TRAINING
FOR THE 50+ ATHLETE
Exercise
physiologists used to believe that aging made exercise capacity declines by
about 1 percent per year after the age of 35.
Then a Swedish scientist, Bengt Saltin, studied the Lapps, nomadic
people who herd reindeer. He found that the Lapps didn’t start to lose any
aerobic capacity until they retired from herding at age 55. He concluded that most declines in fitness
are caused by reduced activity, not aging1.
In this
article I’ll provide some information of value to all aging athletes, and take
a look at three sports more specifically; running, cycling, and golfing.
Owen Anderson PhD came up with 5 Training
Principles to help runners minimize the impact of aging.
1. Keep pushing it. Resist the temptation
to reduce your average training speed as you get older. Instead, gradually
increase the percentage of training miles that you run at a 10 km race pace or
faster. (He cautions that you should keep plenty of rest days in the mix, too.)
His point is that jogging won’t retain ‘young legs.’ You must do some faster running for that to occur.
2. Emphasize lactate-threshold training. Your
lactate threshold is the running speed above which lactate begins to accumulate
in your blood. (It can slow you down and stop you.) The higher your threshold,
the better your muscles use oxygen and process lactate as you train.
A runner or
cyclist can boost his or her threshold with interval workouts once a week.
3. Run quarters. Once a week, hit the
track or treadmill for a series of quarter-mile runs at your race pace. This
workout maintains the function of your spinal cord’s “motor nerve” cells, which
control fast running. (Dan and I try to do this every year prior to his 3
Birkenstock Dashes.) Without speed
work, these motor nerves will deteriorate as you get older, slowing you down.
4. Maintain your backside. When your
hamstrings and glutes - the key muscles that push the body forward at the end
of each stride- become less powerful, you lose speed. Put some emphasis on
hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes in your workouts. These are large muscles
and you want them to be strong and stretched.
5. Strength train. “Strength training
wards off potential age-related losses in muscle mass, keeping your legs
powerful. It also decreases the risk of injury, allowing you to carry out the
quality training necessary to boost your fitness.”2
Notes from the Cyclist’s Training Bible
“The few
longitudinal studies that have been done show that when the intensity of
training is maintained, aerobic
capacity and other selected measures of fitness decline as little as 2 % per
decade.”3 The “normal” decline in performance would be 6 to 10 %.
Here is a
brief summary of the recommendations of Joe Friel, author ofThe Cyclist’s Training Bible:
• Strength
train year-round.
• Train a
minimum of 7 to 10 hours a week throughout the year.
• Establish a
base level of fitness and endurance before upping the intensity.
• Once you
have established your base fitness, put more emphasis on power, anaerobic
endurance, and muscular endurance.
• Allow for
more recovery time between workouts than you had in the past.
• Stretch
after every workout and again later in the day.
They point out
that as we grow older, muscle mass is lost. Diet has something to do with this,
as nitrogen, an essential component of muscle protein, is given up by the body
at a faster rate as we get older. In
one study, the food found to have the greatest effect in reducing nitrogen and
muscle loss is raisins. Among vegetables, spinach was the best, but all fruits
and vegetables are helpful.
I went on my
first long cycle ride in 1988, riding fully-loaded (meaning panniers, not
booze) from Calgary to Vancouver in 8 days. I was riding a bike through
mountains without the proper climbing gears, using a green garbage bag for rain
gear (and it rained for 6 of the 8 days,) and we had no days off for recovery.
Yet I liked it enough to get a better touring bicycle, proper rain gear, and to
continue to enjoy distance cycling.
I have noticed
that the cyclists who continue to ride well at 50+ tend to cycle a lot and
enjoy it more than others.
It always
helps to plan cycle trips that include both challenge and recovery time. It’s
knowing that a trip will be demanding that gets you out on your bicycle seat
for the training miles. Fear can be a great motivator!
The 50+ Golfer
“The older you get the stronger the wind gets -
and it’s always in your face.”
Jack Nicklaus
For his first
45 years, Jack Nicklaus took his strength and athleticism for granted. As he
began to feel the effects of the aging process, he began to make changes in his
lifestyle. He notes that good golf
demands strength and elasticity in many parts of the body, but it’s
particularly important in the legs.
“It’s not enough to take care of your game, you have to take
care of yourself.
I exercise everyday, and watch what I eat and drink.”
Jack Nicklaus
The older
athlete will want to work on the following fitness components for golf
performance:
• Flexibility - A full range of motion is essential for an optimal
golf swing. You should know
the stretches that are most beneficial to a golfer and practice them.
• Strength - The
structural integrity that comes with strength will add power to the golf swing
and prepare the body for the repetitive stresses that could cause injury.
• Posture - Good posture is necessary through all stages of the golf
swing.
• Stabilization - Scapular stabilization (shoulders) affects proper
arm position and grip.
A lack of spinal or lumbar stabilization
during the setup can result in an inconsistent swing plane.
• Balance - Maintaining balance - focusing on proper alignment while stabilizing the muscles of the trunk
- is another essential element of an effective swing.
• Endurance -
Cardiovascular endurance improves athletic performance and helps you delay fatigue and stay focused on the game.
