At 40 (105 kg, 185 cm), build and keep muscle and improve metabolic health — pre-empting the decline that accelerates after forty — from 3×/week, ~45-minute sessions, with strict, cited evidence and exercise selection that spares a healed scaphoid. Program Card · Glossary · Resources · Mission
Foundations — the science
understand it, so you can self-correctThe principles and the mechanics of what you're doing — from the levers that drive results to what happens inside a muscle and why lifting fixes blood sugar. Each lesson has something to drag, toggle or play with.
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L1
The Big Rocks
The six levers that drive ~90% of results — and honest year-one goals for a 40-year-old.
Ready
L2How Muscle Actually GrowsMechanical tension → growth signal, and why the first weeks of "gains" are mostly swelling. Scrub the timeline.Ready
L3Levers, Tension & Your WristTorque and moment arms — drag a curl to see muscle force explode — plus why neutral grip protects the scaphoid.Ready
L4Muscle, the Glucose SinkHow contracting muscle pulls glucose from blood through a door insulin can't jam. Animated muscle cell to play with.Ready
The plan you take to the gym
print it · log every setThe day-by-day program, with a wrist-friendly alternate for every lift and the two progression rules. Now three full-body sessions (A/B/C), built around your exact gym.
The Program Card
3-day full-body split, sets × reps, warm-up, double-progression rule, the wrist do/don't list, and an equipment checklist to confirm at your gym.
The Lifts
form, one movement at a time · all wrist-friendlyNow learn to perform the handful of movements that matter, with cues, common mistakes and a fault-finder — every one chosen to keep the scaphoid safe. (Built on the Program Card's default lifts; we'll fine-tune once your gym's machines are confirmed.)
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L5The Hinge & the SquatBarbell RDL and goblet/leg-press squat, step by step, with a hip-vs-knee diagram and a fault-finder.Ready
L6Press & Pull, Wrist-SafeNeutral-grip pressing and rowing that build the upper body without ever loading the scaphoid.Ready
L7Calibrating EffortWhat "1–3 reps in reserve" really feels like — with a simulator that proves you stop too early.Ready
Fuel & Recover
where muscle is actually builtTraining is only the signal. These lessons cover the protein, supplements, sleep and energy balance that turn that signal into muscle and metabolic health — without turning eating into a second job. Each has a calculator or tool to play with.
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L8Protein Without ObsessionYour ~180–200 g/day target, where it comes from, and why total beats timing. With a target calculator.Ready
L9Creatine & the Evidence-Based ShelfWhat creatine does, how to dose it, why it's safe — plus a sort through the rest of the supplement aisle.Ready
L10Sleep, Recovery & the Small DeficitRecomp on a small deficit: why recovery and 7–9 h sleep decide whether you lose fat or muscle. With a simulator.Ready
Keep Progressing
when the easy gains slowNovice progress stalls within months — by design. These lessons keep you moving when adding weight every session stops working.
- L11When the Bar StallsResets, deloads, and reading a true plateau versus a bad day.Soon
- L12Tuning Your VolumeAdding sets intelligently as you recover faster — and spotting junk volume.Soon
I build the next lesson when you're ready for it, pitched to what you've just learned. We're in Phase 1 now — start with L1, then take the Program Card to your first session. Confirm your gym's machines and I'll lock the card to your exact kit. Done with a lesson, or want to jump ahead? Tell me in chat.
dad-mod — a personal, evidence-based course built with Claude Code.
Mission: build muscle and metabolic health at forty, from first principles and cited science.