Summer Bodies Are Made In Winter

Look, I get it. It's cold, it doesn’t get light until 7am and it’s dark by 5pm, your bed and the couch are calling your name louder than your gym bag ever will. If you're finding it hard to get motivated right now, you're not lazy — you're human. Let me explain what's actually going on.

Why Winter Hits You Different

Reduced UVB exposure in winter means your skin is producing way less vitamin D. And low vitamin D isn't just a "nice to have" issue — It's linked to low mood, fatigue, reduced motivation, and even depressive symptoms.i Add in the shorter days and reduced natural light, and it's no wonder your drive to train has gone missing.

This isn't a willpower problem. It's biology working against you. So stop beating yourself up about it and start doing something about it.

Here's How I Push Through It

1. Vitamin D supplementation. Non-negotiable for me in the colder months. If the sun isn't giving me what I need, I top it up myself.

2. Revisit your goals. I stop thinking about how hard training feels in the moment and start picturing what I want to look like come summer. That mental shift changes everything.

3. Chase the endorphins. Strenuous exercise produces some of the most powerful mood-lifting chemicals your body makes. When motivation is low, that post-session high is exactly the medicine you need — you just have to get through the door first.

4. Remember the bigger picture. Strong bodies are healthy bodies. Full stop.!!!! Every session is an investment, not just in how you look, but in how you function.

What I Cut Out

Winter is prime time for two motivation killers: comfort food and irregular alcohol consumption. I get it — they feel good in the moment. But that comfort is temporary, and it always leads to a low. More sluggish days, more low moods, more excuses not to train. It's a cycle, and the only way to break it is to not feed it in the first place.

The Bottom Line

Winter will always try to talk you out of training. Don't let it win!!!

Remember - Summer bodies are made in winter.

Tony Haranas

Protein after 40: Your non-negotiable

Protein after 40:
Your non-negotiable

Why the rules change when you hit your forties — and what to do about it at breakfast and straight after training.

3–8%

muscle mass lost per decade after 30

40g

minimum protein per meal after 40 to drive muscle repair

2x

the protein stimulus needed vs a 25-year-old

Let me be blunt with you — the way you ate protein in your twenties is not going to cut it now. I've been working with men and women over 40 for a long time, and the single biggest mistake I see is people treating protein like a nice-to-have rather than the non-negotiable it becomes as you age.

Your body's relationship with protein changes fundamentally once you're past forty. What used to work almost automatically now requires a deliberate strategy. The good news? Once you understand what's happening and adjust accordingly, the results speak for themselves.

WHAT CHANGES AFTER 40

Anabolic resistance — the real enemy

Here's what nobody tells you. After 40, your muscles develop what scientists call anabolic resistance. In plain English — your muscle tissue becomes less sensitive to the protein you eat. The same 25 grams that triggered meaningful muscle repair in a 25-year-old barely moves the needle for you now.

Your testosterone and growth hormone levels are declining. Your muscle protein synthesis response to both food and training is blunted. And if you're not actively fighting back with the right nutrition and training, you're losing ground every single week.

"Sarcopenia — the age-related loss of muscle mass — isn't inevitable. It's largely a protein and training problem. And both are solvable."

— Tony Haranas, NEPT

BREAKFAST — THE MOST NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITY

Stop starting your day on empty

After 8 to 12 hours of overnight fasting, your body has been quietly cannibalising muscle protein for fuel. Every hour you delay or skip a proper protein breakfast is another hour your body stays in that catabolic state — breaking down the very tissue you've worked hard to build.

I see it constantly. People grab a piece of toast or a banana and wonder why they're losing muscle. Meanwhile their body is screaming for amino acids to switch from breakdown mode into repair mode.

There's also emerging research suggesting that muscle tissue has its own internal clock — a circadian rhythm — and that it may be more responsive to protein synthesis signals in the morning hours. We're still building the full picture on this, but the practical implication is clear: morning protein hits harder than most people think.

TONY'S BREAKFAST PROTOCOL

Hit 40–50g of protein within 60 minutes of waking

• 4–5 whole eggs with 200g of Greek yoghurt

• Steak and eggs - old school, still unbeatable

• 150-200g Greek Yoghurt with a scoop of protein powder  

• Protein shake whole food if time is against you — don't use it as an excuse

POST-WORKOUT — THE WINDOW THAT MATTERS MOST

Train hard, feed it harder

After 40, resistance training is medicine. But medicine only works if you follow through with the right recovery. Your post-workout protein window is when your muscles are most primed to absorb amino acids — they're actively signalling for repair material, and blood flow to muscle tissue is elevated.

Here's the thing though — that window doesn't close as quickly as the old "30 minute rule" suggested. Research now points to a broader anabolic window of two to three hours post-training. But that's not a licence to be casual about it. The sooner you get protein in, the longer you benefit from that elevated muscle sensitivity.

Timing

Aim for 40–60g of high-quality protein within 1–2 hours of finishing your session

Source quality

Prioritise animal proteins — beef, chicken, fish, eggs. High leucine content is non-negotiable

Total daily target

Aim for 2.0–2.4g per kg of bodyweight spread across 3–4 meals throughout the day

Pre-sleep protein

Casein protein or cottage cheese before bed sustains overnight muscle repair while you sleep

"A heavy training session creates a massive demand signal in your muscles. Don't train hard and then feed it poorly. That's like putting premium fuel in during the drive and draining the tank when you park."

