CoachingAnswer

HOW SHOULD I TRAIN DIFFERENTLY IN MY 40S VS MY 50S?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 May 2026

ANSWER

In your 40s you can largely hold the training you did younger — but you must add strength twice a week and start respecting recovery. In your 50s, recovery becomes the binding constraint: the same two hard sessions still work, but they need two easy days between them, deloads every third week instead of fourth, and protein pushed higher. The intensity stays; the spacing and recovery around it stretch. The decade shift is mostly about recovery, not effort.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In your 40s: keep near-peak volume and intensity, but add strength twice a week and stop skipping recovery.
In your 50s: recovery becomes the constraint — two easy days between hard efforts, not one.
Hard sessions stay in both decades; what changes is the spacing and recovery around them.
Deload every fourth week in your 40s, every third week in your 50s; push protein toward 2.2g/kg.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The rider crossing from their 40s into their 50s

What worked at 44 is starting to leave you flat at 51 and you want to know what to actually change.

The 40-something wanting to set up the next decade well

You want to train now in a way that protects performance into your 50s rather than paying for it later.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

People treat 'masters' as one block, but a 42-year-old and a 56-year-old are training in genuinely different contexts. Anthony has unpacked this across the podcast with Joe Friel and Andy Galpin, and the cleanest way to think about it is this: your 40s are about adding what you've been getting away with skipping, and your 50s are about respecting recovery as the thing that now governs everything.

In your 40s, the engine is still close to its peak. You can usually hold the volume and intensity you did at 35 — the difference is that the things you ignored start to cost you. Strength training stops being optional, because fast-twitch fibre is already going. Recovery gaps you blew off start to matter. The 40s are the decade to build the habits — strength, deloads, protein — that will carry you. Get them in now and the 50s are far kinder.

In your 50s, recovery moves to centre stage. The hard sessions don't disappear — VO2 max work matters more than ever — but you can't run them as tightly. Two easy days between hard efforts becomes the default, deloads come every third week instead of fourth, and protein climbs toward the top of the range. It's not that you train easy; it's that you earn each hard session with more recovery around it. Same intensity, more space. That's the decade shift, and it's entirely manageable if you stop comparing yourself to the rider you were.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Joe FrielAuthor of Fast After 50 and The Cyclist's Training Bible
The biggest change across the masters decades is recovery, not the training itself. The same key sessions remain valuable, but the time needed between hard efforts lengthens through the 50s — and riders who adjust the spacing rather than abandoning intensity keep improving longest.
Hear it: Joe Friel's Cycling Training Plan Structure | Roadman Cycling
Andy GalpinProfessor of Kinesiology, Cal State Fullerton; muscle physiologist
Fast-twitch fibre loss accelerates through the masters decades, which makes resistance training progressively more important from the 40s into the 50s. The earlier strength work becomes a consistent habit, the more power and function are preserved into later decades.
Hear it: The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

In your 40s: lock in strength and deloads now
Add two strength sessions a week and a deload every fourth week while the engine is still near peak. These habits cost little now and protect a great deal of performance into your 50s.
In your 50s: widen the gap between hard sessions
Move from one easy day between hard efforts to two. Keep both quality hard sessions, but give each one more room to land fresh and clear properly afterwards.
Tighten deload frequency as you age
Every fourth week in your 40s, every third week in your 50s. Cut volume to 50–60% and drop intervals for the week. Deloads prevent fatigue you haven't accumulated yet.
Raise protein decade by decade
Sit around 1.6–1.8g/kg in your 40s and push toward 2.0–2.2g/kg in your 50s as anabolic resistance increases. Distribute it across 4–5 meals rather than skewing to dinner.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKETraining your 50s exactly like your 40s and wondering why you're flat.
FIXRecovery is the variable that shifts most. Widen the gap between hard sessions to two easy days and deload more often in your 50s.
MISTAKEWaiting until your 50s to start strength training.
FIXFast-twitch fibre is already going in your 40s. Build the strength habit then, while the engine is still near peak — it's far harder to claw back later.
MISTAKEDropping intensity in your 50s to 'go easier'.
FIXKeep both quality hard sessions — they defend VO2 max and power. Change the recovery around them, not the existence of the hard work itself.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What's the biggest training difference between your 40s and 50s?

Recovery. In your 40s you can largely hold the volume and intensity of your younger years if you add strength and respect deloads. In your 50s, recovery becomes the binding constraint — the same hard sessions need more easy days around them.

Should I train less hard in my 50s?

No — keep the hard sessions, especially VO2 max work, because they defend the ceiling. What changes is the recovery: two easy days between hard efforts instead of one, and deloads every third week rather than fourth.

When should I start strength training as a masters cyclist?

Ideally in your 40s or earlier. Fast-twitch fibre loss accelerates through these decades, so the sooner heavy resistance work becomes a twice-weekly habit, the more power and bone you preserve into your 50s and 60s.

How does protein need change from 40s to 50s?

It rises. Around 1.6–1.8g/kg per day is a reasonable target in your 40s; push toward 2.0–2.2g/kg in your 50s as anabolic resistance increases, distributed across 4–5 meals for the best muscle-retention response.

How often should I deload in each decade?

Roughly every fourth week in your 40s and every third week in your 50s, cutting volume to 50–60% and dropping intervals for the week. Older athletes accumulate fatigue faster, so deloads come around more often.

Can I still set personal bests in my 50s?

Yes, particularly if you were under-trained earlier. Many riders set lifetime power-to-weight bests in their early-to-mid 50s by finally training with structure, strength and proper recovery. The ceiling lowers slowly; the gap to it is often still wide.

RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

Joe Friel's Cycling Training Plan Structure | Roadman Cycling

The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin

Get Faster After 40: Masters Cycling Training | Roadman Cycling