Wits & Weights | Strength Training & Fat Loss Over 40

This is the first Q&A episode ever for Wits & Weights!

I'm covering four training-related questions from followers of our Facebook group (Wits & Weights) and plan to do more episodes like this to answer your questions there and on Instagram (follow me at @witsandweights), with a shoutout to you (if you want)!

And if you like this Q&A type of episode, let me know and I'll do more of them to release on Fridays between my other episodes. Just email me ([email protected]) or direct message me on Instagram.

Questions:

1. What would a solid strength training protocol for women over 40 look like?
   
   
2. Another woman over 40 here. I have been lifting with progressive overload for a year and I have not been able to progress as much as I would like. It’s not that I don’t want to go heavier; I just don’t feel safe in doing one rep, let alone 4-6. What are my options?
   
   
3. Does research show a difference between a 3-day full-body strength training schedule vs. breaking it up into a 4- or 5-day split such as Push/Core, Pull/Calves, Legs/Core, Full Body?
   
   
4. What are your recommended pre- and post-workout nutrition strategies?

Episode resources:

• Join our Facebook community (FREE) to watch future episodes LIVE (days or weeks before they come out on the podcast)

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

I was honored to speak with Alison Bladh about women’s health, particularly during menopause, to help demystify the associated affects on weight, brain and heart health, sleep, stress, and other symptoms to empower women to take control of their health.

Alison Bladh is a registered nutritional therapist and beauty therapist living in the wilds of Sweden after falling for the charms of a Viking man!

Alison worked in the health and wellness industry for over 30 years specializing in menopausal women’s health and currently runs an online clinic helping women worldwide manage the negative symptoms of menopause.

Her mission is to support her clients with individualized changes to diet, health, mindset and lifestyle so they can harness their hormones and get their confidence and sparkle back.

Alison supports busy, midlife women who are stressed, depressed, gained weight, and have lost their confidence…because all women, no matter what age, deserve to reclaim their health and feel great. Every woman has the right to feel and look amazing in midlife!

You'll learn all about:

• The spark that inspired Alison to help women get their sparkle back (her mission to help women during midlife/menopause)
• Menopause and its importance (especially regarding hormone reproduction)
• Why there is a stigma attached to menopause
• Why weight gain occurs during midlife/menopause and what can be done about it
• How someone can modify their lifestyle to manage the symptoms
• How to sleep better and manage stress
• How to improve bone health
• How to improve hair and skin
• The importance of blood sugar and how to regulate
• How to improve brain and heart health
• The story of a client who got her "sparkle" back (the steps/process)
• How all women can embrace menopause positively for a long, happy, healthy life

Episode resources:

• Alison's website for free downloads - alisonbladh.com
• Find Alison on Instagram -  @alisonbladh
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Today is a first for the show because we are doing a coaches roundtable with 5 amazing people in my inner circle—whom I would consider friends at this point—who are making an impact on peoples’ lives—both active and aspiring nutrition coaches and personal trainers.

These incredible women and men each have a unique perspective on health and fitness and agreed to come together despite being in different timezones all around the world, to share their experience and expertise to help you thrive and achieve physical self-mastery.

After all, that is the mission of this podcast and why I’m constantly looking to bring on experts who share that mission, even if we use different paths to get there.

We will be covering nutrition and training, women’s health, navigating social situations, tracking your food, endurance sports and ultra-running, how to be more consistent, and longevity, just to name a few.

You'll learn all about:

• Managing stress and "getting out of your head" to achieve your goals
• How to navigate social situations and still enjoy your lifestyle
• Setting up your environment and support structure for success
• Why tracking your food can be helpful
• Ultra-running training and fueling your endurance training and events
• Celebrate the small wins and focus on consistency more than intensity or volume
• How to "peacefully" achieve and sustain your fitness goals
• Healthy from a longevity perspective: unique health hacks
• The importance of nutrition vs. training

Episode resources:

• Find Elaine Tarbell on Facebook (mention WITSANDWEIGHTS to get a free in-person training consultation) -  https://www.facebook.com/TarbellsBarbells
• Find Michele Moe at moestronger.com (click BOOK CONSULTATION for a free strategy call)
• Find Aaron Cartridge at his website to get a free Train for Your First Ultra guide
• Find Michele Clark on Instagram - @minutri_michele 
• Find JC on Instagram - @jc_middle_man
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Prepare yourself for some deep insights about entrepreneurship, leadership, online coaching, the fitness business, mindset, and more from today’s special guest.

I am extremely excited to be joined by the amazing Lauren Tickner.

Lauren is ranked as Forbes Magazine’s #1 business coach for 2021…and a Forbes Top 10 Entrepreneur in 2020.

Lauren now works with her team at Impact School to help their clients implement systems and gain freedom in their businesses.

