I Am Officially 40! Not Ready To Die…

Its official, I am 40 years old! Time flies…

Actually, the first 30 years felt like eternity, the last 10 felt pretty fast (and fun).

So, how will my training change now that I am 40?

Answer: it wont.

I am training harder than ever, it’s just a little bit more difficult since I have two kids under age 3.

You need to make adjustments.

There are also certain exercises I cannot perform anymore and its difficult for me to go insane with my cardio since I never get to rest.

With that being said, I have been lifting pretty well in the gym and I am considering signing up for my first powerlifting competition in about 5 years.

Although i dont expect to set any records, especially now that I dont have anyone to spot me, I think I should be stronger than I was in College.

When it comes to weight lifting, you can stay pretty strong until your 60s.

Running is a different story.  I haven’t been able to get even close to my college running times, although, I plan on making a serious stab at it this summer.

I have to be honest about being 40, I miss having zero responsibilities.  This holiday season has been tough between parties, work and watching my kids.

I was having second thoughts about doing this powerlifting meet but then it came to me: if I dont compete, age is winning the battle.

A 21-year old me would compete all the time.  If I dont sign up, I am doing what most other 40 years olds do; nothing.

So, i plan on competing in February. It’s fun and a good way to bulk up and then I will slowly transition to running/bodybuilding.

Videos will be coming!

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You Can’t Stop Pushing It. Otherwise You Will Become Poor And Out Of Shape…

Retirement is a horrible term.

Growing up, all I heard my parents talk about was “retirement”.  So-called “retirement” was some sacred shangri la, where you didn’t need to work anymore and you can enjoy the rest of your life.

Retirement probably made a lot of sense when you worked in manual labor.

Or in a factory.

Or at job with a ton of stress; police, military, fire, etc.

But lets face it, if you work in an office or on a computer, you can work until you turn 100 years old.

The key today is to focus more on your “lifestyle”.  If you can build a lifestyle where you can still work part-time or doing something you love, there is really no reason to stop.

Is there a reason to do “nothing” in your life?  If you start doing, “nothing”, you are DEAD.

I learned that you need to keep PUSHING IT.

I don’t care how old you are, if you are turning 60, you still need to lift heavy weights and run fast.

You still need to start businesses.

And you need to stay aggressive.

Once you let up and start “coasting”, it is all over.

My plan is to eventually have enough money coming in that I don’t NEED to work somewhere, but I only work because it’s something that I like to do

But if your goal is to do “nothing”, you will start to slow down and age quicker than you can ever imagine.

The same goes for earning money.  I have learned this from experience, that whenever I start to “coast”, my earnings start to stale quickly.

That means start more businesses, work on those promotions, switch jobs, take a second job, cut expenses, etc.

Stay aggressive and you can reach your goals.

If you start relaxing, you are in trouble.

-John Andre

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Do You Want To Get Cut Young Man? It’s Either A Needle In Your Ass Or Cardio…

I don’t care what anybody says, you need “SOME” form of cardio in your life.

Unless you do physical work for a living, cardio should be a part of every person’s routine.

Without cardio, I do not get super cut.

Don’t get me wrong, about 80% of getting cut is from your diet.  But the final 20% is what separates the men from the boys.

Cardio is a funny thing.  A right amount of cardio really helps, but too much and you will look terrible.

For example, I think marathon runners have the worst looking bodies in the world.  There is nothing natural or healthy with running those insanely long distances.

I don’t have a problem with someone running it for sport, I ran the Brooklyn half-marathon several years back, but just don’t expect to lose body fat or become healthier.

The healthiest type of cardio training will be short and quick.  That would be basketball, football, lacrosse, tennis, soccer and track and field.

Short, quick, movements.

I see a lot of guys in the gym that really have their weight training down.  They are benching heavy, curling strong, squatting deep, etc.

But their cardio isn’t done correctly at all.

I am ready to fix that problem.

Coming Jan 1st.

(Bloggers, email me for a free review copy : )

You Can’t Stay Super Lean All Year Unless You Want A Heart Attack…

Getting lean is the name of the game.

