Strategies for the aging athlete

[Jerome]

A few posts on age related struggles and decline by Stu, Keith and Mike in the Today-thread sparked my interested. I thought this might be worthy of a separate thread.

Aging is something I’m personally struggling with: at 45 I’m no longer able to train as I was in my twenties and thirties. However, I’m also not ready to throw in the towel and accept it’s all downhill from here.

I would like to hear if any of you adjusted your training as you got older, and how?
And which adjustments or strategies did you personally found most effective?

[Sakly]

I get 44, so I'm in the same range than you. I can definitely confirm, recovery is not the same like in my 20s
This changed a lot since I changed my diet and tried different things, so I would say this was the most significant adjustment I made. I can do 3 intense gym sessions per week and average ~200km on the rower per month, recovery is no issue anymore. No joint pain, no stiff back in the morning, sleep hours average at ca. 6h 30m.
Last months I focused a bit more on strength exercises in my training and could gain nearly 6kg, which is most of muscle mass, if I look into the mirror and compare my performance in training.

[JaapvanE]

For me, I needed to accept that my recovery isn't that quick anymore. I also realized that my chances on (going to) winning the Olympics at 52 are very remote. And I have a job and family also requiring attention. So my focus is on staying fit and making it a fun excercise, instead of constantly trying to improve times on specific distances where I must do stuff.

I moved away from too frequent high intensity training and do a lot of steady state long distance HR Zone 2 stuff. I'm currently doing 2 HM's, 2 15K's and a 10K a week. With two rest days as my wednesday is a Judo night, and my friday evening is really dedicated for my family.

I must say I start to like it a lot more than the constant pushing towards faster times. That kind of training wasn't working for me anymore: I constantly had injuries due to pushing too far and recovering too little. Current approach is much easier to maintain (despite more than doubling distance), and I feel a lot better.

I occasionally add a high intensity session, just to spice things up. But again, it should remain fun, not a training that I'll feel for days to come.

[Jerome]

I get 44, so I'm in the same range than you. I can definitely confirm, recovery is not the same like in my 20s
This changed a lot since I changed my diet and tried different things, so I would say this was the most significant adjustment I made. I can do 3 intense gym sessions per week and average ~200km on the rower per month, recovery is no issue anymore. No joint pain, no stiff back in the morning, sleep hours average at ca. 6h 30m.
Last months I focused a bit more on strength exercises in my training and could gain nearly 6kg, which is most of muscle mass, if I look into the mirror and compare my performance in training.

I think I would run myself into the ground in two weeks, trying to do what you do

[jamesg]

adjusted your training as you got older, and how?

It's forced, by lack of strength. Last year at 83 I could pull a 6W' stroke, now I'm at 5.5W' on a good day. At 63 I used a 10W' stroke in 2k, at rate 28.

If you base your work on the stroke, you can see what's happening and to some extent, control it. Ergdata provides the numbers.

I do the WODs, which are not too long to use almost every day. So I don't need to pick and choose but can just do it, controlling the stroke Work.

[Sakly]

I get 44, so I'm in the same range than you. I can definitely confirm, recovery is not the same like in my 20s
This changed a lot since I changed my diet and tried different things, so I would say this was the most significant adjustment I made. I can do 3 intense gym sessions per week and average ~200km on the rower per month, recovery is no issue anymore. No joint pain, no stiff back in the morning, sleep hours average at ca. 6h 30m.
Last months I focused a bit more on strength exercises in my training and could gain nearly 6kg, which is most of muscle mass, if I look into the mirror and compare my performance in training.

I think I would run myself into the ground in two weeks, trying to do what you do

I did much sport my whole life, so I really should be able to do this amount and intensity
But when I felt the decline in recovery and at the same time some health issues popped up, this made me think about my diet, as I assumed my other lifestyle factors were quite in check. After the changes I made, recovery improved much, as well as all my health issues/symptoms.

[ahooton]

A really interesting topic and obviously pertinent to those posting!

I truly hope I am still thrashing the erg when I am 84! Incredibly impressive and inspiring!

Coming from a very active military background where training was a way of life, I find my current daily exercise regimen well within my capability at 43. I do find I struggle to recover as quickly after tough periods at work (I manage a power station which loves to break down on occasion!). I definitely can’t workout twice a day like I used to in my 20s and 30s.

Being relatively new to indoor rowing I am still on the upward performance trajectory where I am getting fitter and learning my capabilities. I fully expect this to plateau at some point however for now, I’m really enjoying riding the wave.

