“Hello young people!”
This was my grandfather’s greeting whenever he walked into any room.
It makes sense. When you are in your late 90s, anyone else in the room is likely to be comparatively young.
But this was not a “comparison is the thief of joy” situation. I think my grandfather was actually happy to be in rooms filled with younger people. At a certain age you are probably happy to be able to walk into any rooms at all.
About a week prior to my own birthday (my 54th if you are keeping track), I competed in Hyrox.
(Hyrox has become so popular that I don’t feel the need to explain it. But, just in case, it’s a fitness race that combines running and functional fitness exercises that takes most people between one and two hours to complete.)
And while mid-50s is not exactly the same as late 90s, I’ve become increasingly aware that I am not exactly going to be one of the younger people in the room when it comes to the gym or fitness competitions or whatever.
And that’s fine. Growing older is a gift. In fact the true paradox of humans is that everyone wants to live a long life yet no one wants to grow old.
OK, so I’ve accepted that I can’t stop the clock. What I haven’t accepted is that I can’t still kick ass at this age.
This is my fourth year doing Hyrox. And every previous race I went into it happy to compete and be part of our community of people also participating and satisfied with finishing.
This year, I wanted to treat it differently.
So this time I dialed in both my nutrition and my training, particularly my running, for about three months leading into the comp.
I bought new running shoes. I upped my mileage. I nailed my protein targets. I tracked my calories.
Every day. Without exception.
Now, many long time readers of the blog know that I am contractually obligated to post my before and after pics here every 10 months or so.
(For those of you who are new here, I used to be a chubby guy and in my late 20s, inspired by my upcoming wedding, I lost about 60lbs in 5 months which started my commitment to fitness for the past 25 years)
But, to be honest, those pictures were starting to get a bit irrelevant. I mean the “afters” were taken 14 years ago now.
So part of my motivation for getting in great shape for Hyrox was not only to score a PR time, but also to secure a new set of photos taken by the professional photographers they have on the course.
Without further ado, here is a highly curated selection.
Pretty crazy, right?!?
I posted these photos on Instagram and got a lot of lovely and positive responses. I also got a few DMs (no, not those types of DMs) asking me how the hell I could accomplish these kinds of results at this age.
And I thought my answers would actually make good fodder for a blog post (listen, when you bang these out every week without fail for years, you’ve gotta keep your eyes peeled for ideas).
So here are some truths (and they may seem like harsh truths) about what it takes to get into (I’m searching for a word here and the only one that comes to mind is “elite” which isn’t quite right but I’m going to use it) elite shape.
The first truth you have to swallow is that I have been strength training between three and seven times per week, every week, for decades.
All the muscle you see in these photos was not built in the three months that I decided to take my Hyrox training more seriously. Nope. This base has been built over decades of reps and sets and progressive overload and following the program.
Fat loss is a pretty fast process. In fact, when you go beyond just general weight loss (which, let’s say, is when you need to drop more than 10% of your body weight) and are looking to use fat loss as more of body recomposition, you should be able to get to where you want to go in about 12 focused weeks.
(If you are 50 or 100 or 100s of pounds overweight, the process will and should take much longer)
However when it comes to building muscle (unless you are brand new or going through puberty) the process is muuuuuuuuuch longer. This is why people cannot crash diet their way into impressive physiques. You just aren’t going to be able to shortcut the number of sessions and reps and years it takes.
Harsh truth #2: at this level, there is very little wiggle room. For the 10 weeks or so that I spent in a caloric deficit I didn’t have a cheat meal. I accounted for and tracked all my food. I ate the same things every day. I didn’t wing it. I didn’t have “just one bite” of anything.
I stuck with my plan and executed it as perfectly as I could every day.
Now, this isn’t necessary for everyone or every phase. You can certainly make progress with a more moderate approach. Particularly if you don’t have a time frame or you aren’t looking for very low body fat percentages.
I also applied this same level of compliance to my running training. I don’t love running. I’d never run beyond 5.5 miles before. But three times per week, every week, I did the three running sessions (recovery run, intervals, long run) that were assigned to me. I built up my distance to runs of 7.5 miles. I dropped my paces by minutes. I just very systematically, and without fail, did what I was told.
Which leads me directly into the next harsh truth, do what your coaches tell you.
I’m very smart when it comes to most aspects of training and nutrition. And, still, I received advice on programming from our running coach Jess. I shared my blood work with our dietician, Jennie. I got nutrition advice from coach (and human anatomy chart) Hollis. I followed the Fort strength program that either Kyle or I wrote. I kept the paces that Cody asked for at my Hybrid Athlete training sessions.
Many, many people are resistant to following the program. They find it restrictive.
“What do you mean that I can’t have my Friday night pizza?”
“What do you mean that I shouldn’t bench press five times per week?”
And I get it. We like what we like and don’t want to be denied those things. But next level outcomes require next level dedication. At least for a finite amount of time.
But more importantly, surrendering to the program is actually very freeing. You don’t have to think or second guess or wonder. You just trust what is on the page and execute.
I’m not saying there aren’t challenges. You may have to alter your social engagements or have awkward conversations about why you aren’t having your usual 17 gin and tonics during happy hour.
And if you want to give into that, sure. That’s your choice. Just don’t expect the results you’re aspiring to without the requisite effort.
Final harsh truth (and there are more but I don’t want to lose you): genetics certainly play a role, but not as much as you think.
I can walk by a dumbbell rack and seemingly gain muscle. I’ve taken seminars with people who’ve squatted 405 the first time they ever tried squatting back in junior high school. We all have that coworker who has a six pack but seems to survive on swedish fish and the free morning donuts provided at the status meeting.
And I don’t want to discount those things. They are real. But I’ve also never seen anyone held back from accomplishing astonishing fitness outcomes by their genetics.
I will use myself as an example. No one in my family is like me. They don’t train. They don’t workout in the gym. They don’t look anything like I do. I have a brother and a sister who come from the same parents and they don’t have shoulders or biceps or compete in weightlifting or Hyrox or whatever.
(The only exception to this is my brother-in-law Matt who has dedicated himself to running for a few years now. It’s helped him lose about 50 pounds and he is preparing for his first marathon in the Fall. Matt is like a brother to me but not a blood relative. So this is a bit irrelevant when it comes to genetics but I’m so proud of him that I wanted to shout him out!)
Now, they certainly could. And if they did, I’m convinced they’d get good results. But I could say that of almost anyone. People are limited by their desires, their habits and their dedication to the outcomes in the long term, not by their bloodline.
In the absence of a disability or a disease, you are capable of much more than you are blaming on genetic limitations.
The last harsh truth I save for myself. And that is the reality that one day I'll be the oldest guy in the room.
But my hope for myself is that I'll also be the oldest guy who can still deadlift, run a race, or climb a flight of stairs without thinking about it.
So, until then, I'm going to keep setting myself up for the best outcomes and see what I'm capable of.
I hope you do the same.