Let’s face it, you can bulk up all that you want.  Unless you are powerlifting or playing football, nobody is going to care how much you lift when you step on to the beach. (Although it does help to build muscle)

And it’s also not healthy to be overweight, regardless of muscle size.  And steroids are generally bad for you.

I can get myself very lean every summer.  After years of experience, I have gotten that down to a science.

But one thing that I cannot do, is I cannot stay super lean all year long.

I can stay relatively lean, but, I don’t know anyone can stay at the same body fat percentage for 365 days a year.

First of all, you should be peaking in your cardio at some point.  Meaning, you should be running your hardest and fastest at some point in the year.

If you aren’t, then you haven’t peaked yet.

You also can’t do sprints for 365 days in a row.  Every major sport; football, soccer, basketball, etc, has an “off-season.”  You need a period to recover both mentally and physically.

The only way to stay lean all year, would to lift, run and eat the exact same amount.

Not only does that sound impossible, but with that method, I can’t see you ever improving.

How will you add muscle?

Unless you can miraculously improve your intensity, you aren’t going to add any muscle without some extra calories.

We will see how lean I get this summer, but for now, back to my bulk up season.

-John Andre

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How To Make Improvements Between Ages 35-50…

For some reason, I get the most traffic to my blog when I talk about training for the 35+ crowd.

But let’s be honest, 35-50 it not old anymore.

If you train hard and consistently, you should be able to stay rock solid all the way until your 60’s.

That’s not to say there aren’t any differences between working out at age 21 and working out at 47.

Obviously as you get older you need to deal with injuries, shorter recovery time, etc.  But there are actually some training benefits of being age 35+.

First of all, at age 38 I am still pretty strong.   My all-time deadlift record is 585 lbs when I was 27 years old and I weighed around 205 lbs.

Now that I am about to turn 39, I am deadlifting in the low 500’s at only 170 lbs.

My diet is also a lot better.  In my 20’s I would basically just eat and keep eating.  It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s and early 30’s, that I actually started to diet, add intermittent fasting and proper cardio.

I also just started competing in track and field again after a 20 year layoff.  I only did the long jump so far, and I am curious to see how fast I can run in 2019 compared to when I was in High School/College.

To be honest with you, sometimes I have a strong week of working out and I feel like I shouldn’t even care how old I am.

There isn’t really that much of a difference.

Just train smarter, eat cleaner and you can stay pretty jacked.

Statistically, I know I am already better than last year.  In 2017 I deadlifted 515lb’s at 185lbs in bodyweight,.  This year I think I will probably go over 545 lbs at 175.

Basically, I am lifting heavier weights at a lighter bodyweight.

That is progress.

This year has been going very solid for me.  My bulk up is going to end on February 1st and already I am about to beat last season’s deadlift and squat records.

Bench press I am slightly behind last year, but that is because my training partner quit (again).  It’s hard to bench heavy when you don’t have a steady spotter.

So overall, don’t worry about your age.

Lift heavy, train smart, eat healthy and add some fast cardio.

50 will become the new 30 and 60 will become the new 40.

-John Andre

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Lift Heavy/Run Fast

Study All You Want. If If Doesn’t Work, Quit. Mick Jagger Still Can’t Play Guitar…

Life is short.

Or maybe it isn’t.  I feel like the first 20 years of my life took forever, my 20’s were pretty long and now my 30’s feel like they only lasted 3-4 years.

Time is starting to speed up.  Is that because I am so busy? Possibly.

I figure at age 40 I am halfway to death, although, all of my grandparents made into their 80’s.

If there is one thing I have learned over my “soon to be 39 years” on this planet, is that if something is not working, quit.

If you gave it a legitimate effort and it’s not working out, stop jerking yourself around and wasting your time.

• If you job doesn’t fulfill you, start looking for something else.
• If your girlfriend isn’t treating you right, dump her.
• Do you hate your commute? Move.
• Are your friends idiots? Find a new crew.

It would seem like these are such obvious answers, but then you meet people who are dating the same guy for 8 years in a row.

Or someone who has a 2 hour commute and continues to complain year after year.

The same goes for business and bodybuilding.

If the flat bench is not making your chest explode, switch it up.  Try inclines, add a second day of dumbbells, try some fly’s or pec decks.

There are so many different options, that something has to work.