I think the take away point is the enjoyment of it, having something to focus on and keep you active regardless of perceived age bound limitations. I look at times set by athletes in their 50’s and 60’s and am astonished and take heart that I’m not quite over the hill yet!

[nick rockliff]

One of the things I pick up on when I read about people who think they are declining through age, is that they say they can't recover as quickly.

I always wonder how they come to this assumption? How is recovery assessed by people?

[iain]

Great question I would be interested in the response to. My training has been too inconsistent over the years to make a certain comparison. In 2020 aged 52 with much more time to devote to it I managed an HM PB, beating my previous best set in 2007. It was relatively weak compared to my hour, but crucially it was the only time my training volume was as high as in 2007-11. That said I definitely rushed my recovery rows in the earlier period doing hr+ at 4S slower than HM PB (7S slower than Hr PB). So recovery at 52 was better, but was for rows done at about Hr + 15S, although typically 75-90 min rather than Hr - 70 min. Clearly not a fair comparison.

There have been many studies that have shown decreased volume in elite Masters athletes. But is this required or a response to a different set of perspectives and responsibilities (eg no scholarships or careers based on elite masters performances)? Certainly those on here in 80+ categories typically report lower volumes than previous and, in some cases, say that they feel they "need" a day off after each row when previously did 5-6 sessions a week. Statistics suggest that the decline becomes a bit more significant from 55 so I am only just entering this region. Personally I think that "refusing to accept decline" is likely to be a contributor to people recovering less (ie still doing SS at previous paces or at previous HRs despite lower VO2 max and HRmax), but is that the reason for it all?

It would be interesting to see any data on individual's through time who have maintained similar schedules. Have they been required to cut the pace of SS to allow full recovery / found they cannot perform at their best as often? Or indeed seen higher HRs 24hrs following harder sessions? As we all have lives that change over time and adapt training to our response, I suggest that such data will be rare and probably show what people have chasen to do rather than were forced to.

To date I have only had DOMS from rowing after unusually extreme sessions (eg "strength" sessions such as 10 x 30" R24 at 30 higher DF and maximum power per stroke) or when starting back from a prolonged break. I find PEMS have no noticeable effect the following day and have never regularly rowed double sessions, so the "aches" so far have not provided any evidence. I also try not to overdo it, so have rarely packed hard sessions back to back until performance declines. I have had (relatively for me) great performances on back to back days so clearly at least 3 would currently be required when well rested, so no evidence there.

I await others responses with interest.

[Sakly]

One of the things I pick up on when I read about people who think they are declining through age, is that they say they can't recover as quickly.

I always wonder how they come to this assumption? How is recovery assessed by people?

Probably it's based on the feeling after a hard training session, at least this is how I assess it.
After a hard day I typically feel the worked muscles and the "amount of fatigue" they have. If this feeling is low in good to go for a session, if high, then more likely not or only a light session.
In my 20s I could go for 10 to 11 sessions a week (obviously in different sports, as I started rowing only 2 years ago), but it wasn't a problem to go for two intense sessions a day and train the next day, again at relatively high intensity. This declined with age, but recently I could get back to training 6 or 7 days per week without recovery issues. Probably even two sessions a day would be ok, but now I have many responsibilities taking time, which weren't there at the age of 20

[gvcormac]

Personally, I didn't notice much difference between age 35 and 45. I got a bit slower (10k run from 40:00 to 45:00) but didn't change intensity much. At 67 I'm slower still (10k run 51:00). It takes me much longer to get warmed up. In my training runs/rows it takes at least 2km before I'm up to speed and even more before my HR plateaus.

My rowing pace has not fallen as much as my running pace. It is a bit hard to calibrate, because at age 45 I had a different erg that was a bit harder than the C2. I think the best C2 number I saw was 36:00 for 10km, and now I can do 41:00.

One thing I'm definitely doing differently based on my understanding of the literature is strength training. Cardio simply isn't enough to maintain muscle mass as you age. Also, I do low intensity 30+ mins on my Bike Erg every morning. This lets me catch up on my email and social, limbers me up for the day, and dissipates a few calories. But I run at most every other day. Sometimes 60 minute, sometimes 70 minute 10km pace. Occasional intervals and occasional sprints.

[Dangerscouse]

One of the things I pick up on when I read about people who think they are declining through age, is that they say they can't recover as quickly.

I always wonder how they come to this assumption? How is recovery assessed by people?

For me, I can be quite simplistic. In 2021 I did my 60 mins and FM PBs on consecutive days, and then about six days later I attempted a 100k for a British 40-49 record (I HDed at about 84k IIRC). I doubt I could train the day after just one of those sessions now, and it's only three years ago.

