12 rules to build muscle faster for executives aged 35-55

Hello amigos,

I haven’t trained this week yet—aside from carrying Iris everywhere (story of my life). By the way, Iris is my daughter.

I’ve been lifting weights for 23 years, and honestly, I get bored. I needed to find a way to get more results with less effort—without getting injured.

Most people think lifting heavier weights or doing more reps is the key to getting stronger. I used to think the same.

But here’s the truth: Your body isn’t just a machine; it’s a system that needs the right foundation.

For over 10 years, I trained hard but ignored posture, stability, and movement mechanics. The result?

• Progress in the gym stalled.

• My shoulders felt tight.

• My lower back ached.

Then I started applying these 12 rules—and everything changed. More strength, fewer injuries, and better performance in less time.

Let’s break them down.

Diego Carrete
Chief Executive Officer, FIT LIFE FZCO
Chief Wellness Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank

FIRST AND FOREMOST—I’ve put together a free challenge inside my app. I’ll personally teach you every exercise so you can build lean muscle fast. Just reply MUSCLE to this email, and I’ll send you access!

Step 1: Build The Right Foundation

Most people start with weight. Start with movement.

✔ Fix your posture first: Your spine, pelvis, and scapula dictate how well you move. Breathe, walk tall, and train your eye position.

✔ Train stability before strength: If you're shaky in a movement, that’s a sign. Stop and hold that position longer.

✔ Own your mobility: If a body part feels weak, chances are it’s also tight. Fixing tightness fixes weakness.

✔ Breathe through your nose: Nasal breathing improves posture, movement, and stress resilience.

Step 2: Strength Comes From Control

Lifting heavier doesn’t make you stronger. Applying tension properly does.

✔ Slow down your reps: Time under tension matters more than load. Feel every inch of the movement.

✔ Respect your active range of motion (AROM): If you can’t control a position without weight, you shouldn’t load it.

✔ Challenge > Completion: It’s not about finishing reps—it’s about making every inch of every rep count.

✔ Never let the muscle relax: Stay engaged throughout every set.

Results in just two weeks?

✅ More strength (without increasing weight).
✅ Less pain (better movement, fewer compensations).
✅ Faster progress (because movement efficiency improves).

Step 3: Train Smarter, Not Harder

Most people lift weights. Few train with precision.

✔ Every exercise is a skill: Treat training like learning an instrument. Repetition + refinement = mastery.

✔ Train weak areas more often: What you avoid is what holds you back.

✔ Adjust grip, stance, and angles: Small tweaks create big breakthroughs.

✔ Strengthen at the extremes of your range: The part of a movement that feels hardest? That’s where you need to train.

The Science: Movement Quality > Everything Else

Here’s what happens when you ignore these principles:

🚨 Bad Tension Control = Wasted effort, suboptimal muscle growth.

🚨 Limited Mobility = Strength plateaus and inefficient movement.

🚨 Bad Posture = Pain, imbalances, slower progress.

🚨 Poor Stability = Weak lifts, increased injury risk.

💡 Fix these, and you unlock faster strength, better movement, and pain-free training.

5 Unknown Reasons Behind Your Sweet Tooth

🔹 Evolution & sugar → Your brain craves quick energy, and sugar triggers dopamine (reward signals). Modern processed foods hijack this, making cravings stronger.
🔹 Restriction cycle → Strict eating during the week builds anticipation, leading to weekend binges as a reward.
🔹 Blood sugar crashes → Skipping meals or eating low-protein, high-carb foods causes sugar dips, making sweets irresistible.
🔹 Stress & cortisol → High stress levels increase cravings for comfort foods (sugar & fat).
🔹 Weekend habits → alcohol, social events, and lack of structure lower self-control, making overindulgence the norm.

Break the Weekend Binge & Guilt Cycle:
How to Resist Junk Food↗

TL;DR

Most people train hard—but the smartest ones train efficiently.

1️⃣ Start with posture, stability, and movement quality.
2️⃣ Strength comes from control, not just heavy weight.
3️⃣ Fixing movement inefficiencies = faster progress, fewer injuries, and more strength.

That’s it for today, amigos—until next time!That’s it for today amigos, until the next time!

Diego Carrete
Chief Executive Officer, FIT LIFE FZCO
Chief Wellness Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank

I have something free for you today:

I’ve put together a free muscle challenge inside my app, and I’m giving away 15 slots for 15 executives.

It’s a one-week program where I’ll personally teach you every exercise so you can build lean muscle in less than 3 hours per week(on your own schedule).

Just reply MUSCLE to this email, and I’ll send you access!