So what does this have to do with Mick Jagger?

Mick Jagger has been best friends with Keith Richards for about 65 years.  I was watching a video of Mick from last week and although he can play guitar “OK”, he still isn’t great.

Think about it, your BEST FRIEND is possibly one of the top ten guitar players of all time history and you still stink.

65 years of FREE lessons with a top ten guitar player and you are still just “OK”.

But in all reality, the lessons don’t matter.

You can either play or you can’t.

You can grow up living next to Lebron James and you still can’t shoot a foul shot.

It really doesn’t matter.

Mick is a better singer obviously and thank god he figured that out early and kept Keith Richards on the guitars.

Use that as a lesson in life.

What are you good at? And what comes to you NATURALLY?

Maybe you can’t teach, but you can become a lawyer.

Maybe you can’t dead lift, but you can squat.

Maybe Irish girls tend to like you and Italian girls don’t.

Peanut butter makes you ripped but creatine makes you look bloated.

Don’t fight nature.  Figure out what you are good at and what you are bad at.

Here ends the Sunday sermon.

-John Andre

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Lift Heavy/Run Fast

How To Live Better Than A Billionaire…

I have to be honest with myself. I am a 38-year old man, and there is a good chance that I will never become a billionaire.

I SHOULD become a millionaire. Not necessarily a million dollars in salary, but I should eventually hit one million dollars in liquid assets at some point in my life.

Not rich, but solid all-American middle class.

But why should I give up? I am a super competitive guy, but I am also realistic.

How can I possibly compete with a BILLIONAIRE?

Two words: BODYBUILDING and VACATIONS

VACATION:

Vacation is very important to me and I would like to travel as much as possible while I am alive on this earth. Some of the places I attended in the last 4-5 years:

St Patrick’s Day Boston
St Patrick’s Day Key West
St Patrick’s Day NYC
St Patrick’s Day Philadelphia
St Patrick’s Day Ireland (Dublin)
St Patrick’s Day Arizona (Scottsdale)

Kentucky Derby
Preakness Stakes
Belmont Stakes

Mardi Gras (New Orleans)

Spring Break South Padre

Seattle/Vancouver
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Magog, Canada
Lake Willoughby, Vermont
Ottawa, Canada
Dewey Beach, Delaware
Atlantic City
Las Vegas
Myrtle Beach
Gettysburg, PA
Hilton Head, SC
Raleigh, NC
Kennebunkport, MA
Lake George, NY
Lake Placid, NY
Portland, MA
Birmingham Alabama
Lancaster, PA

Sweden/Estonia

BODYBUILDING:

I work out either 6 or 7 days a week and I also eat a healthy diet. I haven’t met too many people in this world who can beat my 6-pack every summer.

“BODYBUILDING IS ONE OF THE MOST FAIR SPORTS IN THE WORLD”.

Of course genetics play a large role in bodybuilding, but overall, you get back what you put in.

You can have the most expensive personal trainer and the most expensive steroids available, and you probably still won’t beat me.

Rich or poor, bodybuilding brings people together.

Conclusion: So what can a billionaire do that I can’t?

I am unable to fly on a private plane, I don’t even fly first class.
I am unable to afford very expensive hotels or 5-star restaurants
I don’t have access to world leaders

The only way I can compete with a billionaire is by doing more life EVENTS.

When I am dying in the hospital and the priest comes in the room, I want him to slap me five and say “You Lived a Good Life!”

-John Andre

Lift Heavy/Run Fast

Physical Changes When I Bulk Up (Fat)

Merry Christmas everyone! I have about 7-8 weeks left in my Winter bulk up and I now am officially fat.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have been lifting heavy weights and have been going to the gym 4x a week consistently all year, but I have also gained at least 30 lbs since the Summer.  Some of that weight is muscle but a lot of it is also fat.

I cannot tell a lie, it feels good to be big and strong.  My shirts fit really tight and last week I benched 315 lbs like it was nothing, but there are also some major negatives.

First of all, I noticed that I can’t breathe as well.  Easy tasks such as walking to the bus station for work or lifting furniture, starts to feel so much harder since my breathing is labored.  Obviously, this can’t be too healthy.

