The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
We explore thriving as an athlete after 40. Each episode, we’ll dive into tips, hacks, and inspiring stories from seasoned athletes and our personal experience. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a competitive pro, this podcast is your playbook for staying fit, strong, and motivated
The Masters Athlete Survival Guide
New Habits in 2026: Build Habits That Create Real Change
We share a new year mindset shift: stop chasing results and build systems that make progress unavoidable. We offer simple ways to start at the gym, reduce fear, and turn small habits into a lasting routine, with a nod to Atomic Habits for practical guidance.
• why goals often fail without systems
• how to design small, repeatable habits
• practical first steps for the gym
• using staff and simple plans for confidence
• leveraging AI to draft a basic routine
• making progress with low friction actions
• reframing outcomes as outputs of systems
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New episodes come out every other Thursday!
Hey, it's John, and I just wanted to reach out quick and wish you a happy new year, and maybe give you a couple uh tools for the toolkit. A lot of this comes from uh James Clear's book Atomic Habits, and it's the thing I've been struggling with when it comes to goal setting. James Clear has a good point that goals are probably not the way to change your life, because if you were to attain it, then what? And the other thing is that the example he uses is every person in every Olympic sport has the goal of winning the gold medal. They're not all gonna do it, so what differentiates one from the other? He calls them systems, and they're these bundles of habits that lead to changing your life and maybe attaining your goal. I recommend that maybe we all give that a shot and we look at what can we change in our lives or what can we add to our lives that create a lifestyle that leads to the goal that or the outcome that we're looking for. Uh setting a goal of I'd like to lose weight sounds great, but maybe you need the habit of skipping the seven cinnamon rolls at breakfast or eating eleven lobsters for dinner. I don't know. It's something I've been thinking about. I don't think it's goals, I think it's a system, and I think it's something that we can all do. I recommend highly that everybody runs out and gets uh James Clear's book. There's a lot of wisdom in that one. And then the other thing for everybody that's currently on the treadmill right now listening, if you find the gym intimidating or you want to get back into the gym, or you've never gone to a gym, um don't be intimidated. Don't don't set the goal so high when you walk in that tomorrow you're gonna be sore as heck and you're gonna accomplish nothing. Walk into your gym of choice, and if you don't know what you're doing, there's a several things you can do. You can ask a staff member who's probably probably helpful. Uh they all aren't, but most are. Don't be intimidated. The other thing you can do, and uh welcome to our modern society, go to your gym and figure out the machines that they have, go home tonight and ask Chat GBT, hey, my gym has X and Y and Z, and can you create a six-month, three-day-a-week workout program biggest on those things? You'd be surprised how great something will come out, which is ridiculous. And uh I worry about everybody that's ever been a trainer that uh it'll be very generic, but it'll get you through the next six months. Um I wish you success in 2026, and uh like I said, good luck reaching your goals, but maybe your goals are nothing more than the output of the new systems you're gonna create. Maybe you should listen to the Masters Athlete Survival Guide more. I think that'd be an excellent system. See ya everybody. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post it on your social media, or leave a review. To catch all the latest from us, you can follow us on Instagram at Masters Athlete Survival Guide. Thanks again. Now get off our lawn, you damn kids.