Wits & Weights | Strength Training & Fat Loss Over 40

Which supplements are actually worth considering for men and women over 40? Learn what the evidence says about recovery, stress management, and performance support. The honest answer is a very short list of compounds with clinical evidence behind them, specific doses, mechanisms that matter for body composition, and specific safety profiles. This episode covers 5 compounds with clinical evidence f...

What REALLY happens when you take a GLP-1 drug? Your fat loss, your muscle, your heart, your inflammation, what happens to your weight when you stop, and long-term safety. This episode covers body composition data from the 2026 semaglutide and tirzepatide trials, cardiovascular outcomes from SELECT and SURPASS-CVOT, inflammation findings beyond weight loss, weight regain patterns after stopping, a...

More training isn't always better. Learn why recovery, nutrition, and consistency matter more than simply adding workout days when your goal is fat loss after 40. Exercise physiologist and clinical nutrition expert Ben Brown breaks down why exercise is often a weak tool for weight loss, even when you are lifting weights and doing everything “right.”  We unpack metabolic compensation, how stre...

New research suggests strength training may improve flexibility more than many people realize. Learn what the evidence means for lifters over 40. Do you need yoga, stretching, or "mobility work" to stay flexible. Does lifting weights make you "stiff" or does it improve flexibility? We examine 3 recent studies that compared resistance training to stretching for flexibility, and...

Intermittent fasting is still the most popular nutrition advice on the internet.  Skip breakfast, shrink your eating window, lose weight. But if you're over 40, this may not give you the results you want. It could even backfire. Learn about the 5 specific ways intermittent fasting can backfire when your goal is losing fat and building muscle after 40. Philip examines a 2025 meta-analyses comp...

Trying to lose fat after 40 without sacrificing strength or muscle? Learn how to create a calorie deficit that supports body recomposition, preserves lean mass, and helps you keep the results you've worked for. You spent months building muscle, and now you're ready to cut. Or you're on a GLP-1 medication and losing weight but not sure how much muscle your'e also losing. Without...

NASA's Artemis II crew is flying around the Moon right now with a gym that weighs 30 pounds and fits in a carry-on suitcase. No treadmill, cable machine, or squat rack, just a small device that also serves as a step! In this bonus episode, Philip nerds out on the exercise equipment and nutrition plan NASA chose for the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, including how they stay stron...

What separates effective strength training after 40 from random workouts? Learn the principles that drive long-term gains in strength, muscle, and performance. Chris Duffin joins me to unpack the biomechanics behind strength training longevity, muscle building, and injury prevention. Chris is a world record strength athlete who has squatted and deadlifted over 1,000 pounds while applying engineeri...

You've been showing up to Pilates, yoga, or barre for months, maybe years, and your body composition hasn't changed. You're not getting stronger. And if you're over 40, the muscle and bone you need most may be slipping away while you work hard at the wrong thing. Building muscle and maintaining bone density after 40 requires two specific things from your training: mechanical te...

How many times have you sworn “this time will be different” only to end up right back at square one?  New program, new diet, new macros, new Monday. And every time, the results faded. Why does this keep happening to people (like you!) who are already disciplined, consistent, and willing to put in the work? The issue isn't effort or information. Listen in to find out what it is. Join Eat More...

Many men and women over 40 get trapped in a cycle of eating less and seeing fewer results. Learn when increasing food intake can improve recovery, training performance, and body composition. You've been eating 1200 calories, working out, and the scale won't budge.  The advice you keep getting is to eat even less... but that's the problem. For men and women over 40 who are stuck desp...

Yet again, you're motivated to make a change. You've given yourself 6 months, you pick a program, cut calories, and go after it! Then (inevitably) the whole thing falls apart about 1-2 months in (maybe even sooner). Most people over 40 who want to lose fat and build muscle start with the wrong first step. They jump straight into a calorie deficit before they even know what their body is...

