Why Strength Is the Foundation of Health in Midlife (And the Research That Proves It)
Many men in their 40s and 50s rely on cardio workouts, circuit training or HITT classes to stay “fit enough.” Take Mark, a 50-year-old who jogs a few times a week and does body-weight circuits occasionally. He figures that as long as he keeps his weight in check and his heart pumping, he's healthy.
But recent science suggests a missing piece: building and maintaining muscle strength.
From Keto to Stress: Why Many Midlife Men Need More Salt Than Guidelines Allow - PART 6
Most men in midlife have been told the same thing about salt: eat less, protect your heart. But the truth is, salt needs aren’t one-size-fits-all. In fact, depending on your diet, lifestyle, and health, you may actually need more salt than mainstream guidelines recommend.
If you’re following a low-carb diet, training hard, working a physical job, drinking a lot of coffee, under high stress, or sweating buckets in the sauna, cutting salt can leave you feeling weak, dizzy, or constantly fatigued. For some men, it can even make blood pressure and heart health worse, not better.
This article breaks down the real-life scenarios where men in midlife need extra salt to perform, recover, and feel their best, and why blindly following the old “less salt is healthier” message could be holding you back.
5 Reasons Men Over 40 Need to Train Differently
If you’re a man in your 40s or 50s, chances are you’ve noticed training doesn’t feel the same as it did at 25. Workouts that used to leave you feeling energised now leave you sore for days. The weights don’t move as easily. Injuries crop up more often. And somehow, the belly fat seems harder to shift, even if you’re “working just as hard.”
Once you hit 40, your body changes and your training needs to change with it.
That doesn’t mean giving up on strength, muscle, or performance. In fact, it’s the opposite. With the right approach, men in midlife can build strength, maintain a lean physique, and perform at a high level for decades. But the key is training smarter, not harder.
The Real Deal on Salt: Why “Balancing” is Better Than “Restricting” - PART 5
For many midlife men, a rigid 1500 mg limit could be unnecessarily low and make it hard to stay hydrated and energised.
Another issue is that focusing on a single number ignores context; getting 3,000 mg of sodium from a fast-food burger meal full of trans fats is not the same as sprinkling 3,000 mg worth of mineral-rich sea salt on home-cooked veggies and lean protein.
The source and context matter, but current RDAs don’t distinguish these nuances.
The Best Strength Training Structure for Men Over 40
If you’re a man over 40, you don’t need to spend 6 days a week in the gym to see results. In fact, the best approach is smarter, not harder. When it comes to building strength, muscle, and long-term health, 2–4 well-structured strength training sessions a week is all you need. The key is having the right structure.
Why Your Doctor Still Thinks Salt Is Bad (And Why He Might Be Wrong) - PART 4
With such compelling evidence piling up, one might wonder: Why do mainstream organisations still tell us to restrict salt so much? There are a few reasons the “salt is evil” narrative persists in conventional guidelines, despite the evolving science:
Strong After 40: Why 2–4 Lifting Sessions a Week Is All You Need
Most men over 40 think they need to do more to get results in the gym. More cardio. More classes. More sweat.
The truth? You don’t need more. You need better. If you want the biggest return on the little time you have, the smartest investment you can make is in strength training.
New Research Exposes the Salt Myth: What Science Really Says About Salt and Health - PART 3
If the historical evidence for salt reduction was flimsy, what does more recent, comprehensive research tell us? In the past 10–15 years, a wave of studies, from large epidemiological analyses to systematic reviews, has challenged the simplistic “salt = hypertension = heart disease” narrative.
These findings reveal a far more complex picture in which moderate salt intake is often harmless (or even beneficial), and both extremely high and extremely low intakes can be problematic. Let’s break down some key insights from modern research:
How Salt Got Its Bad Reputation: A Brief History of the “Salt = High Blood Pressure” Myth - PART 2
The idea that salt is inherently bad for your heart has been repeated so often that it’s taken as gospel. But where did this salt-phobia originate? It turns out the evidence was shaky from the start, relying on extreme experiments and misinterpreted data that became entrenched in policy before the science was settled.
Understanding this history will reveal how we ended up vilifying salt in the first place.
3 Mistakes Men Over 40 Make in the Gym (and How to Fix Them)
Walk into any gym and you’ll see it: midlife men wandering from one machine to the next like they’re on a guided tour of Planet Fitness. A few biceps curls here, a random chest press there, and then maybe a bit of cardio if they’re feeling guilty about the weekend’s beers and pizza.
Sound familiar?
The truth is, most men in midlife want results; more strength, more energy, more muscle, and a body they actually feel good about.
But the way they train often works against them. They’re putting in the effort, but not getting the payoff.
That’s because they’re making the same three mistakes I see over and over again.
Let’s break them down.