Just curious if anyone knows if there’s data yet on the effects of being a triathlete and aging?
Seems like all that cardio would be great, but then there’s overuse injuries, etc.
Has this been studied yet? Thanks.
I certainly like my physical life. But, my shoulders are shot from competitive swimming in my younger days, I have a plate in one shoulder from a broken clavicle and now a torn AC joint. I was stupid enough for decades not to wear sunscreen so I probably have doomed myself to skin cancer. About the only thing I have escaped is knee trouble.
I’m not sure how healthy all this activity really is 
I read somewhere modest swimming makes you younger, and I can actually see that from myself and couple of friends. I am not sure about riding/running outside under broiling sun, or maintain very high heart rate for 6 plus hours. But hell we only live once.
I’ve found that I still get old, in spite doing triathlons. 
No definitive studies that I know of, but a lot of anecdotal stuff.
Joe Friel’s latest book, “Fast after 50” has a pretty good general discussion about the causes and effects of the aging process. No cures, just suggested strategies for coping.
I’m 62 and the biggest thing I have noticed is the increase in recovery time needed after high-intensity workouts or races.
I’m also seeing more need for strength training to offset muscle mass loss due to aging.
Mark
That would stand to reason.
I was hoping the sport was old enough now to have some scientific studies, but oh, well.
I wonder if triathletes are generally healthier than friends, cholesterol’s great but knees are shot…
I don’t know, the more I write, the more I feel like this is a dumb question.
I think you can distinguish between “fitness” and “health”.
It’s probably safe to assume that most triathletes are going to be fitter than couch-potatoes, but not necessarily healthier.
Obviously the risk of overuse injuries is probably greater with triathletes (just ask my right knee and both Achilles). Not to mention the risk of traumatic injury, particularly with cycling.
Congenital conditions also would be independent of fitness levels. Again in my N=1 world, I’ve had to deal with a bicuspid aortic valve and Dupuytren’s disease, neither of which could have been prevented by fitness or exercise.
For me, I think one of the major benefits of fitness is quality of life. I love being active at my age, especially relative to my peers. One of the things that still gets me going is the endorphin rush during a hard workout.
Mark
I think you can distinguish between “fitness” and “health”.
Mark
Ah. Yes, very good point.
This is an extremely interesting topic to me. There are no valid studies that I know of. There are numerous studies of endurance athletes, though. It’s been proven that they’re smarter.)
Adapting is the most difficult aspect of aging and training. If a particular exercise, say chin/pull ups hurts the shoulder, I need to leave that out for however many months until it feels better.
Also, if the knee is sore, less biking and running that week. No squats till it feels better.
The shoulder’s acting up, less swimming that week. And no paddle work.
The knee and shoulder act up? Less of everything that week.
It seems the railroad tracks get narrower, or the circle gets smaller regarding the range of different exercises I can get away with and still swim, bike and run. Certainly during the Summer months.
Right, yeah.
What would interest me would be to see the correlation between the effects of aging on triathlon as well as the effects of triathlon on aging.
For example, as redcorvette says, he may need a little longer to recover and therefore may have days he’s not feeling the best but compared to pears, he’s more active in general (sorry for putting words in your mouth). To me, that’s a net gain.
I know this would be a complex thing to study, but I’d find it interesting.
I would love to see some studies on this subject just to see how I compare. At 66 years of age and having done triathlons for over 30 years, I am finding I am getting slower gradually for the same effort as earlier. The lower limbs protest at the longer runs but I have learnt not to give in to the niggling aches and pains as I appreciate these signals are just trying to tell me to be sensible.
However the mantra continues to be - never give up. If you do, then you are on the slippery slope to hell.
I think light exercise and a light diet lead to the best health outcomes. I think there is a price to pay for red lining your body as much as we triathletes do. It’s still better than being a couch potato of course.
I’m not a doctor but this is my guess too. I imagine a bell curve and that at some point the health benefits begin to diminish. And at the very extreme, you’re actively doing harm. That curve probably shift’s with age and a bunch of other factors.
But again as complex as the body is, I think that would be tough to quantify. Sounds like the previously posters have it right- pay attention to what your body’s doing and adjust accordingly.
This didn’t get a lot of play on ST, and I’m not sure why. The studies sited have their limitations, obviously, but I thought it was interesting.
Great read. Thanks for the link.
I have gathered information on the the slowing of world class times in swimming, biking and running to come up with an “age graded” formula for finish times in triathlon. I have also looked at Age group Nationals and Worlds.
I don’t think this is what you are asking, but from age 42 to 65 you can expect your overall times in a sprint or standard distance triathlon on the same course with the same weather and the same training to slow about .8 % a year (times in biking slow less than swimming and running as you age due to the disproportionate level of effort required to overcome wind resistance as you go faster on a bike).
I think the fall off after 65 is steeper (again…not sure what the information showed and I am not there yet. I haven’t looked at IM times as I don’t have the same level of interest in that distance but I “think” the data would show a greater slowing in IM distance.
I’m not a doctor but this is my guess too. I imagine a bell curve and that at some point the health benefits begin to diminish. And at the very extreme, you’re actively doing harm. That curve probably shift’s with age and a bunch of other factors.
But again as complex as the body is, I think that would be tough to quantify. Sounds like the previously posters have it right- pay attention to what your body’s doing and adjust accordingly.
This guy appears to be a curve buster: http://sandyscott.growingbolder.com/about-sandy/
I had a 23 year run of multisport, left with tail b/t legs and battered. A lot of it was b/c we just didn’t have access to smart training. Every day was as hard as we could go full mOrAns. After rehabbing my body and going to swimming full time I can say I feel like I’m 25 again in many respects, but nearly 2x that in reality. I just don’t have the temperament to not want to go hard all the time and swimming pretty much allows me to kill it 6 days a week and my body doesn’t hate me. Wish I’d of trained properly for tri back in the day probably could have saved my knees and back, but it is what it is at least I found something that works for me. I still have a couple of pals who are coming up on 30 years of tri and going strong though with no designs on stopping!
Sorry no data per se just anecdotal. What do my experiences show probably? Train smart, listen to your body and don’t be a mOranS!
That’s an interesting point. I hadn’t even considered the effects of training improvements. I’ve heard of similar studies on training improvements done with Navy SEALs. The focus being on the current athlete’s health, rather than decades down the line, of course, but still.
Another big factor, I would think, is nutrition. With nutrition being so central to the sport, I would think that would also have a big impact on the aging process. Whether we’re debating Paleo or vegan diets or just making better food choices, it’s almost splitting hairs to me when compared to the broader national population.
And I’m certainly not suggesting “older” athletes can’t perform. The local tri Masters and Elites here are at least 10 years my senior (and I’m middle-aged) and they absolutely DOMINATE the field.