You'll learn all about:

• Lauren's story from content creator to online fitness coach to high-impact business coach
• Core principles for finding success with online programs
• How her fitness journey has impacted her business mentality/strategy
• How fitness and business are similar
• The value of systems and how to amplify them for business or life
• If someone loves fitness but dreads the idea of running a business
• The importance (or not) of having a niche market / unique approach / ideal client
• How someone who has a full-time job, feels overwhelmed, and wants to cut through the distractions becomes an entrepreneur
• What distinguishes an average leader from a successful / high-impact / inspiring leader
• The big mistakes people make that hold them back from success in their online business
• How a solo practitioner starts to build their team
• The value of resilience and how we embody that in practice
• How people seeking out coaching find someone authentic who they can trust

Episode resources:

• Find Lauren on Instagram -  @LaurenTickner
• Find Impact School on Instagram - @Impact_school
• Find Lauren on Facebook
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Today we are digging into shifting your mindset to achieve self-mastery and live your best life through things like identity, habits, productivity, and of course as always on this show, how those tie back to your fitness and health.

My guest is Monica Ricci. Monica has been facilitating positive change for over 20 years. She founded Catalyst Organizing, LLC in 1998, working with individuals, business owners, and business teams to help clarify priorities, achieve goals, create organization, and improve productivity.

In the world of productivity, Monica has been an author, blogger, speaker, radio host, and frequent TV guest on many local morning shows as well as Fox & Friends, CNN.com, and HGTV.

Today, she uses her experience and talents to facilitate positive change and transformation through coaching, speaking, and social media.

Monica lives a nomadic life, coaching via Zoom while traveling the country. When she isn’t moving to a new city, she enjoys strength training, cycling, baseball, rock and roll, and high-quality butter.

You'll learn all about:

• Monica's personal story and how you got interested in coaching
• Why "Day Thirteen" was pivotal
• How someone develops a skill or habit over time to create positive outcomes (the Law of Accumulation)
• The science of habit building and making progress
• Micro-stepping to create new habits
• The Exercise Myth and the right approach for someone trying to lose fat
• How identity drives behaviors
• The courage to be an outlier
• What self-mastery looks like
• The identity-to-behavior transformation
• How you help people create significant shifts in mindset

Episode resources:

• Find Monica on Instagram -  @remakingmonica
• Find Monica on Twitter - @monicaricci
• Monica's website - monicaricci.net
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Whether you're trying to lose extra weight, switch to a fat loss phase after building muscle, get lifestyle lean, or finally achieve success with your new year’s resolution, this episode will help you get there.
 
You will learn everything you need to know about fat loss so you can lose the weight and keep it off sustainably, efficiently, and in a way that actually improves how you look and feel for the long term.
 
This is NOT a “rapid weight loss” prescription. This is a “fat loss for life” approach that I use with clients that you can use on your own with a little bit of knowledge, practice, and accountability.
 
Also, I'm starting my own 12-week fat loss phase the week this episode goes live and will be adhering to these principles, so if you want to follow along and see updates of my journey, make sure to join our free Wits & Weights Facebook community. I also made a Fat Loss for Life Guide I can send you after joining the group.

Just check out the links below to join our free community or apply for one-on-one coaching. Enjoy the episode!

You'll learn all about:

• The 3 principles that make fat loss possible, easier, and maintainable
• The most important behavior to maintain muscle during fat loss
• Which macro is the "body composition" macro and how much you need
• What data to collect to maximize your results and consistency
• What to do before you actually start a calorie deficit
• How fast you can and should lose weight
• The most important consideration when selecting foods during a fat loss phase
• The easiest way to boost your metabolism during fat loss
• What you're doing TOO MUCH of, and what to do instead
• The simplest way to reduce overall stress and also belly fat!
• How to avoid diet fatigue

Episode resources:

• Download the Fat Loss for Life guide that goes with this episode by joining the Wits & Weights Facebook community
• Download the MacroFactor app (use affiliate code WITSANDWEIGHTS to extend your trial by an extra week)
• Join our Facebook community if you'd rather watch the video

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

I am joined by a member of our Wits & Weights Facebook community, Matthew Spiewak, to chat about training and nutrition, including flexible dieting, compound lifts, pain and injury, and programming.

Matthew is an ACSM-certified Personal Trainer in the Chicagoland area with a degree in Kinesiology.

He loves helping people feel and look better and transform their health through his hands-on work in the gym as a trainer, so Matthew has both the educational and practical experience to help you succeed.

Matthew also hosts a 30-minute Instagram live every Tuesday at 5pm Central time in the U.S. and brings on new guests every week.
 
