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.
Food ·
Vegan protein without soy or gluten
No tofu, no tempeh, no seitan. Where the protein comes from on a vegan, soy-free and gluten-free diet after fifty, and how to make the numbers add up.
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Food ·
Three vegan breakfasts with no soy or gluten
A chickpea flour omelette, protein porridge with hemp, and a pea protein smoothie: three fast breakfasts that are vegan, soy-free, gluten-free and high in protein.
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Food ·
Vegan meal prep without soy or gluten
Four high-protein dishes you can cook twice a week: lentil chilli, red lentil curry, quinoa and black bean bowls, and a chickpea salad. All vegan, soy-free and gluten-free.
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Food ·
Vegan protein snacks without soy or gluten
Roasted chickpeas, hummus, pumpkin seeds, nut butter and a pea protein shake: easy snacks that add protein between meals and are vegan, soy-free and gluten-free.
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Food ·
Gluten-free carbs to fuel your training
Rice, potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat, certified gluten-free oats and fruit: the gluten-free carbs that fuel training after fifty, how much to eat, and what to watch for.
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Food ·
Vegan protein after fifty
The same daily number as anyone else, where plant protein comes from, why the servings need to be a little bigger, and the easiest way to close the gap.
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Food ·
Three vegan high-protein breakfasts
Tofu scramble, soy yoghurt with protein, and overnight oats with soy milk: three fast plant-based breakfasts that put real protein into the first meal of the day.
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Food ·
The plant-based plate rule
The same simple plate, built from plants: half vegetables, a quarter tofu, tempeh or beans, a quarter carbs, and a thumb of fat. How to make the protein quarter count.
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Food ·
The nutrients vegans over fifty should watch
B12, vitamin D, omega-3, calcium, iron and creatine: which matter most on a plant-based diet after fifty, where to get them, and what to ask your doctor to check.
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Food ·
Vegan meals after a workout
No rush and no special shake. A plant-based meal with a good serving of protein within a couple of hours, what that looks like, and when a plant shake makes sense.
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Food ·
Should you eat before a morning workout?
For a short session you do not have to. When a small snack helps, what to choose, the one exception that matters, and what to do every morning either way.
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Food ·
Water before coffee
Why thirst gets less reliable with age, what being a little dry does to a workout, and a habit that takes ten seconds a morning.
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Food ·
The only plate rule you need
Half vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter carbs, a thumb of fat. Why it works after fifty, how to use it, and when counting for a few days is worth it.
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Food ·
Stop drinking your calories
Juice, sweet coffee drinks, soda and alcohol add up faster than food and fill you up less. Where they hide, and the one swap a day that sticks.
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Food ·
What to eat after a workout
No need to race to a shaker. A real meal with protein within a couple of hours, what it looks like on a plate, and when a shake actually makes sense.
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Food ·
Three high-protein breakfasts in under five minutes
Greek yoghurt, eggs and cottage cheese: three fast breakfasts that put real protein into the meal most men over fifty get wrong.
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Control ·
Better balance starts with your legs and your bones
Why strong legs matter more than balance tricks, what to ask your doctor about bones and vitamin D, and the little daily practice that keeps you steady.
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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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