In this podcast I interview Jeff Alberts, who’s an accomplished natural bodybuilder with nearly three decades of experience competing, and 2 pro card wins, 16 class titles, 26 top 3 finishes, and first place in the 2014 IFPA Pro International. As you’d expect from someone with so much bodybuilding experience, Jeff’s also an accomplished coach. He’s worked with hundreds of athletes over the last 5 years, and started the 3DMJ brand, which has now expanded to include four other coaches, including Andrea and Eric, who I also recently interviewed. In this podcast, Jeff and I talk about the major lessons that he has learned about what changes as you get older, and what you can and can’t do in terms of gaining muscle and losing fat. I get asked about this type of thing all the time because many guys and gals think that if you’re over a certain age and not already in great shape--40s is usually the cut-off--you’re basically screwed. They think that you won’t be able to build any muscle to speak of, that you’ll probably get hurt trying, and that your metabolism is going to grind to a halt and you’re going to be fat forever. Well, they’re wrong. Physiologically speaking, things don’t change nearly as much as people think, and while you can’t get away with as much shenanigans in your 40s as you can in your 20s, you absolutely can train hard and build your best body ever. And that’s what Jeff breaks down in the interview. We touch on many things, ranging from how to know when you’re under-recovered and how to recover faster, how exercise selection changes as you get older, how to periodize your training, how to deload, and a lot more. This is a good interview to listen to regardless of your age, too, because if you’re like me, your goal is first and foremost longevity. We want to be doing this for the rest of our lives, and that mainly boils down to preventing injury and burnout, and that’s what this discussion is all about, really. Here it is... 10:49 - How do you train smarter for longevity? 12:19 - How do you know you're under-recovering? 17:34 - What changes as you get older? 20:28 - What helps you recover faster? 28:53 - How does exercise selection change throughout training? 34:31 - What about exercise form? 42:04 - How does muscle density develop in training? 46:00 - How do you periodize your training? 48:24 - What does a deload look like for you? 52:44 - Where can people find your work? Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/