Ep. #390: Christian Finn on Safe, Healthy, and Effective Training in Your 40s and Beyond

Every day I hear from people in their 40s and even 30s who are worried it’s too late to get into great shape.If you’ve spent any time around these parts, you know this isn’t true. So long as you know what you’re doing with your diet and training, you don’t have to be in your 20s to build a body you can be proud of. You can do it just about any age, really.There are a few things you have to do differently as you get older, though. The main thing that changes is your ability to recover from your workouts declines, and this often manifests in more muscle, joint, and tendon soreness after training, and particularly if you’re working hard in the gym.Many middle-aged people aren’t prepared for this and think they can just grind through the pain like they did in college, but this usually leads to further injury, overtraining, and burnout.My friend and fellow researcher and writer, Christian Finn, knows a thing or two about this himself. He’s over 40 himself and in great shape, has worked with thousands of people, and recently had to slog through a rather nasty bout of joint problems, and in this interview, I pick his brain on what happened and why, what he did about it, and what we can do to give our joints a break without sacrificing our hard-earned muscle.In this episode, you’re going to learn:- What causes most joint injuries in older lifters - The right and wrong ways of dealing with joint injuries - Christian’s favorite exercises for “training around” joint problems - How to program your workouts to prevent and fix joint issues - And more.Mentioned on the Show: Recharge: https://www.muscleforlife.com/store/supplements/recharge/ Muscle Evo MX4: https://muscleevo.com/mx4/9:39 - How old are you? 10:43 - Did you stop playing tennis after your knee injury? 12:01 - Do you think tennis injuries are related to volume overloads or is it just the nature of the sport? 12:45 - How did the strings of your tennis racket cause elbow problems? 13:22 - Does a tennis ball produce more spin if it spends more time on the surface of the rack? 15:04 - What kind of joint pain were you suffering from and how did that impact your training? 16:09 - Was your knee pain above or below the knee cap? 27:59 - Did you do split squats for your lower body as an alternative? 41:36 - What are the criteria for determining whether you are progressing or not? 44:17 - What did you do as an alternative for pulling? 48:12 - Where can people find you and your work?Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/