 | Hey Team, Alas, it’s not the fountain of youth I bring you though there is something vitally important to keep intact as you age- athleticism. Now isn’t the time to fixate over the fact that you haven’t been an athlete in over a decade — or two — nor is it the time to wallow over the fact that maybe you’ve never really been an athlete. You have a body, you move your body, you’re an athlete. Why not train like one? First, an overview of what can happen as we age: - Muscle Mass: We lose about 3–8% of muscle mass per decade after age 30, accelerating after 60. Without exercise, up to 50% of muscle mass may be lost by age 80.
- VO2 Max (Cardiovascular Fitness): Declines about 10% per decade after age 30 in sedentary adults.
- Flexibility & Mobility: Joint range of motion decreases by 20–30% by age 70 in sedentary individuals.
- Reaction Time: Slows by 2–6 milliseconds per decade after age 20.
- Bone Density: Weight-bearing exercise maintains bone mass, reducing age-related osteoporosis by 30–50%.
Consistent training can halve or slow many of these declines!
There’s no shortage of athletes who pushed the limits well into their yonder years. Ed Jeannie Rice ran a marathon in 3:33:15 at 75. Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to Florida at age 64. Robert Marchand set a world record in cycling for the hour at 105 (14 miles in 60 minutes). Dr. Josefina Monasterio began training at age 59 and now competes in bodybuilding at age 78. Seasoned competitive athletes often maintain 40–70% of the peak performance of 20-year-olds in their respective sport. Here are 3 tips to stay strong, agile and athletic well beyond the age of 50:
- Prioritize Strength Training: All ages should be training strength minimally twice a week. Focus on compound lifts i.e. deadlifts, squats, pushups and rows. A word to the wise- it's easy to hop on the machines, especially if free weights become daunting with age. Machines are fantastic for targeting select muscles groups and for accessory work but when it comes to your major movement patterns, dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells will always win. Free weights require the recruitment of your core and activate multiple muscle groups at a time, giving you more bang for your buck. They also help you improve on balance and coordination without the reliance on a sturdy machine. Strength is the core of every healthy body.
- Train Power & Speed: Two characteristics we primarily reserve for those on team sports or directly training for an event. Our bodies are Ferraris, and they like to have their engines revved. Ensure you’re hitting at least one sprint day per week or another modality that allows you to go “all out” in segmented bursts-HIGH GEAR (Zones 4-5). Add in agilities like box jumps, broad jumps or hurdles. Challenge yourself with speed ladders or find a dot drill mat to sharpen your footwork and your brain. Lifting things up and down or pushing them back and forth may help build the major muscle groups but our bodies require the complexities of multiplanar movements to keep us healthy. Aim for twice a week.
- Recover Like an Athlete: What does this mean? In short- respect your body enough to treat it like a pro athlete. Get ample hours of sleep, seek out modern recovery techniques and modalities, hit the sauna, eat nourishing foods, toss the booze, guzzle water (and balance your electrolytes). Oftentimes we focus so much on the hours in the gym that we neglect the other 23 hours of our day. What you do outside the four walls of the gym indicates how fast or slowly you’ll age.
Getting older doesn’t have to mean getting weaker. Training like an athlete for your entire life might just end up extending it.
Until next time. 👋 | | | Danielle Bitts
VP of Brand, Bodybuilding.com |
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