Im 38 now, trying to get back into a 3 day a week routine. I work a high stress job, and i play hockey 2 times a week. Im also married and my weekends are usually full of housework. Lately i feel like I cant stay consistent because i just have no energy any more. I also dont feel like my body is recovering either.
I drink protein shakes, and try to pound energy drinks to keep myself going. Other than that, im out of ideas. Any got any advice on getting energy and recovery at my age?
None of my gym sessions ever go more than 30 total reps (with rare exception). Yesterday I did 5 total sets across 4 different exercises (Zercher Squats, Assisted Pullups, Assisted Dips, Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press) and today I did 4 total sets across 3 different exercises (Seated Dumbbell Shouler Press, Romanian Deadlift, Close-Grip Cable Row).
My suggestion is to cut back your volume to 20 total reps per day and no more than 3 sets. If this “fixes” your energy problem then your problem was too much volume. The solution is to reduce your volume down to bare minimum then slowly add volume each week until you find your “sweet spot” where you still have enough energy to do more important tasks.
This constraint also forces you to be more mindful of your own “fatigue cost” of every exercise at the gym. For example, seated dumbbell shoulder presses cost me no fatigue as far as I can tell. High fatigue (speaking for myself only) are exercises which I find uncomfortable or psychologically difficult to do, even with little to no weight (such as hack squats, back squats, and skull crushers).
I have made unbelievable strength gains as a beginner in my 40’s. Not much muscle gains but I don’t care since that’s nearly impossible to measure accurately and the increments are too easy to lie/cheat your way to size gains. Connor Murphy did a whole video about it around Covid or just before where he shows the importance of clothing, light, camera angle, pose, and 2-3 other variables which seem unimportant but massively affect how jacked you look.
Other than that, I’ve been experimenting with supplements lately and I’ve mostly copied Derek’s (from More Plates More Dates) Gorilla mode pre-workout formula that he lists for free on his website the ingredients and amounts. Here is my “economy version” but Derek’s formula is better: