The Old School New Body, also known as the F4X training system, is a simple and time-saving training protocol based on proven, timeless techniques that stand the test of time.
Old School New Body entails working out 3 to 4 times per week for 30 to 90 minutes, making it ideal for those with limited time available who still want to work out to improve their physique.
Below you will find how this program works, what benefits it offers, and its shortcomings.
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Who Is It For?
The Old School New Body, aka the F4X training system, is a no-frills, simple and effective fitness program that has already helped scores of people get back in shape, lose fat, gain muscle, and look younger.
It is marketed for people over 35 and up to ripe old age, people over 60, 70, or more who are surprisingly responsive to appropriate training. However, the program is just as effective for beginners or anyone who needs a solid workout protocol that does not stress joints and tendons. You’ll see why later.
The general workout method is loosely based on iconic bodybuilding legend Vince Gironda‘s training ideas, namely the famous 8×8 protocol for hypertrophy.
However, while Vince Gironda’s workout hinged on 8 sets of 8 repetitions, Steve and Becky Holman’s Old School New Body rely on 4 sets of 10. Both methods rely on short rest times between sets to increase metabolic stress and induce hypertrophy.
They are both high-volume methods, and both entail limiting the number of repetitions you could get with a certain weight and not going to muscle failure immediately on the first set.
Instead, you should rest about 30 seconds between sets and carry on until the last set, which you take to failure for as many reps as you can. Repetition tempo should be 1 second for the concentric and 3 seconds for the eccentric for a total Time Under Tension of 40 seconds per set.
The difference is that in Old School New Body, the high volume target is achieved by limiting your sets to 10 repetitions with a weight you could do 15 to failure. Still, instead of going to failure immediately on the first set, you hold back and carry on the subsequent sets, with limited rest between.
This method is conducive to high cumulative fatigue and workload, eliciting hypertrophy.
Advantages Of The Old School New Body Method
There are 3 benefits to such an approach:
1 – High workout volume in a fraction of time – Instead of wasting your time recovering between sets, you get the job done fast and then get out of the weight room to go about your daily business, particularly if you have a hectic lifestyle.
2 – High hypertrophy stimulus – The short rests between sets are conducive to high metabolic stress. The only way your muscles can adapt to such stress is by growing bigger and stronger.
3 – Low joints and tendons impact – This is important, especially as you get older or you are a newbie. Low repetitions with high loads take their toll in the long run. Moderate weights with short rest times between sets allow for challenging and beneficial workouts without the risk of injury or the onset of inflammation and pain.
Without a doubt, this high volume, low joint stress works well for people well over 40/50/60 or more years of age, but it is also beneficial for young guys with no time to waste or people with battered joints through heavy loads.
Steve Holman goes to great lengths to warn about the danger of low repetition, heavyweight workouts protracted for a long time. There is a reason he looked up to Vince Gironda as an inspiration for his program because Vince never suffered injuries throughout his career, unlike many pro bodybuilders.
Rotator cuffs, knees, and elbows are the likely victims of heavy poundage in the long run because your body’s joints and tendons are not built to withstand such a punishing regimen.
However, while the program is marketed for people over 35 who do not want to live in a gym, it is just as effective for younger people.
As a bonus, Old School New Body can be implemented either in a gym or at home with basic equipment. Steve and Becky prefer the functionality and easy resistance progression that barbells and dumbbells can offer, but you can do their routines at home as well.
The Old School New Body program is based on the F4X Training System, and these two names are often used interchangeably. The way these exercises are performed depends on your current fitness level and your goal, whether you want to lose fat, shape muscle or build muscle.
The basic 4 exercises are:
Squats
Incline presses
Bent over rows
Upright rows
The 3 phases of the F4X Training System are:
F4X Lean
This is the entry point level which, as the name implies, is designed to lose extra fat by working out 3 times a week performing up to 5 exercises in 30 minutes sessions.
It would be best if you had basic equipment for this phase, a pair of dumbbells will do, but there is also the option for bodyweight exercises.
The author stresses that under no circumstances should you overstep into stage “Shape” or “Build” before reaching your targeted level of leanness or low body fat.
One step at a time is the way to go. If you are happy with the results and already have a good muscle foundation, you may as well stop at this stage and do maintenance.
F4X Shape
This phase is meant to “shape” or build a little more muscle over your existing mass to give a more balanced look and better body functionality.
This is the natural progression from the F4X Lean phase, and while it’s still based on a 3-day per week schedule, the number of exercises goes up to 9.
This is the phase that Becky stopped at after having completed Phase F4X Lean. She wanted to look like an athletic swimmer, not too skinny nor too muscular, and she achieved just that.
What Steve and Becky are eager to stress is that you can step up to the next phase or stop and do maintenance as you wish. In other words, there is no risk for women or men to suddenly get too bulky or wake up the next day looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This is an unfounded fear that most women and even some men have. The reality is that it takes a good deal of time and effort to become big like a pro bodybuilder, so you can stop any time in the building process when you are happy with your size; no need to worry.
F4X Build
This phase is similar to the F4X Shape phase but with an emphasis on building solid muscle mass, say 10, 15, or more pounds. This is the phase Steve actually worked himself up to, as he likes a muscular fitness trainer look without looking like a monster professional.
This phase requires a variety of equipment well beyond a pair of dumbbells. You’ll need barbells, plates, an adjustable bench, and a pull-up bar, plus any extra equipment like lat machines, smith machines, crossover cables, and the likes.
In short, you need either access to a gym or a substantial home gym.
He correctly points out that you need to work out hard to become that oversized and take steroids and eat like there is no tomorrow. This is not what this program is designed for, as it is totally feasible and suitable for natural men and women, older and younger.
However, the F4X Build phase also entails longer workouts 4 times per week for up to 90 minutes, so it may not be ideal for those with limited time on hand.
The Cardio Part Of F4X
Steve Homan recommends basic, steady cardio up to 45 minutes during the days off. He recommends doing the cardio separately because of the intensity of the regular full-body workouts, similar to HIIT.
This is because the regular workouts of the program naturally engage your cardiovascular system and spike your growth and testosterone hormones, making an extra cardio routine in the same session redundant and detrimental.
By the same token, the Old School New Body workouts are performed with moderate resistance and short rest times between sets, mimicking regular high-intensity interval training, which makes a traditional HIIT cardio session (say sprinting and resting) redundant.
Also, the slow cardio sessions separate from the resistance workouts help distribute workload evenly throughout the week.
Old School New Body Nutritional Guidelines
Old School New Body does not provide a specific meal plan. Instead, it gives general guidance based on few tenets to leave you free to organize your own meals.
The author advises against prolonged periods in a significant calorie deficit if you want to lose weight. That’s a trap that can lead to a slower metabolism and muscle depletion.
Once you start eating again, you are likely to experience a weight rebound with worse body composition than before, that is, less muscle and more body fat, the typical yo-yo, skinny-fat scenario.
Instead, Steve recommends a moderate calorie deficit but, most importantly, a shift in the nutritional macros from carbs to proteins and healthy fats.
As for carbs, avoid processed carbs and refined sugars and opt for slow-release carbs like oats and vegetables.
Supplementation
Old School New Body is not shy to talk about supplements. Steve recommends to up your protein intake with whey protein and quality amino acids, specifically BCAA, particularly leucine, for its muscle-building properties.
Another recommended supplement is Phosphatidylserine because of its ability to reduce cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone released by your body in difficult mental, physical, or situations.
A slow amount of cortisol is normal, a good night’s sleep will take care of it, but a large amount can impair your quality of life and have physiological repercussions.
Strenuous workouts can increase your cortisol levels, but I think that if you have a balanced life and sleep well, the Phosphatidylserine supplement maybe not be necessary, after all.
Two more recommended supplements are Caffeine and L-carnitine. Caffeine is a stimulant that helps burn fat, while L-carnitine helps convert fat into fuel for energy through beta-oxidation.
Old School Wisdom Of The Program
Ok, this is for the general resistance training layout, what about general guidelines? Basically, Steve sums it up in 5 general principles, debunking common myths held dear in the fitness industry. These are:
1 – Low-fat foods myth: contrary to popular low-fat food diet mantras, you actually must eat fat as well as any other nutrient. According to the program, fats and cholesterol help regenerate hormones, particularly the all-important testosterone responsible for enhanced metabolism, fat burning, and muscle building.
On the contrary, sugars should be avoided like the plague as they are very easily turned into and stored as fat, unhealthily upsetting insulin levels.
2 – Endless cardio myth: according to the author, treadmills, spins, running, or any endurance training only exacerbate the aging process because this kind of long, sustained aerobic activity increases the production of free radicals, which in turn feed on nutrients and tissues.
Instead, he recommends concise but very intense resistance training workouts.
3 – Being old myth: a healthy lifestyle, correct training, and nutrition are everything. There is no such thing as having a beer belly or being fat and saggy just because of chronological age.
An older person who trains and eats properly will be biologically younger, fitter, and stronger than a young couch potato person doing nothing or worse, drinking, smoking, etc. No room for arguing here.
4 – Drinking plenty of water: Steve recommends at least 12 ounces per day. Water helps lose fat by aiding the liver and kidney diuresis. Too little water places stress on the liver and its ability to burn fat.
5 – Training less but harder. The F4X program is mostly about 4 specific exercises implemented in short sessions the old school way.
This approach is more effective and time-saving, allowing for a better balance in life, more social life, and more freedom.
About Steve And Becky Holman
Steve has been editor-in-chief at Iron Man magazine for many years. He’s seen it all in the fitness, fat loss, and muscle building industry.
Having reached a mature age, he has decided to design the Old School New Body program for older guys and gals, which also happens to young people.
The program is based on good old-school techniques now largely forgotten in mainstream bodybuilding literature.
The idea for the program came after noticing that the best-looking and fittest people in gyms always seem to finish their workouts first, while the ones working out the longest never seem to change their bodies noticeably.
He concluded that short but tough and time-saving routines are way more effective than endless cardio if you want to lose fat or marathon workouts if you want to build muscle.
Steve and Becky further took inspiration and confirmation to their observations by looking up to the fitness ethics and principles of bodybuilding legend and guru Vince Gironda, a celebrities’ personal trainer of the old school with an impressively lean and muscular physique.
Vince routinely shaped up to fitness his famous customers in record times for their movie roles, making them lose fat and gain muscle with fundamental yet effective routines.
My Opinion On Old School New Body
Having experienced many injuries in the past, I can testify that this program has what it takes to work out safely and make progression at the same time.
I lost count of how many times I was set back with inflammations and tendonitis over time, especially in my shoulders.
The shoulder joint is by far the most complex human body because it allows moving your arm in all the planes. As such, it is by default unstable and prone to injury, particularly under constant heavy loads and if your form leaves to be desired.
The rotator cuff, and not the deltoid or the trapezius, is the complex muscle and tendon group responsible for keeping the head of the humerus in its place, the sub-acromial space, during any given movement.
Lack of specific rotator cuff training in addition to loose form and heavy loads is a recipe for disaster.
Over time, I developed tendonitis, bursitis, and even the nefarious Frozen Shoulder, aka Adhesive Capsulitis, which put me out of action for over one year.
Now I know better. I regularly warm up my shoulders with specific rotator cuff exercises, and equally importantly, I stopped working out always in the 5 to 6 repetition range.
Today I use moderate weights that allow me to rep up to 15 repetitions, sometimes 20, and I have never looked back, all the while making gains even better than before.
Having gone through the Old School New Body program I can only but recommend it as a viable and safe way to gain muscle and lose fat while keeping your joints and tendons out of harm.
No nonsense program based on timeless tenets of old-school training that work today just as much they did in the past.
A flexible program promotes muscle hypertrophy, muscle tone, or weight loss, depending on your needs.
Easy on your joints and tendons. Ideal regimen for older people but also for younger ones who want to prevent and avoid injury.
