Strategies for training after age 50

[nealhe]

Hello jroden and All,

Interesting thread … I have found similar modes for training as I age … regular weight training and more rest to account for slower recovery.

A similar study … at Stanford I believe … somewhat in the past … purposely injured older mice and rats and then transfused younger blood in some.

Those with younger blood healed much faster than those in the control group with older blood.

This more recent study might have future applications if synthesized into a protein pill (and not banned):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/new-studies-show-that-young-blood-reverses-the-effects-of-aging-when-put-into-older-mice/2014/05/04/1346baac-d2eb-11e3-8a78-8fe50322a72c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_most

Excerpts:

They later discovered that injections of a special protein found abundantly in young blood — or even transfusions of whole young blood — give the same advantages as sharing a blood supply.

Old mice who were injected with the protein or who received a blood transfusion navigated mazes faster and ran longer on treadmills. They easily outperformed their control peers, who were given only saline.

But for the young mice, getting old blood was a definite setback. When conjoined to an older mouse, the creation of new cells in the young mouse slowed. Old blood seemed to cause premature aging.

Two of the studies, both published online Sunday in the journal Science, came out of collaborations at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute that shared specimens of mice — one focused on muscle changes and the other specialized in the brain. The third, published Sunday in Nature Medicine, came from a group of researchers from Stanford University and the University of California at San Francisco.

“The Stanford group has been working in this area for a while, but we weren’t involved in their study,” said Science study author and biologist Amy Wagers of the Harvard institute. “All of the studies are very consistent — the data are complementary and support one another.”

Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

[Eppur_si_muove]

You could take any of the following advice:

1. Lee Trevino to an amateur golfer: “Take two weeks off, then quit.”
2. 60 Minutes last night: “No benefit after 30 minutes of exercise, in fact, it’s bad for you.”
3. Be thankful that at your age (as in old as dirt) you are able to do anything and just follow your instincts.
4. You are in a slump, take it easy for a few days then hit it hard again. Go to the lake for a few days and chill out. (I used to go to the Jersey Shore, pre-Sandy.)
5. Do lots of easy slow stuff, with about 10% of your training at Z4-Z5.
6. What ever you do, don’t take my advice.

-Robert
I’ll follow your point (6) in particular. Oh, wait…

[themadcyclist]

While this is an interesting study, your are basically proposing blood doping or using PED which, if I am not mistaken, is taboo.

I would prefer to hear about methods that will not get me banned from racing.

[nealhe]

Hello Eppur si muove and All,

Seth Davidson has the answer …

http://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/the-atheist-training-bible-for-old-bicycle-racers-chapter-5-youre-still-not-ready/

Excerpts:

The dominant scientific theory behind strength and cardio fitness improvement is strangely unrelated to beer consumption. Rather, it is that you improve strength and fitness by applying work loads to your muscles, heart, and lungs, and then they rebuild after the training period to become stronger. It sounds simple, but it’s really not, because as you have learned (it’s the reason you’re on the WTP), the more you train after a certain point, the more fatigued you become.

The simple question, then, is “How much should I train?”

---

The simple answer is, “A shit-ton less than what you’re doing right now.”

Training plans that propose blocks of intervals followed by brief, one-week periods of rest are effective when you are in your teens, twenties, and early thirties. In fact, these training plans were devised in order to maximize performance of elite cyclists at the peak of their game — young mutants who can crank out massive efforts and then, thanks to youth and great nutrition and lots of drugs, recover almost immediately.

You’ve noticed that these plans don’t work for you. Why? Obviously, because you’re neither young nor an elite athlete. Moreover, you lack the motivation to do anything more than a couple of Wanky Beer Intervals ™, and your body simply can’t take the drubbing of repeated, intense training.

What you need isn’t a better training plan, but a better resting plan. You’re in your late 40’s or older. Your cuts heal more slowly. Your erectile tissues don’t work as regularly as they once did. You have to read things three or four times before forgetting them…

Cheers,

Neal

+1 mph Faster

[david]

Some good points here.

However, I think one thing that you are asking is about the “slide.” I’m 54 and in my 33rd year of racing triathlons. Many of those years were at an elite level. I still pull out age group wins, but certainly understand just why I get to age up next year :-).

I peaked at about 40. I was able to somewhat maintain until 45/46. I slowed a bit heading into 50. However, the “slide” is now very apparent and noticeable. I think that is just the way it goes.

