The blog

The questions that come up more than the tests do.

The eleven tests answer where you stand. These answer everything around them: what to buy, how often to train, what to do about a shoulder that will not go overhead, and how to come back after years away.

Gear ·

What size kettlebell should a man over fifty start with?

The honest starting weight is heavier than most beginners buy and lighter than most men buy. Here is how to pick one bell, and why one is enough.

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Getting started ·

How to start training again after years off

Coming back after a long layoff is a different job from starting fresh. What to do in the first four weeks, and the two mistakes that end most comebacks.

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Gear ·

The home gym that covers everything, for under two hundred dollars

Four purchases, in order, that cover every test in The Over 50 Standard. What to buy, what to skip, and why nine of the eleven need nothing at all.

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Mobility ·

Why pressing overhead hurts after fifty

Most locked shoulders are a stiff mid-back wearing a disguise. How to tell the difference, and the daily work that changes it.

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Training ·

How often should you train after fifty?

Three sessions a week beats five for most men past fifty, and the reason is recovery rather than effort. What a real week looks like.

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Strength ·

Grip strength, and why it is worth taking seriously

Grip is the first thing to fail in the carry and the hang, it is one of the most watched markers of ageing, and it responds to five minutes a day.

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Training ·

Can you still build muscle after fifty?

Muscle still grows after fifty. What changes is how much food it takes, how long the joints need, and how much of the first three months is your nervous system rather than new tissue.

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Food ·

How much protein does a man over fifty need?

The number, where it comes from, and the rule about spreading it that matters more after fifty than before. Plus what thirty grams actually looks like on a plate.

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Food ·

Is creatine worth taking after fifty?

The most studied supplement in sport, what it does, what to buy, what the scale will do in the first fortnight, and the one conversation to have first.

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Control ·

How to improve your balance after fifty

The cheapest test on the standard and the one that improves fastest. How to test it honestly, what the number means, and the two minutes a day that move it.

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Mobility ·

Why your heels lift when you squat

Most men blame their hips. It is usually the ankle, and there is a one minute test that tells you which. Then the daily work that moves it in about three weeks.

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Training ·

Are kettlebell swings bad for your back?

A swing done as a hinge is one of the friendliest things you can do for a back. A swing done as a squat with a weight in it is one of the worst. Here is the difference.

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Training ·

Why you are sore for three days now

Recovery after fifty is slower in specific ways and unchanged in others. What actually takes longer, what does not, and how to structure a week around the difference.

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Strength ·

What a daily dead hang actually does

Thirty seconds on a bar trains grip, shoulder position and overhead range at once, and it is the Foundation rung of two separate tests. How to build up to it safely.

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