10/15/2026
I started playing soccer at 34. Never touched a ball before that. I’m 38 now and I can jump higher and move faster than I could at 30, and I’ve got five kids and a sixth on the way, so it’s not like I’ve got extra time to train.
I’m not special. I just quit showing up lazily like I was 25 and started training like a guy who wants to still be fast at 50. Here’s what actually works, and this is the stuff the research backs up, not just what some guy at the gym told me.
1. Jump and sprint every week. After 30 you lose power way faster than you lose strength, and the fast twitch fibers go first if you stop using them. So twice a week I do 3 sets of 3 to 5 all out jumps (box jumps, broad jumps, depth drops) and then 4 to 6 short sprints, 10 to 30 meters, with full rest in between. Like 2 or 3 minutes. It’s not conditioning. You’re just reminding your body it’s still allowed to be fast.
2. Lift heavy. 2 or 3 days a week, squat, deadlift, press, pull. 3 to 5 reps, heavy enough that the last rep is a fight. I’m not chasing a pump. Strength is what lets you jump and land without something popping.
3. Eat a lot of protein. When you’re older your muscle needs a bigger dose at each meal before it’ll do anything with it. I shoot for 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilo of bodyweight a day, split into 4 meals of 30 to 40 grams. And 5 grams of creatine every day. Boring, cheap, and it works.
4. Sleep. 7 to 9 hours. Under 7 and your speed, your reaction time, and your injury risk all go the wrong direction. This is why I’m in bed by 8:30 and up at 4. Same time every night, cold room, phone in another room.
5. Take care of your tendons. This is the one nobody tells you. Tendons lose their spring as you age and that’s what blows out on guys my age. Achilles, knee, hamstring. Twice a week I do 3 sets of 30 to 45 second heavy holds (wall sit, calf hold, split squat hold) or really slow heavy reps, 3 seconds down and 3 up. And I never jump cold. 10 minutes of warming up before anything explosive.
Which one are you starting this week?
