Strength Training in Your 40s + Minimalist Training Updates

Zach Even - Esh
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These minimalist workouts bring back memories of my years of influence from men like Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates.

When I was 18 and had just won the Young Mr. Israel Bodybuilding Contest (18 years & under) I came home to America and trained very low volume but high intensity.

I trained every other day and took 2 days off after leg day.

I was extremely inspired by seeing the rugged photos of Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates. Even though I was natural and still am, I felt that the high volume approach was beating me up.

And so here we are, just turned 46 and almost 30 years later implementing lessons from the past and blending them with my knowledge of today.

You can see the videos below where I dive into the updates of my minimalist training cycle, what training I'll do next and why you should implement a minimalist training cycle yourself.

QnA: Minimalist Strength Training + The Underground Strength Coach Online Cert

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Sample Minimalist Workouts:

Warm Ups are short and just enough. They are not my typical circuits of sleds, calisthenics, kettlebells, dumbbells and bands.

Inside Gladiator STRONG there is a warm up detailed prior to every training session.

One thing I remind athletes, lifters and coaches of is this: Sometimes, the workout that looks the simplest and the easiest on paper is the toughest.

In the above workouts, you see a 3 day sample from Gladiator STRONG. I've gone through these simple workouts myself and they produce results.

I recall getting to Diamond Gym late one night to do legs. I warmed up and did the following leg workout:

1) Squats 135 x 20, 225 x 15, 315 x 10, 405 x 5, 455 x 3

2) Walking DB Lunges 2 x Across Gym Floor

3) Lying Leg Curls 2 x 12

That's it. Done. Simple, NOT easy.

I worked up to 2 heavy sets of squats, then did 2 hard sets of lunges and 2 hard sets of leg curls.

I am not as strong as I once was but hitting 2 tough sets per exercise still works great.

Remember, the minimalist training cycle does not go on forever, although Marty Gallagher's training partners primarily train once a week he told me, Sundays only. They are consistently getting stronger and better by working up to one top end set per exercise, then at the end finishing with a quick arm pump.

Once a week!

Those who argue against this are likely those who sit on their phones and sit on machines during their workouts. They do not TRAIN, they just go through the motions. You'll never get better that way yet people still do this, being a slave to their phones and going through the motions.

Strength & Success takes work.

If you don't do the work then don't expect the results.