Dean McMenamin Fitness

Was out trail running recently with my mate, Paul, who's also a PT (and a much stronger runner I'll add).



And I'm a bit of a hobbyist photographer.



So I tool my camera kit along for some cool action shots of Paul out running on the trails.



Later, when I picked out the best ones to edit then sent him the finished products he was chuffed with him



Then I got this message:



"You free in November?"



At the end of this month, he starts getting as shredded as he can in 12 weeks.



And he wants me to photoshoot his end result.



He got to telling me how he's making it routine thing every year, after he's enjoyed the summer with his kids.



This way, he'll shred off any excess put on over summer.



Which also keeps his fat loss experience sharp for coaching his clients.



You have to admire that, right?



A guy that's proactive about setting the standard, and staying on point with the methods he teaches for his clients.



Then I remembered...



I'm off to Lanzarote on the 1st October for 10 days... So I told him, count me in on this, big s**g!



Well, at least for the first 8 weeks of it.



So we've been talking and getting excited to get stuck in soon.



What's this got to do with you?



Shared journey and accountability.



Most guys don't have it.



Which makes it waaayy easier to quit when life gets in the way, or you feel a bit stressed or whatever.



8 weeks of getting dialled in with my diet and tracking will be a slog.



But imagine you get to the weekend after a long stressful Friday at work and you feel like pulling the uber eats card and having a few beers...



But then you picture your big mate dialled in with his food, prepared, organised, keeping it clean and putting the reps in the gym.



POWERFUL.



Iron sharpens iron, as they say.



What I'm getting at is -



Guys respond well to the standards of the guys in our close circle.



We need other guys who raise our standards.



So just have a think -



How can you get around more guys who push you to be better?



When you have the right people around you, ex*****on is easier.



Dean

I know what's coming to your life quality if you don't lift weights or do the things that keep you physically able.

It's one thing to want to look better in a t-shirt or take your top off with confidence on holiday, but that only happens a couple of times a year.

I've had guys in their late 30s come to work with me who were already struggling to kick a ball about for an hr or go big adventures with their kids.

I've worked with guys who waited until retirement to start doing more activities they wanted... Only to find their body wasn't up to it, and REALLY struggle to fix it.

And I know people who've lifted weights and kept fitness going through their whole lives ...

The difference is staggering.

I'm in a fortunate position to see this all the time as I work with guys of many ages with different backgrounds.

When you see this all the time it's a strong confirmation of why I train almost every day.

Personally, I love a life of adventure.

I'm happiest in the mountains and on the trails.

And I'll never take my body's ability to do that for granted.

After 30, most people are losing up up to 8% of muscle every decade, and that accelerates after 50.

Your power output is dropping even faster.

And so is your bone density.

That doesn't get noticed quickly, but by the time you do start to feel the struggle to keep up the stuff you love, you've already lost a lot of your capability.

And that's a big hit to your overall morale.

The good news is, your body is an awesome bit of kit and these things come back quick with regular training.

And the natural aging decline is waaaayyyyyy slower when you make it part of your life.

Get fit, get strong, stay capable for life.

A lot of guys today are way too distracted with conflicting fitness goals to achieve any of them.

I have more and more conversations with guys in their 40s who want to do it all.

Whether it's building muscle and also achieve a solid half marathon time.

Or building more muscle and get into Hyrox.

And although those things are not impossible -

The guys I talk with most are dads in their 40s with demanding careers and just a few hrs a week to train.

Most of you guys just don't have the recovery ability or time to do both.

That doesn't need to be a bad thing.

Making the right trade-off's is how you achieve focus and get dialled in.

And what you probably don't realise is, a lot of the younger 'hybrid athletes' you see doing this stuff online also aren't moving the needle with both at the exact same time.

You CAN (and should) lift weights and do cardio simultaneously.

Because sacrificing one entirely comes at a cost to your overall fitness, health, and longevity.

The problem comes when you're pushing for big progress in both strength and endurance performance, in the same training phase - they're both tapping into your recovery capacity, and once you've no recovery resources left to give, you over train and burn out.

You don't get fitter or stronger in your sessions.

That happens outside of them - after you recover.

IF you recover.

So although you can and should do both strength and cardio training.

And I think it's fine to do equal amounts.

It's the intensity you put into one or the other over a given period of time that makes the difference, and that's the smarter way to play it.

Pick the priority.

Push harder for progress in that area for a while.

Keep the other to ticking over with maintenance.

Dean

PS - If you want to know more about how I help busy dads over 35 with high demanding careers get in shape and in control of their health, check out the free daily debrief in my bio.

Getting a bit older doesn't mean a stiff lower back or 'bad knees'.

That's not age. That's years of your joints not being used the way your joints are supposed to be used - rust accumulation.

Your hips are central to your lower back and legs.

Train good function into those and your body will feel good, more often, and do some rad s**t without pain.

Your hips have 6 functions:

Adduction & abduction (moving sideways, often forgotten/neglected in most training programs, because it's not 'optimal' for muscle).

Extension & flexion (the main ones most people get strong with, forgetting the other two).

Rotation (internal & external).

Here are 4 movements that check all the boxes you can plug into your warm ups/weekly training...

1) side plank march: adduction/abduction strength + some flexion.

2) 90/90 drills: internal/external rotation.

3) single leg RDL knee drive: hips extension/flexion + leg stability.

4) lateral lunges: more abduction/addiction strength - great for opening up stuff groins + building athletic legs.