The other negative I noticed about being heavy, is that I am starting to snore.  There has to be some connection between being overweight and snoring.  I never snore until I hit my 3rd month of my winter bulk up.  Once again, this also can’t be too healthy.

Overall, my bulk up is going great this year.  I don’t want to fool people into thinking that I am just becoming an overweight lifter, but there are some obvious side affects of gaining weight.

I turned 38 years old today and I also have to think about high blood pressure and the heart attack risk.

As I get older, I will obviously have to bulk up a lot cleaner and maybe not bulk up as much.  But as long as I am in my late 30’s and early 40’s, I feel safe bulking up in the winter, just as long as I come down in the Summer.

I am off from work this week and only plan on going to the gym twice, but starting next week, it is game on until the end of my winter bulk up.  I am going to try a traditional powerlifting routine for the last several weeks.  So far, I have reached my deadlift and bench press goals, the only one’s left are squats and shoulders.

I will keep everyone updated.

-John

 

If You Want To Keep Getting Stronger, Keep Eating…

You need to eat to get strong.  If you are trying to lift heavy and your calories are not increasing, your strength gains are going to come to a stand still.

I made that mistake in College.

It took me FOREVER to bench press 315 lbs, although I was benching 305 almost every week.  Half of the problem was probably mental, but the other half, was that I was not gaining enough weight.

If you don’t gain any weight, why would your muscles look any larger? Where will the mass magically appear from?

One mistake I see in the gym all the time, is big guys not lifting heavy enough.  But, another problem is skinny guys not taking in enough calories.

If you are brand new to the sport, you will see some easy gains in the beginning, but that is going to stop eventually if you don’t eat.

A 20-inch bicep is going to weigh more than a 15-inch bicep, and if you don’t feed your muscles, all of the workouts are going to be a waste.

I am down to my last 10 weeks of my bulk up and I have gained at least 25 lbs.  It’s weird, but I only start to get super strong after I weigh 170 lbs.

At over 180 I am even stronger and when I am at 190-200, I am an ox.

You need to eat.

Can you put on weight slowly?  You can try, but this doesn’t work for me.  I need to lift heavy weights in the winter otherwise I am wasting my time.

Around Valentines Day I will start to cut down in calories and I am also going to get back into my cardio workouts.  The advantage I will have over the other guys, is that I will still be lifting heavy weights at a light body weight.

If I can bench press 355 in the winter and then still bench 275-295 in the summer, I will look a lot more solid than the so called “lean guys”.

I’m having a good bulk up season this year, my competition has been warned.

-John Andre

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Big Weights=Big Muscles. Stop Thinking.

I am now about half way into my winter bulk up and my progress is going great.  Last week I bench pressed 295, and on Friday, I hit my winter dead lift goal of 495.

Although there are only 12 weeks left in my season, I feel pretty confident that I should reach and possibly surpass my goals for the year.

One thing that I am trying this year, in comparison to other years, is that I am increasing the weights quickly. For example, on Friday I was scheduled to deadlift 455 lbs for 4 or 5 reps, and then the following week, I would attempt my winter goal of 495.

During the warm ups I started to feel really good.  The weights were coming off the floor really fast, so I decided to go off schedule and straight to 495.  Working out is not an exact science, if you are feeling good,, go for the heavy weights.

Whether is is a 400 lb bench press, 315 lb squat for 10 reps or a 500 lb deadlift.  If its in the range of a weights that you should be able to handle, go for it.

Usually, lifting heavy weights is all mental.  When I started powerlifting in my teens and early 20’s, I used to obsess over heavy weights, and oftentimes it would cause me to screw up my attempt.

Now, after years of training, I have conditioned my mind to attempt each weight exactly the same.

Don’t get me wrong, having 500 lbs on my back and trying to go for a deep squat will still scare the crap out of me, but when it comes to a heavy bench or deadlift, I will go for it without hesitation.

Although I wasn’t scheduled to deadlift 495 this week, in my mind, I knew I can do it.

Next week, I might jump all the way to 550 lbs.

Why not?

Even if I don’t get it, your body and especially your mind will get a lot stronger just by attempting it.

Remember, heavy weights=big muscle.

Here is a picture of my from my powerlifting days.

-John

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