The-age-factor-in-training

The age factor

Age is a deterrent for many when it comes to training. Nobody recovers as well in advanced years as they did in youth. Training does not end simply because the athlete is not mending well. We stop moving well when we stop moving; not after a certain age. Keep moving and keep in mind that recovery will slow as we age. Compare earlier training cycles only briefly. If there is a training factor which can be enabled, do so. If the training factor cannot be improved move forward and improve what may be improved. Use the

information gathered and move forward. Recovery is measure in time primarily. Time is of the essence. Do not fester analyzing all the information gathered over the years. This is part and parcel the reason training is difficult for older athletes/people. They have more experience and thus knowledge. Recovery can be enhanced with nutrition, massage, thermo and cryotherapy, cardiovascular work, flexibility work, Yoga, Pilates, bodybuilding workouts, and many other factors. Weightlifters use what is termed a “recovery workout”.  Attitude makes things pure or toxic. How we think determines how we progress. Training as a senior athlete calls for more patience.

Science has clearly outlined the fact that we slow down as we age. The systems do not perform well after running for years, decades, or a century. Down-regulation is the

All steroids.
Training is pure science.
Science requires support other than anecdotal.

cause. If a system, or part of a system, is not being stimulated sufficiently it will down-regulate to conserve energy. Our systems do not know we have evolved to the point of having grocery stores and restaurants. We may need to move very energetically in the not too distant future. Our systems are dedicated to saving energy for this eventuality. Sedentary or athletic people need to plan applied stimuli. This is known as training. The point is simple; get moving and make the down-regulation added muscle and activation patterns rather than disability.

I will not tell you not to get sore. It will happen sooner or later.
Do not seek DOMS out. It is to be avoided.

If one has not recovered from a training session they must move more carefully. Do a recovery workout session. The systems down-regulate after each training session. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) makes us favor inactivity. It makes us feel less capable and we are. This does not mean we stop training. It means we must make the most of the situation. Train to recover. Activate everything available. The tissues and motor units which may need more recovery time will be protected through down-regulation. Activating the motor units which remain trainable makes new motor units available if the stimulus is appropriate. This equates with added performance down the road. We do not push our limits during these sessions. We learn what else may be available for a single intentional use. Then, when the challenged tissues have recovered they will coordinate with the newly employed MUs. Top athletes do this frequently. This is where new levels of performance are promoted. Waiting until the challenged tissues have fully recovered is simply too passive. There is not enough training time to make advancements this way. Bodybuilding is accessory work for athletes. As a competitive practice training to get sore, purposely, is only beneficial for drug users. It does happen when some aspect of recovery is out of line. It matter in the grand scheme. If we conclude that nutrition, sleep, massage, or active recovery is offline DOMS will occur.

Pushing the human body changes from one athlete to the next. Slight soreness should occur. Only to display factors which may be offline. Training intensity and volume may be offline. A certain athlete may be required to train less than his clone from a different test-tube

Get moving and keep moving. The systems are dedicated to meeting demands applied every day. This is stress and adaptation. Training demands adaptations in a very specific way. Be the athlete. Be the lifter. Be the runner. Be the cyclist. Be the physique star. Be moving. Age is not as difficult as it seems. Yes, you are sore all of the time. Yes, you are not as capable as you once were. Do not waste time training with someone half your age. They cannot understand training within limits yet. Competitive athletes are better coaches. The internet is great. It is not formal education. Education is doing what you are studying. Experience is knowledge.

Ice helps recovery.

Those reading this understand. Time is relative. Ten years of internet work are worth less than one year of practice. Practice is learning. This works. That does not work. A year of training is a long time for a twenty year old. A year of training for another, who has trained for thirty years, is the blink of an eye. If you played high school football in 1985 you cannot, and should not, train the same way you did in ‘85. You have developed some good and bad habits over the years. Make the most of your good habits and train the bad habits out of the system. Assessments are important. They are not the exclusive answer in developing a training plan. An understanding of stress and adaptation is fundamental in developing a useful training program. If you have never trained get a coach not a personal trainer. Qualified coaches have trained. Wants and needs must be addressed.

Coaches are experienced. There are no legal requirements as far as monikers go.  One does not simply

Heat helps us warm up.

coach. Coaches are adept, knowledgeable, and practiced people who want to help you get better. They have spent their lives practicing the craft. There is little valuable science being done in the United States on sports science. Ask your coach questions. If they cannot explain themselves do not follow that instruction until they can. I do not know is a better answer than making something up. Simply citing studies is thoughtless. Telling an athlete why they are to do something is invaluable.

My coach always had an answer. He did a lifetime of work on the topics. If he made something up his experience made the point valid. He did not need to cite studies done on twenty NCAA female soccer players. He did a lot of formal studies as a sports psychologist. He did the work. He made his points with reason not data. Data is impractical if the source does not understand the implications. Hire a coach who has more than twenty years of experience if your goals and money are important to you.

Age is a factor in training. Training twenty year old athletes is very different than training forty year old

athletes. As far as time goes the twenty year old is easier in some ways and more difficult in others.  The same can be said of the forty year old. The fact that the forty, fifty, or sixty year old athletes needs more recovery, workouts and time, is time-honored. Discovering how much to do is a complex job. A coach will know better than a trainer. “Trainer” is actually a misnomer. The term simply does not fit, pun fully intended, the personal training crowd. As a group they do not train for anything because they are building a business rather than realizing athletic goals. Training is founded on athletics not appearances.

Older athletes can improve strength. Training is an every-day experience which accrues skills. Skills are

Get stronger. Especially if you are beyond thirty years old.

valuable if the training stimuli are applied competently. Training has foundations in science and coaches must apply the science to individuals. This application is artistic. Hire a skilled coach and make the most of your, life, training time.

Get stronger and be patient!                                                                              docsgym@live.com