Against the Fade

EP15: Setting the Standard

You learned how to be a man by watching one, and quietly copying him. Somewhere along the line the camera turned around. Now we’re the men younger guys are watching, whether we signed up for it or not. This solo episode makes the case that the work we do in midlife on our health, our marriages, and our character never stays private, and that we’re all setting a standard for the men coming up behind us. The only question is how high. What we get into: •       Why character takes all three valleys, not just the body •       Generativity, the midlife pull to pour ourselves into what comes after us •       The role model gap facing young men today, and what fills it •       A simple weekly audit to start raising your standard this week Referenced in this episode: Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men. Against the Fade. Don’t fade.  Against the Fade — For Men Who Refuse to Fade in Midlife New episodes every Tuesday. Newsletter & resources: https://againstthefade.com [https://againstthefade.com]  Instagram: https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast [https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast]  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast]  X/Twitter: https://x.com/dontfadepodcast [https://x.com/dontfadepodcast]  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast] A Second Summit Podcast.

EP14: The Finish Line That Keeps Moving | Tripp Lanier

Most of us are waiting for permission. To relax, to take the risk, to finally live the life we keep telling ourselves we’ll get to once we retire, once the kids are grown, once we hit the number. Tripp Lanier calls it the finish line that keeps moving, and he’s spent more than twenty years coaching men who crossed it and found new problems waiting on the other side. Tripp is a men’s coach, host of The New Man Podcast, and author of This Book Will Make You Dangerous. In this conversation we get into why so many of us hit midlife running on a fraction of our power, what we have to let go of to move forward, and the difference between being genuinely burned out and being out of alignment. He also shares the question he asked one client about money and time that left the man in tears. It reframes a bargain a lot of us are making without noticing. This is not the guy yelling at us to dominate, and it’s not the guy asking us to perform our feelings on cue. It’s the ground in between. One note on a moment in the episode: when Tripp lays out the Hunter versus Prey idea, the quick version is that prey animals (deer, rabbits) have eyes on the sides of their heads, built to scan for danger, while hunters (predators) have eyes facing forward, locked on what they want. Most of us move through midlife like prey, playing not to lose. The call is to face forward. Find Tripp at triplanier.com [https://www.tripplanier.com/] and listen to The New Man Podcast at newmanpodcast.com [https://www.thenewmanpodcast.com/]. Against the Fade. Don’t fade. Against the Fade — For Men Who Refuse to Fade in Midlife New episodes every Tuesday. Newsletter & resources: https://againstthefade.com [https://againstthefade.com]  Instagram: https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast [https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast]  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast]  X/Twitter: https://x.com/dontfadepodcast [https://x.com/dontfadepodcast]  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast] A Second Summit Podcast.

Protein After 40: How Much Do Men Actually Need

If you're over 40 and you've been told to just eat "enough" protein, you've been told the wrong thing. The number is higher than you think, and the rules changed when you crossed 40. In this Straight Sets episode, I break down what protein actually does, why anabolic resistance changes the game after 40, and the daily protein targets most middle-aged men are missing. You'll get a save-able framework, a sample day for a 200-pound man, and the grocery anchors that make hitting your number boring and automatic. Sample Day (Save This) For a 200-pound man.  Target: 0.7 to 1.0g of protein per pound of body weight per day. Breakfast: 3-4 whole eggs + a cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (40-50g) Lunch: 6 oz chicken, beef, or fish + any side (40-50g) Dinner: 6 oz chicken, beef, or fish + any side (40-50g) Gap-filler (if needed): 1 scoop whey isolate + 1 cup milk (30-35g)  Grocery Anchors Eggs and dairy: eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese Meat and fish: chicken breast or thighs, ground beef, steak, salmon, white fish, canned tuna Milk: whole or 2 percent (8g protein per cup) Shake: whey isolate (or isolate-concentrate blend if cost matters), simple ingredients, no added sugar  Tracking Framework Track everything for 3-4 days. Don't change anything yet. Just see where you actually are. Compare your average daily protein to your target. The gap is your work. Close the gap with the smallest change possible. Then stop tracking once the habit is locked in.   Mentioned in This Episode •       EP9 — Recovery After 40 (anabolic resistance reference) •       MyFitnessPal, Cronometer (tracking apps) Against the Fade — For Men Who Refuse to Fade in Midlife New episodes every Tuesday. Newsletter & resources: https://againstthefade.com [https://againstthefade.com]  Instagram: https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast [https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast]  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast]  X/Twitter: https://x.com/dontfadepodcast [https://x.com/dontfadepodcast]  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast] A Second Summit Podcast.

