Why Your Workouts Aren’t Working: The Over-35 Strength Formula That Finally Breaks Plateaus

Many men and women in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s train harder than ever, group classes, HIIT circuits, “functional” workouts, burpees until collapse, but never seem to get stronger, leaner, or more athletic.

The problem isn’t your effort. The problem is the type of training you’re doing.

In this blog, I’ll break down why your workouts aren’t working and how a simpler, strength-focused approach can help you finally break through that plateau.

1. Hard Training Isn’t the Same as Effective Training

A client recently told me she’d been doing small-group training where every session ended with her barely able to walk. She assumed that was normal. She assumed soreness meant progress. She assumed exhaustion equalled results.

But if your workouts are so intense that you can’t recover, you’ll never get stronger, especially after the age of 35.

Your recovery capacity changes, but your ability to build strength doesn’t have to… as long as you train smarter.

2. Why High-Volume Classes Don’t Work for Over-35 Lifters

Bootcamps, HIIT sessions, and high-volume “WODs” feel productive because they’re tough. But for most over-35 bodies, they come with two major problems:

1. Too much volume

2. Not enough high-quality intensity

This leads to the worst combination imaginable: You get tired, but you don’t get strong.

This is why so many people train multiple times a week yet stay stuck in the same place year after year in both physique and performance.

3. “Intensity is the Prescription, Volume is the Dose”

If you’re over 35, this principle is a game changer.

• Intensity = how hard you push

• Volume = how much total work you do

Older athletes can still train with intensity, in fact, they need it to build muscle and strength. What they can’t tolerate is endless volume.

Low-volume, adequately intense training is the sweet spot for progress and recovery.

4. The Problem With “Functional Training”

Functional training has become a buzzword. But many routines marketed as “functional” are more about novelty than results.

Here’s the issue:

Complexity kills intensity.

If the exercise is too unstable, too coordination-heavy, or too technical, you can’t produce meaningful force. You’re focused on survival, not strength.

After 35, your training should prioritise:

• stable positions

• simple movements

• exercises that allow progressive loading

• clear technical consistency

These are what truly improve function. Not balancing on wobble boards while doing circus tricks with baby kettlebells.

5. Beginners Must Get Strong First

Many beginners, and many returning exercisers, try to jump straight into high-intensity workouts. But beginners often:

• Have more strength potential than they can express

• Lack coordination

• Lack movement skill

• Lack foundational conditioning

This means they can’t create enough tension to stimulate real adaptation.

The solution? Get strong first. Build the skill. Build the patterns. Then intensity becomes productive.

6. The Simple Formula to Finally Break Your Plateau

If you're over 35, here’s the truth:

You don’t need more burpees. You don’t need longer workouts. You don’t need higher volume. You don’t need more complexity. You don’t need to destroy yourself every session.

You need:

• Simple exercises done very well

• Moderate volume

• Intelligent intensity

• Repeatable training

• Enough recovery to adapt

• A focus on strength, not exhaustion

This is how you finally progress again, even after years of feeling stuck.

7. Do Less. Do It Better. The Answer To Why Your Workouts Aren't Working.

When you strip away the unnecessary noise and build your training around the fundamentals, your body responds. Strength goes up. Body composition changes. Joints feel better. Energy increases. Progress finally returns.

If your workouts aren’t working, it’s not because you aren't trying hard. It’s because you’re doing too much of the wrong things, and not enough of the right things.

Train smarter. Do less. Do it better. And watch your strength skyrocket beyond what you thought was possible after 35.