Tip 40-Plus Do More Work Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip 40-Plus Do More Work Here' s why this counterintuitive advice actually makes a lot of sense by TC Luoma July 1, 2019October 3, 2022 Tags Bigger Stronger Leaner, Over 40, Training Extend Your Sets For Better Results If you're over 40, doing 3 sets of 8 and going home is no longer going to suffice. It may have worked when you were younger and had testosteroned-up tiger blood flowing through your veins, but not so much when you've got a 50/50 blend of tiger blood and prune juice squirting through your plaque-riddled vessels. That's why damn near every workout should contain an extended set, drop set, or finisher of some kind and if you're not making an ugly, just-got-burned-by-dragon-fire face at the end of it, you didn't work hard enough. Do strip sets on leg press or Smith machine squats. Rep out. Pull a plate. Rep out. Pull a plate. Rep out. Pull a plate. Rep out. Collapse into a fetal position. Try Paul Carter's 10-6-10 method on an exercise or two. That's a 10-second isometric followed immediately (using the same weight) by 6 full-range-of-motion reps done with a 3-5 second eccentric, followed immediately (again with the same weight) by 10 partial range, little grunt reps. Here's what it looks like: Or pick a weight that you can do about 10 reps with. Look at the wall clock and note the time. Give yourself 5 minutes to do 50 reps with the same weight, taking little bitty chunks of rest in-between sets to failure. If you actually hit 50, the weight was too light. Mechanical advantage barbell curls like this work well too: A1. Reverse barbell curls for 6 to 8 reps. A2. Drag curls for as many reps as you can. A3. Standing barbell curls for as many reps as you can. You get the idea. It sounds counterintuitive and it smacks of weightlifting heresy, but you've got to train harder than when you were younger if you want to stay in the game. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip How to Lunge for Big Quads & Glutes Some trainers call this bad form. Then again, some trainers are kinda dumb. Check it out. Tips, Training Joel Seedman, PhD December 29 Training Tip Bad Ankles Bad Squat What are your ankles doing when you squat? It's important. Here's why. Mobility, Squat, Tips, Training Paul Carter May 29 Training Tip Take the One Pillow Test This simple test will tell you a lot about how much mobility, flexibility, or posture work you need. Check it out. It Hurts Fix It, Tips, Training Dan John June 23 Training The Five Elements of Program Dominance Volume, frequency, density, intensity, and intensiveness. Here’s what you need to know about each to train right for your goals. Bodybuilding, Diet Strategy, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Christian Thibaudeau September 22