a key mortality indicator, and the best way to retain or increase strength as we age is resistance training - and "training" is the keyword here, as "exercise" will give you a short term boost, but training is something you keep building upon, week after week.

A lifestyle without resistance training can result in 1st (14lbs) of lean mass lost every 20yrs, so even if you look after yourself reasonably well and weigh the same at 80 as you do at 20, you've likely replaced 3st of lean mass with fat - and that loss of muscle is what brings the word "frail" into play as we age, with the associated compromises on the quality of life.

Here's someone who, like me, is within this targeted age group - he's 17yrs older, but he's also got 100kg on my deadlift (beltless at that):

Or, this 75 year old lady deadlifting 200lbs (90.7kg/14.2st). She's not messing around with that quick pull, and top swagger game too!:

There are countless other examples like this. The mindset that we should take it easier as we age is the prevalent one shared by society, and even with the well-intentioned fitness/health professionals here. The reality is quite the opposite and we need to be more active than when we were younger and could get away with it. Not pushing so hard that you kill yourself in the gym, but at a level where the resistance training is challenging and adheres to progressive overload, and that can make a huge difference to your quality of life - short and long term.

Right now, I'm already more than strong enough for the rigours of daily life. So why still train 3/4 times a week attempting to get stronger still? Well, there may come a time when adding strength won't be possible, so the battle then becomes maintaining it or slowing the loss of it. The more you have, the more time you have it for - so, the sooner you start paying into your strength-pension pot the more you can dip into it later when you need it most.

And, it's never too late to start. The Beginner Perscription from Barbell Medicine is an excellent free program.

Conditioning also plays a critical role. An often overlooked and under-appreciated exercise is simple walking. A brisk 30 min walk 5 times a week can make a huge difference. Along the same lines but more challenging is rucking. Also, high-rep weight training can combine both strength and cardio.

For anyone that's cautious to start because of their age or current physical well being then please remember that we ease into this and we don't take on more than we can handle - but, we need to push a little, and it's these little nudges that add up over time. There is no rush, no deadline, instead it's a lifetime commitment and with a big-picture view these small improvements are all that's required.

So, I'd suggest recording whatever metrics you can and chart that progress over time. That could be your resting heart-rate, your blood pressure, your body-fat percentage, your waist circumference, the weight on the bar, the number of reps, etc. Gather this data and over time the progress will become apparent. Now, on a day-to-day basis, they could fluctuate wildly and sometimes it'll feel like you're fighting a losing the battle, but it's crucial to shrug it off and maintain focus as those trendlines over time will point in the right direction.

Motivation comes from results, and results come from action, and motivation feeds action - the trick is finding a routine that keeps that cycle going, and analyzing your progress in this manner can make all the difference.

If you've not seen it before, the Trap Bar used here is a useful bit of kit. Unlike the barbell deadlift where the centre-of-mass is pushed out in front, the hexagon shape of the Trap Bar allows you to stand inside the centre-of-mass, reducing stress on the lower back. I still highly recommend traditional barbell deadlifts and squats for strengthening the lower back (got rid of my own back issues this way), but the Trap Bar provides an option for adding more weekly volume to bigger muscle groups without increasing fatigue for the lower back.

I'm using it here in the capacity of a squat alternative, even though it looks suspiciously like a deadlift, it's still hitting the target of a good leg workout. I've used it in the past for overhead pressing (no need to move your chin out of the way), and squat jumps with it can be quite fun. It also simplifies some of the technical complexities of the barbell deadlift, making it a good option for beginners with decent coverage of both squat and deadlift bases.

More info on the Trap Bar: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/trap-bar-deadlifts/

• 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch, 1/2 veg.

Think these 3 food groups would constitute a lot of people's meals, but the ratios would be swapped with the calorie-dense starch at 50% and only 25% veg, and this tweak could make a fair difference in creating a deficit.