The moderate resistance and short rests between sets stimulate growth hormone, muscle-building and mimic HIIT.
You can do it at home with minimal equipment. However, for the advanced phase, you need a well-equipped gym or home gym.
Includes valuable information on nutrition, supplementation, and injury prevention.
Affordable – Right now is priced at $20
60-day money-back guarantee.
Cons
There are no video tutorials, just pictures.
For the advanced F4X Build phase, you need full gym equipment.
No physical copy is available.
The Old School New Body Components
The Old School New Body comes in an easy-to-download, instantly available PDF manual. However, to this day, there is no physical version available. The PDF requires reading software like Adobe which you can easily download online if you do not have it yet.
The program also comes with few handy bonuses, and it’s structured as follows:
The main Old Scool New Body PDF manual with all the contents described above, covering all aspects of training and nutrition.
The QuickStart Workout Guide Free Bonus Guide is a scaled-down version of the main PDF to quickly get you started if you do not want to read the whole manual first. You can do that at a later time while starting immediately to get results a quickly as possible.
Ultimate Fat Burning Secrets Free Bonus Guide, covering issues like fat-burning foods and how to use heat for losing fat.
Ultimate Muscle Building Secrets Free Bonus Guide with information on minerals, fruits, nutrients, and foods that can increase testosterone naturally and build muscle.
Ultimate Sex And Anti Aging Secrets Free Bonus Guide on wrinkle reduction nutrients, aphrodisiac desserts, hair growing herbs, tips like 6 keys to add a year to your life, and much more.
Ultimate Health And Happiness Free Bonus Guide on how to release the feel-good hormone oxytocin and information on foods to relieve depression, and more.
Also included is free motivational audio made up of interviews by John Rowley to top fitness industry experts such as:
Tom Venuto, a natural bodybuilder & author of The Body Fat Solution.
Kristi Frank, a health and beauty guru and has appeared on every major network TV.
Bill Phillips, author of #1 New York Times Best Seller, Body-for-LIFE.
Jennifer Nicole Lee, a super fitness model, turned mega mogul.
Shawn Phillips, veteran fitness expert and author.
Old School New Body is a fitness program designed for people over 35 that also happens to be just as effective for younger people.
It is based on old-school but very effective ideas of training based on concise but hard and challenging workouts structured around just 4 basic exercises.
You can then manipulate these exercises to suit your goal: lose fat, add some lean muscle, or build as much muscle as you naturally can.
Each goal is distinct from the others and can be achieved in a pyramid structure, from a fat loss phase, through to a shaping phase, and finally to a muscle-building phase.
Additionally, Old School New Body is safe on your joints and tendons while promoting hypertrophy through high volume workouts at a fraction of regular sessions.
All in all, it is a simple yet effective and time-saving program for the older and the younger or anyone with limited time on hand and concerned about not just muscles but also joint integrity.
Old School New Body FAQs
Does It Take A Lot Of Your Time?
Depending on the phase, you can work out on a 3 or 4 days a week schedule, 30 to 45 minutes per workout.
I Am A Woman – Will I Get Bulky Doing This Program?
Old School New Body is ideal for any goal and includes 3 different training approaches, depending on whether you want to lose unwanted fat, tone your muscles, or build your muscles. You are in control.
I Am Older Now And Went Through Injuries Before – Is It Safe?
Absolutely yes. This is a key aspect of Old School New Body. All the exercises are performed with a moderate repetition range, 10 to 15, not always to muscle failure but with short rests between sets. If you had shoulder, knee, or elbow problems before, this program is just right for you.
Do I Need To Do Cardio?
The program recommends slow cardio on the off days. No HIIT is necessary because the regular workouts mimic its effects anyway.
Does It Come With A Guarantee?
Yes, you are covered with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
My name is Jay Fielding. I gained an interest in fitness since I was a child, and eventually developed my passion into a career path. I am now a Certified Personal Trainer with a natural ability to program customized body recomposition and motivate people in achieving their goals, be it gaining muscle or losing fat.