Straight Sets: Warming Up After 40

It's easy to cut corners on the warm-up. We tell ourselves a few leg swings is enough, or we get sucked into the 30-minute Instagram mobility routine that eats half our gym time. Neither one is right.    In this episode of Straight Sets, I break down what a warm-up actually does in your body, what changes after 40 that makes it matter more, where the influencers and conventional wisdom get it wrong, and a four-step framework you can plug into your next session. I also share why I don't always take my own advice on this one, and what the research says about how a proper warm-up affects your recovery the next day.    You'll get a science-backed RAMP framework (Raise, Activate, Mobilize, Potentiate), a sample 10-minute warm-up you can use on your next training day, and the one thing to try this week to see what changes.  SAMPLE 10-MINUTE WARM-UP (LOWER BODY DAY, SQUATS AS MAIN LIFT)   RAISE (3-5 min): 4 minutes on the bike, easy effort. Light sweat, not exhausted.   ACTIVATE (2-3 min): One round of 10 glute bridges, 10 band pull-aparts, 10 dead bugs.   MOBILIZE (2-3 min): 30 seconds on three things. Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch. Deep squat hold. Ankle rocks against a wall.   POTENTIATE (2-3 min): Squat the empty bar for 8 reps. Then 95 lbs for 5. Then 135 for 5. Then 185 for 3. Then into your working weight. (weights are just examples)   Total: about 10 minutes. Against the Fade — For Men Who Refuse to Fade in Midlife New episodes every Tuesday. Newsletter & resources: https://againstthefade.com [https://againstthefade.com]  Instagram: https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast [https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast]  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast]  X/Twitter: https://x.com/dontfadepodcast [https://x.com/dontfadepodcast]  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast] A Second Summit Podcast.

EP11 | Your Best Years Are Not Behind You (with Michael Ostrolenk)

At almost 40, as a civilian, Michael Ostrolenk completed Kokoro Camp. A 50-hour event modeled on Navy SEAL Hell Week. Most men half his age don’t finish it. But the lesson he took away wasn’t about toughness. It was about something underneath toughness that most men in midlife have never been taught to look at. In this episode, I sit down with Michael, a licensed therapist and former master coach with Mark Divine’s SEALFIT program, to talk about the gap between how a man’s life looks and how it feels. Why willpower stops working in your 40s. The hidden cost of running on a fried nervous system. The stories men tell themselves about aging that keep them stuck. And what actually changes when a man at 45, 50, or 55 decides his best years are still ahead of him. If you’ve ever felt like you should be doing fine but something underneath isn’t working, this conversation is for you. Don’t fade. Find Michael: * Website: michaeldostrolenk.com [https://michaeldostrolenk.com/] * Podcast: Resilience Redefined (YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldostrolenk] and Spotify) * YouTube: youtube.com/@michaeldostrolenk [https://www.youtube.com/@michaeldostrolenk] * Substack: Michael Ostrolenk * Twitter/X: @MOstrolenk * LinkedIn: Michael Ostrolenk Programs mentioned: Resilience Optimized Men’s Group (with JC Glick), Team Fudoshin (teamfudoshin.com) Find Against the Fade on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and at @dontfadepodcast across social.  Against the Fade — For Men Who Refuse to Fade in Midlife New episodes every Tuesday. Newsletter & resources: https://againstthefade.com [https://againstthefade.com]  Instagram: https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast [https://instagram.com/againstthefadepodcast]  TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://tiktok.com/@againstthefadepodcast]  X/Twitter: https://x.com/dontfadepodcast [https://x.com/dontfadepodcast]  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast [https://youtube.com/@againstthefadepodcast] A Second Summit Podcast.