The Ryan Hanley Show
Deadlifts Won’t Break You—Weakness Will: Why Lifting Isn’t Optional After 40
Thu, 26 Dec 2024
What’s more dangerous than deadlifting? Being weak. In this no-holds-barred conversation, Ryan Hanley and fitness coach Jordan Syatt shatter the myths about strength training, aging, and why most guys in their 40s are stuck in a cycle of low energy and bad habits. From testosterone crashes to the silent dangers of sitting too much, this episode is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to live longer, stronger, and better. Join 11,000 leaders on The Finding Peak newsletter: https://go.ryanhanley.com What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why deadlifting is the most functional exercise you’re avoiding—and how to start safely. The shocking truth about low testosterone, what causes it, and how to fix it naturally. The three biggest factors destroying your health (and it’s not what you think). How movement, lifting, and even small habits like walking can radically improve your quality of life. The surprising impact of sleep and how to optimize it without complicated gadgets or gimmicks. Why “Dad Bod” culture is killing your long-term health (and confidence). Connect with Jordan Syatt: Website: https://www.syattfitness.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syattfitness/ Follow and Support the Show: 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with the guy who needs to hear it. Let’s build a stronger, healthier future—together.
Chapter 1: What is the importance of strength training after 40?
Hello everyone and welcome back to the show. You thought Christmas was over and here I am giving you another present. This tremendous conversation with Jordan Syatt, one of my absolute favorite, go-to fitness thought leaders. first caught Jordan's work when he was the personal trainer to Gary Vaynerchuk.
Jordan has since gone off on his own, and just the way that he delivers content speaks to me personally. It is no nonsense, no bullshit, straight down the middle content that is going to hit you right in the easy comfort, but not in that like influencer way. Not in that like, look at how amazing I am way.
It is real world, real talk from a guy who has a real family, who really works out, who really was a weightlifting champion, but is, as he says, I think he says he's like five, eight. I you know, gifted by God individual who then tells you all these things you should be doing. This is a real guy doing the work, training real people and delivering that message in a real way.
And it absolutely resonates with me. And I know it will resonate with you. So with all that being said, I give you your last Christmas present, Jordan Saeed. You can curse. You can tell stories. Get contextual. All good. There's no art rails on a conversation.
Amazing. Awesome.
Awesome.
I also really like that. I like your jacket, man. That's like something I would wear. I really like that a lot. That's awesome.
Straight Instagram purchase.
Really?
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Chapter 2: How does low testosterone affect men in their 40s?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So every day I put it under my tongue. And, you know, it's just like a little tablet or whatever. Just take one a day. And I've been doing it since March. And the last time I got tested was August, and I was at 700.
That's amazing. I mean, that's incredible. I mean, so just for context, like generally and whoever, whatever doctor you talk to is going to give you a different number. And I'm not a doctor, but generally like under 200 or 250 is is low. And. So to be 70 is very, very, very low. So I'm glad that you got tested and you got on something.
And as long as you're continuing to be monitored by a doctor or a medical professional, that's the most important thing. The major thing is a lot of people, what a lot of guys will do is they'll just say I've got low testosterone in the same way that often women will say I've got a slow metabolism. But they don't actually get checked for it. And so what you did is you did the right thing.
You got tested. And that's what you need. That's like the first step. You have to go get tested. Because a lot of people are very quick to go the TRT route. And I don't have anything wrong with TRT inherently. But that shouldn't be your first step. First, let's look at number one is your sleep. Actually, before you even sleep, how's your body fat?
If you have excess body fat, that's one of the major... Never mind the major risks of dying early, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, so many other health issues from having excess body fat. But if you have high body fat, your testosterone is going to be at risk of being significantly lower. On top of that, drinking a lot of alcohol.
Now, some in moderation is fine, but if you're drinking a lot week to week, that's a major problem. And with that often comes poor sleep and often will also come excess body fat. So Higher body fat, minimal sleep, too much alcohol, smoking. These are all things that just wreck your testosterone and your health as well, but especially your testosterone. And they go hand in hand.
Not lifting weights. And a lot of dudes for some reason hate on cardio, but good cardiovascular health will improve your testosterone as well. So they all go hand in hand. But the major controllable factors are body fat, sleep, alcohol. Biggest ones by far from there. Get that under control. And for you, like clearly you're you're lean, you're strong, you're muscular.
It sounds like everything was already taken care of. There might have been some either lifestyle, whether it was the stress from who knows the divorce stress from whatever was going on in your life, because stress can have a major impact on as well. Combined with I mean, if sleep was an issue as well, that also could have severely impacted it.
But, um, uh, the major controllable factors, you want to get those taken care of first for you, since you clearly were like in such good shape already, it was probably like, what the fuck is it? Oh, you know, another thing is vitamin D, right? So if you're not getting sunlight, that can be a major component of it as well.
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Chapter 3: What are the major factors affecting men's health?
