I just turned 40.

I spent the last year or so adding size. Bulk, then maintenance, building muscle. And honestly, I'm happy with the size of everything I have. So I started leaning out again.

Two things showed up that weren't there before.

The leaning out is slower than it used to be. And being in a deficit leaves me more gassed in my training sessions.

I could ignore both and push harder. But that's the body talking. I'm at the point where my training has to evolve, so I'm changing it now.

Here's what's changing.

Training

The focus shifts from size to athleticism.

More single-leg work. More rotational work. A strong core. The ability to speed up, slow down, and change direction at will.

Because my son is 8, and I want to be my kid's favorite athlete for as long as humanly possible. Playing with him at full speed, not watching him from a bench. At 40 that doesn't happen by itself anymore. It takes extra work to make it last. The extra work starts now.

Food

My diet is in a good place. Now I'm pointing it at inflammation - for general wellbeing but also faster recovery.

There are foods I knew weren't sitting right with me, and I dismissed it for years. Beans, legumes and dairy-derived protein don't agree with my body and therefore my plan, so fuck 'em. I love my sourdough and I'm keeping it - I just can't go as hard on it as I do.

Going up: fish at least once a week for the omega-3 fatty acids, and olive oil and berries daily for the polyphenols.

I also have a rule I developed over time, and I like it: if it wasn't made with love, it goes down to an absolute minimum. I'll enjoy a cake or a pastry here and there. But highly processed food in a package, with barely any nutrition in it, I stay away from as much as I can.

And when I eat out, I'll enjoy myself like always. But I'm reading the menu through one question now: how is my body going to react to this?

Presence

This is the real one.

I'm consumed by work. Not because I have to be - because I like it. I love what I do, and escaping into work gives me comfort. I know that about myself.

But on my deathbed I won't be going through my accomplishments. I'll be asking whether I spent enough time with my family. Whether I showed them enough love. Whether my son and I built a real relationship.

The next ten years will shape who my son becomes, and I want him finding himself in sports and books and time with his dad, not lost in a screen. I want to do sports with him. Read with him. Be there for real, not nodding at him while answering a message in my head.

Same with my wife. More intention in how we spend our time together. More attention to who she is and what she needs.

That's the work for my next decade.

P.S. If you're somewhere around 40 and something in your approach is changing too - reply and tell me what it is. I read everything, and I answer every reply.