Get Lean For Life!

Almost a decade after his first Men’s Fitness cover, editor Joe Warner built a bigger, stronger and leaner body by training smarter. Here’showhedid it, so you can too.

- Joe Warner

Last year I watched my colleague Jon Lipsey go from clinically overweight to cover model of the July 2018 issue ofMF. Towards the end of his eight-week training plan, I joined him in his sessions and started dropping body fat, but I wasn’t lean. Seven years ago I was. After a 12-week plan under the guidance of Ultimate Performance founder Nick Mitchell I was shredded. But then, I’d just turned 30 and age was on my side. Now, staring 40 in the face, I wanted to find out how much of a factor age is in building a bigger, stronger and leaner body – because if I could do it so can you, regardless of your age. The good news for all of us is that it’s never too late to get into the shape of your life, as long as you remember this: it’s not just about training hard. It’s about training smart. In your 20s you can get away with murder. Too many pints last night? That won’t stop you smashing chest day in the morning. You recover from anything faster, even on less sleep, because your body is just better. At everything.

But as your early 30s give way to your almost-40s, life comes at a greater cost. Work is harder and more stressful but you’ve got less energy to deal with it. Family and friends need more of your time, which is already at a premium. And you can do a tough workout on a Monday and still be feeling the effects at the weekend.

As we get older it’s easy to assume that our best days are behind us, and any dreams of building a bigger, stronger and leaner body are about as realistic as those of scoring the winning goal for England in theWorld Cup final. Or even just watching England in theWorld Cup final.

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