4
Some Other
Considerations:
Diversity
“To be prepared to do a variety of activities, you need to
be athletic and variable in your training”’
Scott Bennett
Trainer to Olympic Track-and-Field
Athletes
Though you may
want to specialize in one sport, your body will appreciate it if you diversify
your training, both inside the gym and outdoors. A runner can reduce his risk
of overuse injuries by also swimming, cycling and doing other activities. This
is often called cross training.
Sports that
can be especially attractive to 50+ athletes would include downhill skiing,
cross-country skiing, cycling, swimming, golf, tennis, kayaking, and hiking.
“To
resist the frigidity of old age one must combine the body, the mind and the
heart
- and to keep them in parallel vigour, one must exercise,
study and love.”
Karl Von Bonstetten
Basal Metabolic Rate
We all have a
bottom-line energy requirement to continue to exist. This is called your ‘basal
metabolic rate.’ It is preferable to
have a higher metabolic rate, as your body will then burn more calories per
hour, 24 hours per day. There are several factors that contribute to individual
differences in BMR:
1. Age - Your BMR will drop by 2% per
decade after 20 years.
2. Amount of body fat - The higher the
percentage of fat in your body, the lower your BMR.
3. Sex (not that kind of sex, the gender
kind!) Women have a higher percentage of body fat than men, so their BMR can be
10% lower.
4. Physical activity (Yes, that kind of
sex would qualify here.) Vigorous activity raises the BMR during the actual
activity session, and will keep it elevated for up to 8 hours after.
5. Diet - Dieting can lower your BMR, as
the body can compensate for lower energy input by lowering its
consumption. If you’re dieting, it will
help to exercise at the same time as this will raise your BMR while also
burning more calories. 5
Proper
hydration is essential for strong physical performance at any age.
The Cyclist’s
Bible recommends that you drink a 16-ounce bottle of sports drink every hour
during a ride, especially in summer heat6.
Water is all
that is needed for activities of an hour or less. Sports drinks are valuable in
longer efforts as long as you’ve trained with them so that your body is used to
the change.
A study of
9,758 men found that those who ate fish two or more times a week had
significantly lower average heart rates than men who did not eat fish. Fatty
acids in fish may be responsible7.
Peart’s Theory on Healthy Adult Weight Gain: Begin with your weight when you were 20
years old. Then, while staying fit, allow yourself an increase of 2 pounds per
decade until you are 60 (a total gain of 8 pounds over 40 years).
Then, if you
have been successful in gaining only 8 pounds, we should consider a possible
weight loss for active men over 60. Consider a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per
decade, recognizing a loss in muscle mass.
I would stand
by the above theory for women as well, but put in a modification for women who
have had children. It used to be called the ‘5 pound Rule,’ that a woman would
gain 5 pounds per child delivered and raised. I would decrease this possible gain to 2 pounds per child for
active women, recognizing the time needed for each child and the inevitable
problem of eating their leftovers so that food isn’t wasted.
This would
allow women to gain as much as 8 pounds in their adult years, plus 2 pounds per
child. At 60+, they may also be able to
lose a little weight, but then women are complicated and I don’t really have a
clue about them do I?
To put it
simply, try not to get big and fat.
Attitude!
“To win back my youth...there is nothing I wouldn’t do -
except take exercise,
get up early, or be a useful member of the community.”
Oscar Wilde
Professional
golfer John Daly has recently said, “Who needs fitness when you have great
equipment?” Unless his attitude changes
- or he was joking - you can bet that he won’t
be a competitive professional 5 years from now.
I try not to
judge people, but I have been disappointed by those I have met who have reached
an age or a stage in life and then ‘pull
over and park.’ Their stories are mainly about the activities of their past
‘active years.’ The Folk singer, Dan Bern, called it their “Glory Days.”
Aging need not
make any of us less active or less interesting.
“Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin
to change places.”
Summary Points
for Training at 50+
1. Recognize
that your basic metabolic rate changes as you get older. Modifications in diet
and activity are often necessary.
2. The 50+
athlete must allow for more recovery time between workouts and hard activities
for recovery. I recommend watching golf
or tennis tournaments on TV on the weekends, if you’re not out playing.
3. Do whatever
it takes to stay active and keep some adventure in your life.
Just don’t
‘pull over and park.’
Danny
Peart B.A./B.P.H.E.
References:
‘Defeat Father Time’ by Owen Anderson
Ph.D., Runner’s World, August 1998.
Outside Magazine, Bodywork Feature, May
2004.
Curtis Group New Client Booklet on
Basal Metabolic Rate
The Cyclist’s Training Bible, Third
Edition by Joe
Friel, Velo Press 2003.
Ageless Golf by Jack Nicklaus for Golf
magazine, March 1995.
Improving the Golf Swing, by Gina M.
Piazza, IDEA Personal Trainer, October 1999.
Footnotes:
1. Owen Anderson PhD, “Defeat Father Time”,p.
34.
2. Owen Anderson PhD, “Defeat Father
Time”, p.34.
3. Cyclist’s Training Bible, p. 183.
4. Improving the Golf Swing, p. 49.
5. Curtis Group Manual for New Clients.
6. The Cyclist’s Training Bible, p.
182.
7. Bicycling Magazine, January/February
2004. p. 17