Personally, I go higher with protein, but in the same vein have two other "templates" that I use:

• 1/2 protein, 1/2 veg
• 1/2 protein, 1/4 veg, 1/4 starch

Looking at the heart-rate chart for this football game and it's fairly similar to a weight training one - same saw-tooth of increases and decreases, but with the peaks having longer durations for football. I've mentioned before that I consider weight training to be HIIT training, and with that come the cardio benefits that translate to other start-stop sports like football - would likely suffer a lot more if trying to run any continuous distance.

So, I'm wondering where this leaves the brisk walks that have been the backbone of my fitness journey for the last 7yrs? I think they still have a big part to play, and even when down to once a week, they are likely having a good effect on retaining current cardio levels. I also view them as "active recovery" - nothing brings around a pair of legs stiff from squats like a brisk walk. And, the cathartic effect is probably their best feature. Just need to get back to a better level of consistently going for them, but good to know that weight training is still covering some cardio bases.

Some comparisons with the previous year:

PRs:

The decrease in Squat and Deadlift volume is due to an overall increase in intensity, with fewer heavier reps throughout the year - each day is leg day, with some version of the squat, so still kinda surprised to see a drop. Volume on the bench has seen a big increase as I aim to bring it out of poverty - 3-5x per week now across a shed load of variations.

The average weight per rep has also seen a drop as this year I've put more emphasis on accessory work, which tends to mean isolation work using dumbbells and much lighter weights. Tbh, I think that's where the overall total Kg increase is coming from.

Overall, a pretty productive year. Learnt a lot - mostly by making a bunch of mistakes, so excited to see how 2023 unfolds!

But, this is where routine works. Workouts are planned in advance, including any on-day performance variables. Take the mind out of it - we can rationalise all types of reasons for doing, or crucially here, not doing things.

Then, just turn up for the work - rep by rep, set by set - think and plan later.

I had been taking 2.5% off the target weight, fighting the temptation to just go for it, and although I anticipated another below-par week, things felt fast so actually ended up with a 2.5% increase on the target.

As 180kg (396lbs/28.3st) is a milestone lift (four 20kg plates on either side - well, not so much now as I've upgraded to 25kg plates), I compared this against my first 180kg deadlift from August 2020. That was a maxed-out effort at RPE 10 (no reps left in the tank), versus this at RPE 7 (3 reps in reserve) - both reps completed this time before the single rep from then.

Unfortunately, at the time I wasn't doing video tracking, so don't have metrics to compare, but the difference is still night and day, and a reminder that although progression on a week-by-week basis may not be obvious, a bigger picture view can often give a better reflection of where you are at - and hopefully feed into maintaining the consistency->progression cycle to drive results.

During the same period, I increased my strength training from 3 days per week to 4 (averaged 3.4 workouts, up from 2.6 the previous year). The idea was to use the other 3 days for some cardio and at a minimum do a 3-mile brisk walk that has been my staple for 7yrs. Instead, I ended up with 1.3 walks per week, 3 HIIT sessions in total and I haven't kicked a ball in a 5-a-side in > 18 months. Not good, not good at all...

But, looking at the resting heart rate data for the year and it's telling me 50bpm. According to the chart here, that puts me in the "Athlete" category, not just for my age group, but all age groups!?

It does kinda make sense though. Strength training can almost be considered a HIIT session - some high-effort work in short bursts, followed by longer rest periods, wash, rinse, and repeat. The heart rate capture image below shows one of my strength training workouts, with a saw-tooth graph of heart rate similar to a HIIT session. 50% (30mins) of the workout is spent in the Aerobic-plus heart rate zones, When I walk, I rarely get into the Anaerobic zones (maybe 4%) and never into the Maximum zone despite walking as fast as I can, so strength training is giving the heart a fair workout too.

So, I think I'd now place these in this order of importance as minimum goals that could work for anyone looking to improve their health/fitness:

• Resistance Training: 2+ times per week
• 80/20 Nutrition: Single ingredient foods/souls food split with protein at 1+g per kg of body weight and 20-30 grams of fibre per day
• Brisk Walks: 1+ times per week

A year ago, I maybe would have had those in reverse order, so interesting to change that view based on accumulating this data. That said, must do better on cardio this year - actually considering some running/sprints, so I hope I don't have the same sob story this time next year!