Can macro tracking actually create food freedom? What if the structure you’ve been avoiding is the exact thing that helps you lose fat, build muscle, and stop starting over? I’m joined by Cori Lefkowith, founder of Redefining Strength, certified trainer, former Division I athlete, and powerlifting champion, to unpack why macros, nutrition, and strength training are powerful tools for body recomp w...

"Just breastfeed and the weight will fall right off." That's what every nursing mother hears.  And then it's a struggle because of what's going on hormonally while you're producing milk. Lactation does a few things. It suppresses estrogen to near-menopausal levels, shifts fat storage toward your midsection, and creates anabolic resistance in your muscles, all while bu...

Trying to lose fat during PMS, perimenopause, or menopause can feel like an uphill battle. Learn how hormonal changes affect hunger, cravings, recovery, and body composition, and what actually works for sustainable fat loss and strength training for women over 40. You're tracking your food, hitting the gym, doing everything right. Then your period shows up and the scale jumps 3 pounds overnig...

You've been hitting your macros for two or three weeks, then one bad day wipes everything out and you're starting over. Again.  The problem isn't your discipline but how you're setting up your targets . Most people use streaks, badges, and all-or-nothing tracking to stay consistent with nutrition. The research shows those extrinsic reward systems actually increase dropout rates...

Getting strong after 50 isn’t about grinding harder on the treadmill or eating like a bird. But read any fitness article for those over 50 and what do you see? "Exercise" more, walk more, do yoga, eat less. But after 50, that approach misses the single most important thing you can do for your metabolism, your bones, your hormones, and your longevity.... Lift weights and build muscle. I r...

What if the missing piece in your nutrition and fitness results has nothing to do with the gym? Could the biggest barrier to body recomp and strength training progress actually be stress at home? Leadership consultant and Dad Nation Podcast host Mitchell Osmond brings a perspective most fitness podcasts rarely talk about. Chronic relationship stress and how it quietly sabotages nutrition and fitne...

If you are both lifting weights and doing cardio , is your program optimizing for both without undermining each other? It's not that combining them is bad, but that most people struggle to arrange their training week. Philip walks through the 5 programming mistakes that create interference between your strength training and your conditioning, using the new Velocity 5-day Hybrid program from P...

"Just listen to your body" is the most popular nutrition advice for anyone tired of tracking who is trying to lose fat. The problem is, your hunger signals may be giving you bad data. Chronic dieting, sleep disruption, hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause, and ultra-processed foods all degrade your appetite signals. A 2013 study found that intuitive eating only helps weight los...

Are environmental toxins quietly slowing your body recomp? Or is the wellness industry selling you fear about things that barely matter? Functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner Michele Scarlet joins me to separate science from hype around metabolism, hormone health, and detox culture. We unpack what the research actually says about pesticides, plastics, cosmetics, and endocrine disruptors, an...

You're tracking your food and lifting weights. You can explain why protein matters for building muscle. So why can't you lose fat, and why hasn't your body changed?  The gap between knowing what to do and getting results is not a discipline problem. It's a structure problem. And more nutrition and fitness information won't fix it. Philip breaks down what's actually mi...

Do you love endurance training AND want to build muscle, but you've been told you have to pick one? The "cardio kills gains" claim has been around for decades, and if you're over 40, it can feel like an impossible tradeoff between the activities you enjoy and the strength training your body needs. However, the "interference effect" on hypertrophy is negligible when se...

Why does “just eat in moderation” fail so often? Why do binge eating and emotional eating feel stronger than your willpower?  I’m joined by psychologist and former food industry insider Dr. Glenn Livingston to break down what’s actually happening in your brain.  We unpack the neuroscience of cravings and why a healthy brain can struggle in a hyperpalatable food environment. You’ll learn how food c...

Are you strength training, watching your nutrition, doing cardio, and still not seeing the fat loss or muscle gains you expected? The problem isn't effort. It's that your fitness goals are in conflict , physiologically fighting each other, and every week you train this way, you're getting further from all of them. Philip breaks down exactly why fat loss and muscle building require o...