Topics discussed in this episode:

• How and why Matthew got into fitness
• Flexible dieting and who benefits from it
• Whether anyone should NOT use flexible dieting
• Whether people should squat and deadlift, benefits, how to incorporate in training
• The best rep ranges for strength, hypertrophy, and physique
• Bench press form (and getting the entire body involved)
• How to avoid low back pain
• How to deal with an injury
• Why programming is so important to get better results
• How to start and stick with a training routine
• and lots more

RELATED LINKS

• Find Matthew on Instagram
• Matthew's website
• Watch the episode on video here
• Join the Wits & Weights Facebook community

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

This episode from my appearance on Paul Hanton’s podcast, The Healthy Fit Life, for the episode “Avoiding Common Issues with Sustainable Fat Loss.”
 
Paul interviewed me about body composition, body fat overshooting, the difference between weight loss and fat loss, what happens when we lose weight, mistakes people make during weight loss, and what we can do instead for a more sustainable approach while still getting results.
 
If you feel like you’ve put in effort to improve your health and fitness but aren’t getting results, I’d like to invite you to apply for my one-on-one coaching program to get the body you desire, lose fat, build muscle, and make real progress.

We’ll work together to examine everything you’re doing and NOT doing to figure out what’s missing so you can look better, perform better, and feel better. Just go to witsandweights.com/coaching to learn about my program and apply today or click the link in the show notes.

Thanks for listening and enjoy our conversation about body composition!    

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What is body composition?
• What is body fat overshooting?
• The difference between weight loss and fat loss
• What happens to your body when losing weight
• Mistakes people make when trying to lose weight
• Strategies for a more sustainable approach to weight loss

RELATED LINKS

• Subscribe to The Healthy Fit Life podcast
• Find Paul on Instagram
• Find Paul on TikTok

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

Today is a special one because it’s our first episode featuring a member of our Wits & Weights Facebook community, Josh Isley.

We discuss strength, lifelong health, training for events, avoiding overtraining, and lots more. 

Josh Isely is a 42-year-old mechanical engineer who loves hunting the backcountry and mountains but who also rides a desk every day. 

He was an athlete in high school and as happens to many people, relied on his natural abilities for too long and, in his own words, “let himself go a bit.” Josh was inconsistent with training and developed a bad relationship with food. 

He spent the last several years training on and off for hunts and finally got it dialed in this year in preparation for a mountain goat hunt! 

Josh still struggles with food and binging but is getting better all the time; his program worked well as he was able to climb much better than he could last year. He is now moving into recovery mode and beginning to prepare for New Zealand in the spring. 

Topics discussed in this episode: 

• Josh’s background and how he finds time to go hunting 
• Why motivation is not enough (and what we should do instead) 
• How we avoid overtraining (especially as we age) 
• How to minimize the impact on aging/ailing joints 
• Dealing with setbacks (injuries/anxiety/depression) and how to overcome those 
• Managing the dichotomy of strength vs. endurance 
• Balancing training for longevity with specific events 
• What recovery looks like (and training periodization) in preparation for his event in New Zealand 
• Strategies to overcome the urge to binge on processed food 
• Dealing with the influences of your support structure when they don't “get” your nutrition/training 

RELATED LINKS

• Talk to Josh in the Wits & Weights Facebook community 
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏

This episode is from my appearance on Karen Martel's podcast, The Other Side of Weight Loss, where we demystified as much as we could about lifting, cardio, nutrition, fat loss, and more.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What is the best way to train?
• What is the best cardio for weight loss? 
• How long should our workouts ideally be? 
• What does the science tell us about step counting when it comes to weight loss? 
• What cardio is most stressful? 
• How many times a week should we be lifting? 
• How can we take it to the next level and should we? 
• What is the ideal timing of days off and on from workouts? 
• What are compounded movements and why do we want to do them? 
• How often should we be adding more weight to our barbells and dumbbells? 
• How often should we wait between sets? 
• How many carbs, calories and protein should we be eating to build muscle yet lose weight? 
• How to calculate your protein needs.
• What is the anchor macronutrient? 
• What are the ideal set and reps? 
• What are the signs that you are not lifting heavy enough?
• How long does it take to see results?
• Can we lose weight without calorie restricting and just lifting? 
• and more! 

RELATED LINKS

• Subscribe to The Other Side of Weight Loss podcast
• Visit Karen's website at karenmartel.com
• Find Karen on Instagram
• Watch the episode on video here

💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - a 26-week evidence-based strength training for men and women over 40 and fat loss program to build muscle after 40, lose fat, and maintain your results (even in perimenopause and menopause)

📱 Get Fitness Lab - AI-powered coaching app for strength training after 40, body recomposition, and evidence-based nutrition. Daily coaching that adjusts to your energy, recovery, and schedule. No calorie counting, no guesswork.

👥 Join our Facebook community - Build muscle after 40, improve body composition, and lose fat with evidence-based nutrition. Support for lifting weights, hypertrophy, fat loss, and hormones.

👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape (strength training & fat loss nutrition coach) on Instagram & thanks for making us one of the best fat loss podcasts for men & women over 40! 🙏