• 90kg x 3 (step-up 1 (step-up 2 -5%): should move fast - if not, skip step-up 2 and add 2.5% (~0.5 RPE level) for the top set)
• 95kg x 3 (step-up 2 (top-set -5%): still should be fairly rapid although more effort - if not, add 2.5% for the top set)
• 100kg x 3 (top set: should only have a slight drop of velocity between reps - if moved better than expected, add 2.5% for an extra set)

The overshoot problem really shows up with singles when you don't have other reps in the set to compare against, so I'm hoping this extra step-up will give that extra context and allow for better judgment on where my strength levels are for any given day - and crucially not overshooting the targeted effort for the day

Overall, it's been such an eye-opener. My progress was limping along for a number of years, but this year has seen some decent improvements - really should have another 10kg minimum across the board here, only for messing up the last test block:

• Squat 1RM: 160 -> 170kg (+6.3%)
• Bench 1RM: 102.5 -> 107.5kg (+4.8%)
• Deadlift 1RM: 192 -> 205kg (+6.2% - video below)

The day-to-day benefits of not feeling sore or tired from a previous workout are worth the entrance fee on their own, but still being able to make consistent progress without killing yourself in the gym is a complete game-changer - hopeful for better again this year, as I get to grips with not overshooting workouts/shooting myself in the foot!

The graph covers the last year and the three 16wk Low Fatigue Training cycles I've done. Each cycle starts at low volume, and slowly ramps up, before dropping the volume again in preparation for testing, so you get peaks and troughs.

1. Dec 2021: 73,634kg
2. Apr 2022: 91,019kg (+23.6%) (also a palindrome!)
3. Sep 2022: 118,789kg (+30.5%) - woohoo, new monthly volume PR!

As you get stronger and the weight used increases, then so too does volume, even if the rep scheme remains the same. But, the latest jump in peaks is much bigger than expected, and that's down to a difference in my overall approach.

I'm making a very conscious choice to avoid fatigue. The aim is to "undershoot" more than "overshoot" the work for the day - the fatigue from overshooting is generally a bigger hit than the lost stimulus from undershooting.

I warm up in a 5->3->1 pattern. As the warmup weight increases, the reps decrease so as to avoid an effect on the work sets. But, this can be very inaccurate for judging capacity, if it doesn't match the top set pattern. The final warmup rep would typically be ~10% off the top set, so instead of jumping straight to the top set, I'm now stepping-up to it with a mirror set that's 5% lower. If that goes well, then it's on to the top set as planned, or this now takes the place of the top set and the drop-sets are all reduced by 5%.

For example, working up to a top set of 100kg x 3 with some drop-off sets would look like this:

Next week progress to a target of 100.5kg, even if the 5% lower set was used as the requisite stimulus should still have been acquired.

Warmups are not recorded - 930kg may have been moved in this example, but it's of low enough intensity to not count. But, the 5% lower set is counted, and that's what's contributing to the peak increase this cycle.

I've probably gone with the 5% lower set about 10 times in this cycle, and I feel fresher than at the same point in the last 2 cycles. Even though the overall volume has increased, some impactful fatigue has been avoided.

Beating yourself up in a workout can reduce the appeal of the next workout. But, managing the fatigue can avoid the "torture" of going to the gym, leading to better adherence and longer-term results - minimal pain, incremental gain.

This is a workout I would have skipped in the past until I was "better" (maybe in a week or more time?), but clearly, I was already there, even if feeling non-optimal - so, able to continue building on the progress of the weeks before, avoiding a stall or even regression. Dropping 10 or 5% on this would still have been a productive workout if that's where my capacity lay - it's not about the absolute weight on the bar, it's more about working just-hard-enough to provide the correct stimulus dose/response.

Sometimes, the trick can just be showing up, even when not feeling the best, and then taking it from there - and that can make the best medicine.