The day after quite a few sessions in the past couple of years, which can be a bit random, so there's no link to shorter or longer distances, can be more of a struggle in both energy and RPE.

It's definitely something that I've only experienced in the past couple of years, as I've tried to train through it, to no avail. From 2017 to 2022 I bounced back from sessions with notable eaae, and regularly doubled up on Sundays & Mondays with HMs and Pilates sessions. The expected recovery from a FM or longer just never applied to me.

[deadlifting265]

One of the things I pick up on when I read about people who think they are declining through age, is that they say they can't recover as quickly.

I always wonder how they come to this assumption? How is recovery assessed by people?

For me, I can be quite simplistic. In 2021 I did my 60 mins and FM PBs on consecutive days, and then about six days later I attempted a 100k for a British 40-49 record (I HDed at about 84k IIRC). I doubt I could train the day after just one of those sessions now, and it's only three years ago.

The day after quite a few sessions in the past couple of years, which can be a bit random, so there's no link to shorter or longer distances, can be more of a struggle in both energy and RPE.

It's definitely something that I've only experienced in the past couple of years, as I've tried to train through it, to no avail. From 2017 to 2022 I bounced back from sessions with notable eaae, and regularly doubled up on Sundays & Mondays with HMs and Pilates sessions. The expected recovery from a FM or longer just never applied to me.

Interesting, do you think entering into the fifties turned on(or turned off a switch)?

It happened to me when I reached 40. At 39 I was breaking a few British records in all round weightlifting and feeling strong, but when I turned 40 and was training to break 3 other records, I got injured twice.

Certainly feel it more now at close to 47 than when I was 41/42, So I strongly surmise I will suffer more if I'm still upright after 49

[Dangerscouse]

Interesting, do you think entering into the fifties turned on(or turned off a switch)?

It happened to me when I reached 40. At 39 I was breaking a few British records in all round weightlifting and feeling strong, but when I turned 40 and was training to break 3 other records, I got injured twice.

Certainly feel it more now at close to 47 than when I was 41/42, So I strongly surmise I will suffer more if I'm still upright after 49

In all honesty, I can't stop believing that Covid was the difference for me. Covid wasn't bad, only a couple of days of feeling quite rough, but ever since I've been missing a certain something. Maybe it's not connected and age is the issue, or it's a combination of the two, but things have definitely changed ever since Covid in 2022.

I guess the biggest issue we've got is the only constant is change, so how we evolve and develop isn't completely comparable regardless of how much we'd like it to be.

That's interesting about your progression and regression in such a short space of time, and it does make at least a slightly compelling argument for age being a determining factor for some of us, although at what age that is, is highly debatable. But like everything else, there are always outliers and exceptions to the rule.

[MPx]

Interesting thoughts. For those who've trained extensively since youth my prejudice is that they would see some drop off with age. But for those couch potatoes finding a calling later in life smart training can see them getting better in later decades. One of my training partners is setting all sorts of British records in his 70s - mainly by training much smarter than he did in his 60s and he didn't erg before then. I only started in my 40s, but played squash at a reasonable level for 25 years before that so wasn't just a complete lump of lard.

The recovery question also interesting - I find almost the opposite of conventional wisdom on this. As a general rule I don't suffer Doms/Aches/Pains despite doing an erg session practically every day (there are odd occasions!). However, I can feel it in my legs the day after a hard session so I would struggle to perform well if I tried another hard session the next day. What I do find is that if I miss more than one day for some reason, the first day back on the erg is both tough and more likely leaves me with pains. Daily is much easier for me than doing work/rest days.

I did experiment with more polarised training when it was talked about a lot on here a few years back - did it for over a year. It didn't work for me - made me slower. There was too big a gap (pace/rate) between light and hard sessions for me to cope with mentally - I didn't believe that I could sustain the hard rate/pace after 80% of the training being so slow and without the belief it became a self fulfilling prophecy. So I now do 2 hard, 2 or 3 steady and a couple of grey zone pieces most weeks. That's working better for me and there's no issue with "recovery". Indeed I find I benefit from the confidence gained by knowing my training is going OK and I'm properly prepared.

Of course like everyone else I find things go in cycles and I go through poorer periods and better phases. Over the years the poorer periods have gotten longer and the better phases slightly less steller, so there's a drop in the numbers that tell a story - and that's despite putting more time/effort in. But as I said before - I believe it will hit each individual at a different time depending on their erging history and training. I was very much on the up through my 50s compared to 40s....