— Tony Haranas, NEPT

THE BOTTOM LINE

Protein is your most powerful tool

Over 40, you cannot out-train poor protein intake. You cannot coast on the muscle you built in your thirties. But here's the empowering reality — with the right approach, men and women in their forties, fifties, sixties and beyond can absolutely build muscle, maintain strength, and move with confidence.

It starts at breakfast. Protect your muscle every morning. It continues after every session. Feed the work you just did. And it compounds across every day you get this right consistently.

This is not complicated. It just requires intention. And that's something you're already showing by reading this.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is intended for educational purposes and reflects current sports science research and my professional experience as Personal Trainer. It is not intended to replace personalised dietary advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian or Sports Dietitian. Individual needs vary — if you have specific health conditions or complex nutritional requirements, I recommend consulting a qualified nutrition professional."

Tony Haranas - NEPT Alphington

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Why Lifting Weights After 40 Might Be the Most Important Thing You Do For Your Health

By Tony Haranas | NEPT Alphington

Let me be straight with you.

If you're over 40 and you're not doing some form of resistance training, you are leaving the most powerful tool in health and longevity sitting on the table. And I say that not to guilt anyone — I say it because I've seen it change lives in this gym, week after week, year after year.

I'm not talking about becoming a competitive powerlifter or bodybuilder. I'm not talking about living in the gym five days a week. I'm talking about picking up something heavy, consistently, with good technique, and giving your body the signal it desperately needs after 40.

What's Actually Happening to Your Body

Here's the honest biology. From around the age of 30, we start losing muscle mass at a rate of roughly 3–8% per decade. After 40, that rate accelerates. This process is called sarcopenia, and it doesn't announce itself dramatically — it sneaks up on you. You feel a bit more tired. The stairs feel a bit harder. You get up from the floor and think, when did that become a workout?

For women, menopause compounds this dramatically. The drop in oestrogen affects bone density and muscle retention in ways that most people don't fully appreciate until it's already happening. And for men, testosterone declining from your late 30s onwards means the hormonal environment that once made building muscle relatively easy is simply not there in the same way anymore.

None of this is catastrophic. None of it is irreversible. But it does mean you have to be intentional.

Why Resistance Training is the Answer

I've been coaching people at this gym in Alphington for a long time now, and the transformation I see most consistently — the one that goes far beyond how someone looks — is what happens when an over-40 client commits to weight training.

Here's what changes:

Muscle mass and metabolism. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. More of it means your body burns more energy at rest. For anyone struggling with weight management after 40, this matters more than almost any dietary tweak.

Bone density. This is the one that doesn't get enough airtime, particularly for women.

Weight-bearing resistance training is one of the most effective tools we have for maintaining and even improving bone density. Osteoporosis is not inevitable.

Joint health. I know — this one surprises people. They think lifting weights will wreck their knees or their back. Done correctly, with proper programming and technique, resistance training strengthens the structures around your joints. Tendons, ligaments, the muscles that support your hips and spine — all of it gets stronger.

Insulin sensitivity. Skeletal muscle is one of the primary sites for glucose uptake. More muscle means better blood sugar regulation. In an era where metabolic dysfunction is epidemic, this is not a small thing.

Mental health and cognition. The research here keeps getting stronger. Regular resistance training is associated with reduced depression and anxiety, better sleep, and emerging evidence suggests it has neuroprotective effects — potentially slowing cognitive decline. Come do a session when you've had a bad week. You'll understand what I mean.

"But I've Never Lifted Before"

Good. Honestly, good.

You don't have bad habits to unlearn. You don't have an ego about how much you used to lift. You come in with fresh eyes, and if you get proper coaching from the start, you'll build movement patterns that will serve you for decades.

The people I worry about most are the ones who are too proud to start light and learn properly. Everyone starts somewhere. At NEPT Alphington, we see people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond making genuine, measurable progress — because they committed to the process.

For women especially: please don't be afraid of weights. The fear of "bulking up" is one of the most persistent and damaging myths in fitness. Women do not have the hormonal profile to accidentally become bulky. What you will get is strength, shape, better posture, more energy, and a relationship with your body that is about capability rather than just appearance. That shift is powerful.

What Does It Actually Look Like?

You don't need to be in the gym every day. Consistency over intensity, always.

For most people over 40, two to three sessions of structured resistance training per week is genuinely transformative. Compound movements — squats, deadlifts, pressing, pulling — form the foundation. These are the patterns your body was designed to do, and they recruit the most muscle and deliver the most benefit.

Add in some conditioning work, look after your sleep and your protein intake (most over-40s are under-eating protein significantly), and you have a framework that works.

The key is that it has to be progressive. You have to give your body a reason to adapt. That means gradually increasing challenge over time — more weight, more reps, better technique. This is where having a good coach matters. The gym itself will not make you stronger. The program will.

A Note on Recovery

One thing that genuinely changes after 40 is recovery. Your body needs a bit more time between hard sessions, and that's not a weakness — it's just physiology. Smart programming accounts for this. The people who get hurt are the ones who train like they're 22 when they're 45.

Respect the recovery. Sleep is training. Nutrition is training. Managing your stress is training. It all compounds.

The Bottom Line

I'll leave you with this.

The research on resistance training and healthy ageing is as close to a consensus as you get in the world of health science. It protects your bones, your muscles, your metabolism, your brain, and your independence. It reduces your risk of falls, fractures, metabolic disease, and cognitive decline.

Ageing is inevitable. Frailty is not.

Pick up something heavy. Do it consistently. Get coaching if you need it — that's what we're here for.

Your future self will thank you.

Tony Haranas trains and coaches out of NEPT Alphington. If you're ready to start, get in touch on 0413 955088 — we'll meet you where you are.