I'm feeling down. So I'm not... I stop working out as much as I want to because I don't have that natural energy and I'm questioning things. And then you don't start sleeping well. And then, like you said, then you start grasping for solutions. And I hate that. Like, I hate...
going anything that isn't like natural first you know that's tends to be my way and but you do it's so easy to start going well maybe it's this supplement or maybe i just need you know maybe it's uh because i'm not taking uh what's that greens athletic greens if i was taking athletic greens everything would be fine you know like yeah it's it's not so easy to go down that rabbit hole
Yeah. I mean, the reality is, like, it's much easier to take a pill than it is to work out. And it is to put your fucking phone down and go to bed. And it is to stay hydrated and to get your steps in. It's much easier to take a pill. A lot of people like to point to individual ingredients, like, seed oils or whatever it is, these major problems.
It's like, you know what the major problem is compared to...
any other time in history is that right now it's like you've got uber eats on your phone you you can you barely get any movement in before we had to hunt for our food uh now you don't even have to go to the grocery store if you don't want you can order your groceries directly to your door you don't have to move you can sit down in front of your blue light phone and look at it all day all night and you don't move you don't lift you don't do anything physical whatsoever it's like
It's not the seed oils that's your problem. It's like you don't move. You don't lift. You don't train. You don't sleep like you. You are a sloth. That's the problem. Get up. Do something. Stop looking for the most convenient thing and start looking for the most effective thing, which is movement.
Yeah. So you hold a bunch of powerlifting records and have been a powerlifter for a while. I would love for you to talk about the impact of moving weight. I played sports, but I always lifted in connection to what I needed to do for that sport. I never was a powerlifter. I just never got into it until COVID hit. And I heard Tim, he was Kobe Bryant's trainer, Michael Jordan's trainer.
Tim, fuck, he's got two great books, Relentless and Winning, and I can't remember his last name. That's going to kill me. That's all right. I'll awkwardly wedge it in in post-production. But I heard him on an interview one time go... Somebody asked him a question, and he said... Guys need to move weight. And like, he just stopped.
And like, I think that was like, it was so point blank the way he lived it. So I said, fuck it, I'll start deadlifting. So I've gotten really into deadlifting. And I try to explain to my friends that, the impact that it has on my body in a positive way. And I can't do it justice.
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Chapter 4: Why is lifting weights essential for longevity?
But if you're training smart and intelligently, which is what we'll talk about in a second, your likelihood of getting injured is is teeny tiny minuscule, you're way more likely to get injured doing something when you're weak. Like trying to pick up a heavy grocery bag or trying to pick up some luggage or playing with your kids or all of a sudden you try and do a sprint or you change direction.
And being weak is a way bigger risk factor for injury than getting strong. So, yeah, could you get hurt deadlifting? Yeah, especially if you're deadlifting like an idiot. But let's not fucking deadlift like an idiot. Let's do it intelligently. So like you were saying, you don't need to be deadlifting 800 pounds. You don't need to be bench pressing 400 pounds.
I'd like you to get in the gym two to three days a week. And if you want, like if you are listening to this right now and you can't do 10 good pushups from the floor, you're fucking weak. And that's not a dig. It's just like, cool, let's get you in the fucking gym. Like you could just start with your body weight. Let's get let's get you doing stuff. Let's get you using your body weight.
Let's get some dumbbells in your hands. You don't need a full full gym. You just like have some dumbbells, have your body weight, master your body weight. I mean, realistically, that's how we enter this two to three days a week. Master your body weight, like get some good squats in there, just body weight squats, maybe holding, holding, put some weight into a backpack.
Put some weight into a backpack, hold the backpack, squat, do some Romanian deadlifts, do some pushups, do some bodyweight rows. If you get a TRX strap, so you can do some rows that way, like just move your body and get stronger. You don't need to be doing 30 sets of exercises. You don't need to be having 12 different exercises per workout.
Two to three days a week, three to five exercises, and two to three sets of eight to 12 reps per exercise. You're good. That's it. Like, do that a couple days a week. It could be 30 to 45 minutes per workout, and you're set.
One of the best things, best piece of advice I was ever given, I have a friend who does Spartan races. And I was saying, you know, man, I hate running. I know I need to do it. I don't do it enough a couple times a month probably, but I just don't like it. I was like, but I do want to get out and move more. And he sent me a link for a ruck vest.
So I wear 20 pounds in the front and 20 pounds in the back. And when I take the dog for a walk, I just throw the stupid vest on and we go around the block a couple times and you come back and just that simple. I mean, literally nothing. I'm not pushing anything. I'm not pulling anything. I'm just wearing this vest, going for a couple laps around the neighborhood with the dog. I come back.
Dude, no ankle pain. My foot pain's gone away. I never feel like... How many people do you know? They're like, oh, my back is tweaked. I was like, I haven't had back pain in years. This was probably three years ago that he said this to me. I haven't had back pain in years. Years. No back pain. Sit in a chair all day. I work in front of a computer. You know what I mean? That's my... No back pain.
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Chapter 6: What are the dangers of the 'Dad Bod' culture?