I am fortunate that I really enjoy my training, my lifestyle, and the positive effects of training on my lifestyle. I have kept my training about the same, although I may take some points from this thread.

Best wishes,

[rruff]

Tried a lot of things over the past five years since reaching 50, none of which have worked… more rest makes me slower and more tired, but then so does more training…

See your doctor about the many available drugs that can help cure you of this sickness called aging…

/pink

[rruff]

Mind you I am only 48 right now…massive delta between 48 and 52, but also massive delta between 48 and even 45.

It depends. Based on the performance of many old guys I see, this is definitely not true of everyone.

I’m 54 and haven’t slowed down since 45. At 45 FTP was about 5% below what it was at age 30 though, and I didn’t do much exercising from age 33-43.

For training, I think one of the most important aspects for me is getting enough rest. I don’t recover that well. Dec and Jan I never go hard… mostly 3+ hr rides at a modest pace, or even easier spinning. I’ll start with the high intensity Z5 and Z6 stuff about 8 weeks before I really want to be in shape for a race, and target training specific to the race as well. I like to do a 5hr ride once a week at an modest pace… it seems to help with everything. I’ll often take two days in a row off (45 min easy spin on the trainer) after a hard workout. After training pretty hard for about 3 months I need a solid rest of one or two weeks, then start over again.

[Ashburn]

… dueled with a 12 year old girl. When I compared our times via the Runners World age-graded calculator I was surprised to find out that a 12 year old girl is supposed to run faster than a 55 year old man. That was a surprise.

At my peak of bike fitness (c. 2006), I compared my watts/kg to a table Coggan put together showing where various ages/sexes fall in the cycling world.

I had a top-5 bike split in the M45-49 at Oceanside, and my watts/kg was barely equal to that of a “novice teenage girl” competing on the cycling circuit.

As Kevin Purcell wisely put it some time back – at our age, we’re just trying to slow down the slowing down.

[h2ofun]

Love this comment

As Kevin Purcell wisely put it some time back – at our age, we’re just trying to slow down the slowing down.

As I have gotten older, yep, it is not about getting faster, it is about how can I try to slow down the slowing, and stay healthy!!

As I have said, just go look at the USAT ranking results by AG. Look at both the quantity, and quality. Looks at results, like the running times. These numbers do not lie.

.

[Norcalsworst2]

I’m pretty similar to you. My first race was in 1984. According to USA cycling, I’m 52, but really only 51 today. I am a cat 2 criterium rider, so I structure my training around one hour races. Usually I’ll ride the Masters 45+ for my main race and either do a M35+ or a cat 2 only for my second race. I’ll enter maybe one or two P/1/2 races a year, but only if its flat, and even then I am purely pack fill as I’m not as competitive as I was even 5 years ago. But that’s okay, in Northern California, I’d say there are only a handful of racers over 50 who can go top 5 in a P/1/2 race.

My training load is 10-11 hours per week. I have given up on easy days and just take days off, so I am usually riding 5 days a week, but sometimes it drops to 4. My body doesn’t seem to need to ride every day and I appreciate the mental break from training. Although I went for a long ride yesterday, I have also really reduced the rides I do over 3 hours. Since my races are only an hour, a 4 hour ride doesn’t prepare me better any more than say 2 1/2 unless I have some weight to lose (which I do right now). During the season, if I am not racing, my go to “long” ride is 2 1/2 hours which includes 2 x 15 minute hill repeats as well as some shorter climbs to get to the hill repeats for maybe 3500 ft of climbing.

My mid week training days are exactly what you are considering now. Anaerobic intervals of 300m with 700 meters rest on Tuesday, tempo on Wednesday, and 4 minute hill repeats on Thursday. Throughout the season, I will also replace my basic 3 workouts with both shorter anaerobic interval as well as 3 x 15 minutes repeats up a long, slight grade, depending on the upcoming block of races.

I must confess that I am a wheel sucking sprinter, so if you are a breakaway specialist, I don’t exactly know how well this plans work. But I think you will find that dropping some hours will get rid of the tired feeling without effecting your power or endurance.

[bhc]

Please note that the study was based on* ** “national class Austrian runners, triathletes, cyclists, and nordic skiiers may provide an answer: polarized training.” *I’m guessing that most of us more “mature” athletes do not fit into their sample pool. The problem with this type of training is injury. As you mature, the more likely you are to be injured doing high intensity training and it takes longer, both physically and mentally, to come back. Just my 2 cents.