Post by Al Olsen on Dec 1, 2010 14:24:50 GMT -8
This comes from Chris Carmichael:
I’ve been thinking about age and athletes a lot recently, so it’s fortuitous that I came across an article published in the NY Times on November 25 about a record-setting 91-year-old track and field athlete named Olga Koltelko. ( www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html ) Researchers are studying her and the growing number of athletes over the age of 80 to learn what’s keeping them going while their age-mates decline. For most people reading this, 80 is a long way off and Olga’s story might seem irrelevant. But it’s not.
I took a few things away from the NY Times article that are very relevant for athletes in their 40s-60s:
Protect your mitochondria: these powerplants in your muscle cells process fat and carbohydrate into energy, and when you lose mitochondria your performance goes downhill quickly. Exercising consistently and including hard efforts are crucial components of maintaining and increasing the size and number of mitochondria in your muscles.
Don’t stop training or competing: Your peak performance markers and your interests may change as you grow older, but research is suggesting that staying engaged in training and competition keeps aging athletes out of the doctor’s office and adds life to their years, if not years to their life.
Intensity is important throughout your life: Athletes in their 40s and older, especially those who are short on training time, need more intensity in order to attain high-performance fitness. And the newer research is suggesting that higher-intensity training now may mean retaining the ability to train effectively decades from now.
I’ve been thinking about age and athletes a lot recently, so it’s fortuitous that I came across an article published in the NY Times on November 25 about a record-setting 91-year-old track and field athlete named Olga Koltelko. ( www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html ) Researchers are studying her and the growing number of athletes over the age of 80 to learn what’s keeping them going while their age-mates decline. For most people reading this, 80 is a long way off and Olga’s story might seem irrelevant. But it’s not.
I took a few things away from the NY Times article that are very relevant for athletes in their 40s-60s:
Protect your mitochondria: these powerplants in your muscle cells process fat and carbohydrate into energy, and when you lose mitochondria your performance goes downhill quickly. Exercising consistently and including hard efforts are crucial components of maintaining and increasing the size and number of mitochondria in your muscles.
Don’t stop training or competing: Your peak performance markers and your interests may change as you grow older, but research is suggesting that staying engaged in training and competition keeps aging athletes out of the doctor’s office and adds life to their years, if not years to their life.
Intensity is important throughout your life: Athletes in their 40s and older, especially those who are short on training time, need more intensity in order to attain high-performance fitness. And the newer research is suggesting that higher-intensity training now may mean retaining the ability to train effectively decades from now.