In the most basic form, what is a deadlift? Just pulling weight, standing up. You pick something up off the ground. It is the most functional exercise in the entire world because all you're doing is picking something up. That's it. How much weight can you pick up? That's what a deadlift is.
Chapter 7: How can simple lifestyle changes enhance health?
So I think everybody is, I would hope everybody listening is advanced enough to be able to pick something up off the ground. And it doesn't have to be a barbell with 400 pounds. It could be a 10-pound, 15-pound, 20-pound kettlebell, right? It could be dumbbells. It could be doing an RDL with a reduced range of motion. Rather than starting on the ground, you start at your hips.
Either way, you could do an elevated deadlift, so it's a shorter range of motion. But pick something up. Let's pick shit up that's important because you're going to pick stuff up in everyday life. So I'd rather you learn how to do it properly and get strong in that range of motion.
So I would say starting with a kettlebell deadlift or dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, really, really great starting point for people who don't know how to deadlift and haven't done and don't feel confident yet. So And if you don't know what those are, fucking Google, YouTube, kettlebell deadlift, dumbbell Romanian deadlift. Like you're going to figure it out really quick.
From there, I would say goblet squats, another dumbbell or kettlebell exercise. I mean, if we're talking about you're talking about the confidence you get from deadlifting. There isn't a single exercise that I've found increases people's confidence more than deadlifting.
When you hit a deadlift personal record and you lift more weight, you feel like you are on top of the world and you could beat Jon Jones. It's just like you feel like you could just be an absolute demolition monster, which transfers into your everyday life. I mean, when you pick something up that you've never lifted before, you hit a PR, it's just like it's one of the greatest feelings ever.
And it will carry over into your everyday life mentally, physically and emotionally. Another great one is any type of squat and the sort of the, the analogy or the metaphor here is like squats are very much like life and that when life gets you down, you got to stand the fuck back up, you got to carry the load and stand back up with that weight. You can't just let it crush you.
And so yeah, you could do it with a barbell or just hold a dumbbell or a kettlebell right in front of your chest and do squats like it's a great starting point. lunges are an amazing thing. Bulgarian split squats are amazing. They're a little bit more advanced, but reverse lunges, static lunges, forward lunges, these are all amazing. Those are the major lower body exercises I recommend.
Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, squats, and lunges. Those are the major ones. There are many other exercises, but those are the priority, especially when you're beginning. And even as an advanced, those are your compound, those are the major lifts that you do. Upper body push-ups, I think everyone, men and women, should be able to do 10 push-ups relatively easily.
I think everyone should be able to do that. From there, we can do dumbbell bench press. If you want to do barbell bench press, you're welcome to. Overhead press, barbell, dumbbell, whatever. dumbbell rows, lat pull downs, I think I would like it if everyone is able to do chin ups.
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Chapter 8: What are the risks of being weak?
just how sleep impacts our overall fitness and our energy and all these different things, because I do not think there is enough conversation outside of the fitness and wellness world about, I think people are like, oh, I get six hours sleep. I'm just one of those people. And I'm like, no, you're fucking not.
Like the number of people from my research that are actually can live off five, five and a half, six hours sleep consistently and be successful, I think is very small and versus the people who try to pretend like they can live off that and they just get used to this constant state of tired.
Yeah. And then they're always over caffeinating. And what a lot of people don't understand is that many of these people who say that they only sleep four or five or even six hours a night, like, OK, are they taking Adderall? Are they taking Vyvanse? Are they on methamphetamines? Like there's like if you're prescribed that, that's fine.
But people are prescribed testosterone and you'd probably want to know if someone was taking testosterone to see like what's going on from a muscular growth perspective. It's like if someone is on that, then they have an advantage in that they are literally on a methamphetamine to keep them awake more.
It's like, OK, so that's if you're not taking those, then you you're going to be more tired if you're not getting sufficient sleep. It's just important to be aware of that, not to mention the genetic component. But what's been – you're 100% right in terms of – so I have a Garmin. I track a lot of stuff as well.
I don't like to pay attention to the numbers very much because I'd rather just go based on how I feel. What I will say has been a massive eye-opener. It's the first time – you don't tell it when you drink or anything. You're not saying, hey, I'm drinking right now. When I drink alcohol –
And if it's just like one beer or a couple beers, one to two beers or like one glass of wine, I don't notice a difference. But if I go past that, My Garmin knows. It knows that I drank too much and my sleep quality will be shit, which is crazy because it took that consistently of realizing, oh, I want to look into this more.
And a lot of times people, they say, oh, I'm going to drink so I can get a good night of sleep. Well, just because you get tired when you drink doesn't mean you're getting high quality sleep. Your sleep quality actually goes to shit when you drink. So not only are you getting the negative effects of alcohol, you're also getting the negative effects of lack of sleep.
And I mean, this is sort of a crude analogy, but it does work. It's like, okay, if you have your laptop, right? And I'm on my laptop right now, or your phone for whatever the example is. You use your phone all day. It might have a lot of productivity with it. You get a lot done. But if you don't charge it, It doesn't matter how productive you were the day before because now you can't use it again.
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