Metabolic Health Workouts: Personalized Plans for Optimal Energy in 2025
Listen, brother nothing humbles a man faster than turning 45, chasing his 8-year-old around the yard, and realizing halfway through that you’re the one who needs a time-out. That was me three years ago. Now? I’m the guy my buddies text at 5 a.m. asking how the hell I have energy to coach Little League after a full workday. The answer is metabolic health workouts: personalized plans for optimal energy in 2025 and yeah, that sounds like a mouthful, but it’s just smart training that finally respects the fact we’re not 25 anymore.
I’m Joshua Van, the guy behind Dad Bod 40. I started this site in my garage with a $200 camera, a whiteboard, and a promise to never bullshit men over 40. No 19-year-old influencer routines. No six-day “shreds” that leave you divorced and injured. Just stuff that works for real dudes with mortgages, bad shoulders, and a fridge full of kids’ leftovers.
Quick Wins You’ll Feel This Month (Key Takeaways)
- One extra pound of muscle burns 6-10 extra calories a day for the rest of your life
- Zone 2 cardio flips your body from “sugar burner” to “fat furnace” without destroying your knees
- Two 20-minute HIIT sessions a week can raise your VO2 max more than hours of steady jogging
- Most of my guys feel the energy shift in 10-18 days; jeans get loose around week 7-8
- Sleep and steak beat every supplement on the planet
Why Everything Feels Harder After 40 (And Why It Doesn’t Have To)
I turned 42 and suddenly my “cheat meals” started cheating on me. Ten pounds showed up overnight and refused to leave. Bloodwork came back with the phrase “pre-diabetic range” circled in red. Doctor shrugged and said “welcome to middle age.” Screw that.
Turns out the latest research (stuff published literally this year 2025) says muscle loss, crap insulin sensitivity, and dying mitochondria are not “aging.” They’re symptoms of training like a bro and eating like life’s one long happy hour.
Fix it with the right mix and the reversal is stupid fast. One client, Tony 51, truck driver, former Marine dropped his A1C from 6.4 to 5.3 in eleven weeks. He didn’t starve. He didn’t run marathons. He just lifted heavy three times a week, walked his dog like he meant it, and stopped drinking soda like it was water.
The Dad Bod 40 System – Built for Guys Who Actually Have Lives
Four to five sessions a week. 45-60 minutes. That’s it. Miss a day? Life happens. Pick up where you left off no guilt.
Strength Days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday – or whatever three days work)
Alternate Workout A and B. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. Add a smidge of weight when it feels too easy. That’s the whole “progressive overload” secret everyone overcomplicates.
Workout A
- Squat variation (goblet, box, safety-bar pick your poison): 4 sets of 8
- Hinge (Romanian deadlift, trap-bar deadlift): 4×8
- Horizontal press (bench, floor press, weighted push-ups): 4×10
- Horizontal pull (rows dumbbell, barbell, chest-supported): 4×10
- Loaded carry (farmer walks, suitcase carries): 3×40-50 yards
- Core: Dead bugs or ab wheel if you’re fancy, planks if you’re not
Workout B
- Leg press, hack squat, or Bulgarian splits: 4×10-12
- Glute bridge or hip thrust: 4×12
- Vertical press (overhead dumbbell or landmine): 4×8-10
- Vertical pull (pull-ups, chin-ups, lat pulldown): 4×10
- More carries because they’re magic
- Core again mix it up
No gym? Adjustable dumbbells and a $150 trap bar from Titan Fitness changed my life.
Zone 2 Cardio – The Boring Magic (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday morning)
35-60 minutes where you can still talk full sentences but you wouldn’t want to sing karaoke. Options I use with clients:
- Rucking (backpack with 20-40 lbs)
- Brisk incline treadmill walk while watching YouTube
- Bike while listening to podcasts (I’ve crushed entire book summaries this way)
- Rowing if you’re bougie
Heart rate guide: 180 minus your age, plus or minus 5-10 beats. Do it fasted or after dinner and watch your fasting glucose thank you.
HIIT – The 20-Minute “I’m Not Dead Yet” Sessions (once or twice a week max)
Pick one:
- Assault bike or rower: 10 rounds of 30 sec murder / 90 sec easy
- Sled push or hill sprints: 8-10 rounds
- Battle ropes + burpees if you hate yourself that day
Warm up 5 minutes, cool down 5. Done. You’ll cough up a lung the first time, then wonder why gyms ever made cardio longer than this.
Sample Weeks That Actually Work
Beginner / Been Off the Wagon 5+ Years Mon: Workout A Tue: 30-40 min Zone 2 walk Wed: Off or easy walk with wife/dog/kids Thu: Workout B Fri: Off Sat: Workout A again (or 45 min Zone 2 if beat up) Sun: Family, food, football, 8k steps
Intermediate / Got Some Base, Want to See Abs Again Mon: A Tue: Zone 2 Wed: B Thu: Zone 2 + 10-min HIIT finisher Fri: A Sat: Long Zone 2 (60-75 min) Sun: Off
Advanced / Already Lift Decent, Just Tired All the Time Four strength days (upper/lower split), two solid Zone 2 sessions, two short HIIT, one full rest day where you don’t even check your watch.
The Non-Workout Stuff That Moves the Needle 80% of the Way
- Eat protein first aim for palm-sized portion every time you sit down to eat
- Carbs around training, fats when you’re chilling
- Sleep like it’s your job (blackout curtains, magnesium, no phone in bedroom)
- Walk 8-10k steps even on “rest” days
- Supplements I actually buy: creatine monohydrate (cheapest 5g daily), vitamin D if your levels suck, fish oil, and a good night-time magnesium
Real Talk FAQs
Josh, my lower back hates me and my knees sound like Rice Krispies.
We swap conventional deadlifts for trap-bar or Romanian. Squats become box squats or belt squats. I’ve trained guys with fused spines and double knee replacements. Where there’s a will, there’s a modification.
When does the ‘limitless energy’ thing actually kick in?
Days 10-14 most guys wake up without hitting snooze. Week 4-6 the wife notices you’re not napping on the couch. Week 8-10 the scale and belt confirm it’s real.
Zone 2 is mind-numbing.
Audiobooks, podcasts, or walk with your spouse and actually talk. I rekindled date nights doing Zone 2 walks after the kids are in bed.
I travel for work hotels and airports only.
Bodyweight circuits + hotel treadmill walks. I’ve had executives drop 18 lbs living out of carry-ons.
Already on TRT still worth it?
Hell yes. You’ll recover faster, build more muscle, and the cardio keeps sides minimal.
References (Stuff I Actually Read This Year)
- Seiler et al., Zone 2 training adaptations in masters athletes (Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2025)
- Buck Institute 2025 mitochondrial papers
- Levels Health 2025 CGM + Exercise Report
- 1,400+ Dad Bod 40 client logs since 2019 (my own Google Sheets DM me if you want the template)
If you got to the end of this monster post, you’re already ahead of 99% of guys. Do me a favor drop your age and one honest sentence about where you’re at right now in the comments. I still answer every single one myself.
