For those of us on the other side of the bell curve from 30, this is going to be a hard article to read. Those of us who have been at the top end of our performances and heralded the accolades of former glories will well know this space of resigned acceptance that in all things - age matters. Yes, deny as much as we all might like to, the mere fact is that there comes a point in our sporting and movement prowess where we must accept that the jump begins to lessen, the reach becomes more difficult and the bounce begins to go from our bungy!
Equally though, for those of us who have reached that point, there is a determination and a commitment to not allowing age to define us and to still enjoy the thrill of competing, performing and being involved in active and movement based lifestyles. In this way, no, age is not a barrier, but just another consideration to be acknowledged and respected within the greater realm of feats of accomplishment.
And acknowledged is the key word here. To walk away from something and to ignore its apparent impact on your ability is to invite disaster. It’s naive to believe that you can continue to treat your body in the same way that you did, pushing and driving it to it’s limits without experiencing the bludgeoning abruptness of limitations imposed by injury or incapacity.
So what is the best balance? What are the considerations that concern the ageing athlete and how best do we quietly conquer them?
What happens post 30?
Aerobic Endurance drops. Its a fact. VO2Max (ability for the body to use oxygen per kg of bodyweight) reduces as we age as our maximal heart rate can begin to drop. This has effects on how much oxygen we can get to our muscles and use in our body when we are involved in exercise. This has big effects on our endurance. The abilty to maintain a sustained amount of activity and performance for any given period of time. Generally speaking VO2Max rates decline 10% per decade after 30. These rates can be influence by the amounts of exercise an individual has been involved with and is maintaining into these years post 30 (to as much as half that rate). There are always exceptions to the rule but this is a fact of ageing that we need to consider when analysing our performance.
Muscles lose density. After 30 we can expect to lost 3-5% of muscle mass per decade - a condition called sarcopenia. It comes from our decreasing production of testosterone which can be influenced by hormones and lifetsyle choices and resistance training. Not only is this of concern but the type of muscle fibres that decline post 30 are our red fibres - our fast twitch mm fibres. These ‘power’ fibres are more immediately effected by age rather than our white ‘slow twitch’ muscle fibres. To offset this, an adherence to a healthy stress of our fast twitch fibres is vital - so lifting weights past 30 is vital to keeping muscle denisty at optimal levels.
Recovery from injury takes longer. For those of us who are in the over 30 bracket, research conducted at University of Newcastle (Australia) University of Tasmania and at Bond University in Queensland, recovery from exercise in masters athletes can vary between the type of exercise undertaken. Moderately induced exercise that has depletion of blood glucose levels with minimal impactive muscle fibre tearing does not result in reduced recovery times for older athletes. However, high intensity exercise that does result in fibre tears does have an impact on the masters athletes recovery times owing to anabolic resistance. (the ability of the muscle fibres to repair themselves). This type of high intensity training or even in ‘performance’ or race type scenarios did see an impactive decrease in recovery time for the older athlete. And perhap more imporantly, the perceived recovery time of the athlete was also indicated as a factor in recovery.
What you Can Do
Maintain a good balance of cross functional training. Beware the overuse injuries in older athletes. - combining active and passive forms of exercise is perhaps more vital as we age and will help to keep functional stress (healthy loading) on ageing muscles combined with VO2 capability whilst also aiding with regeneration and rejuvenation by maintaining range of motion and length of fibres. Pounding the pavement regularly is fine as long as you combine this with active Range of Motion sessions that help to promote length and restorative functional motion in stressed soft tissue.
Active Recovery needs more attention. Investing in active recovery programs. Making sure that you follow up heavy workouts or events with days of recovery workouts and movements. This also promotes better sleeping patterns and rest which is vital for the older athlete and helps to maximise recovery patterns. Activities include water recovery sessions, massage, compression garments and active recovery sessions such as walks, gentle cycling and moderate exercise follow up after major heavy sessions or performance sessions.
Ingest Protein with Carbohydrate. From research done in association with Triathlon Australia, dietary research indicated that whilst protein consumption did not aid in moderate performance immediately following high intensity workouts, it did help with power regeneration (type II red fibres) within 8hr time periods. The need for the older athlete to also ingest carbohydrate post exercise is generally considered to be helpful as older athletes do not store glycogen stores per muscle unit as readily as younger athletes. A percentage of these carbs should be high in starch as this also includes protein susbtances that help with the recovery within the 8 hr time window.
WHAT TO DO: There are certain practices that are highly recommended to assist with energy levels and recovery which are consistent with the older athlete as well as the younger athlete. As we age we should be perhaps more conscious of maximising these elements to ensure sufficient recovery.
Schedule Rest time - a deload week every 4-6 weeks or ensure a day of rest in the weekly schedule
Eat every 4 hours - ensure a consistent source of fuel for your needs. Glycogen storage per units of muscle drops as we age so consistent ingestion of fuel is recommended as we age.
Don’t nap - ensure quality sleep patterns and risk the need to nap or spend time in bed without quality sleep. Don’t confuse your circadian rhythms.
increase potassium - improves heart health and lowers blood pressure. Low potassium levels can lead to lethargy. Daily intake for adults is a minimum of 4,700mg. Avocados, spinach, dried apricots, sweet potato
peppermint for boosting energy levels - in teas or oil form, peppermint can help spark up your focus and attention when needed.
adjust intensity of workouts for 2 out of 10 for healthy mitochondria - Mitochondria influences longevity. For advanced healthy cellular energy, a mix of high and moderate exercises is best.
address stress and mental health - the benefits of mental health weigh hugely on our energy levels. Sort it out. Don’t deny it’s power to produce healthy outlooks and positive projections and outcomes.
Fats first - regulates metabolism and sets up a good source of satiety for the day. Carbs later in the day can help with seratonin levels and repair from stress and exercise.
mix up protein sources - according to Osteoporosis International, just sourcing protein from animal products can increase the muscle density loss associated with ageing. Ingest some pulses and legumes to get protein levels to promote muscle retention. Cycling proteins for high and low days of protein ingestion also helps with energy levels.
fasting - creates autophagy (cleaning of damaged cells) and helps to maximise energy levels from dietary intake. A day of fasting every 3 months is healthy for your system.
There is no reason to suggest that a person involved in a healthy and active lifestyle cannot continue to cut the mustard with other younger athletes and still enjoy all the fun, benefits and competitive thrill of pushing the body and competing in sports related activity. But the science does suggest that to maintain these levels of performance, sometimes we have to consider the factors at play. They can’t be denied or ignored and every athlete hits the stage when they must maximise their potential with science based approaches. Perception plays a great role in our ability to perform so don’t deny yourself the chance to push your limits, but do be mindful of limitations and acknowledge the process’ that we have to partake in to ensure that those of us over 30 (and beyond) can continue to mix it up on the sporting field.
