How to train as you age: what triathletes need to know as they get older
Age is no Barrier
How to train as you age: what triathletes need to know as they get older. As your body ages, it experiences various impacts which affect its strength and speed. Depending on your age, 25 or 65, there are different training areas you should focus on to stay strong and fast.
Although it’s commonly assumed that someone’s fitness and performance capabilities decline as they age, that’s not necessarily the case. There’s no reason why someone couldn’t continue to improve their abilities until the point of their death.
The reason for this is that age-group triathlon is not simply one long, continuous improvement from 20 to 70 and beyond. Unlike elite triathletes, age-group triathletes have other commitments such as work, family, and mortgages that take up their time.
The different aspects of your life that can have an impact on your triathlon training are your job, your family, your friends, your health, and your fitness level. All of these things can have a different impact on your training at different times.
For example, a 26-year-old’s training program is significantly affected by having to adjust to a normal budget, working 50 hours a week, and managing household chores. A 60-year-old’s triathlon issues come from trying to stay motivated when they experience a natural loss in muscle mass, bone density, and maximal aerobic capacity.
Joe Friel, a coach, states that age is not as important as people believe. The main reason why athletes seem “old” is because they have a slow recovery rate after strenuous workouts. This is caused by a decline in hormone levels and changes in metabolism, blood vessels, tendons, and ligaments.
Although 35 is not that old, someone can seem much older if they have a poor rate of recovery. I have coached athletes in their 60s who have had no problem recovering quickly, so age is not necessarily a determining factor.
It is important to understand your recovery rate and which training sessions and build-up races work best for you. This comes down to experience. So, every month, think about what did and didn’t work well for you, such as workout intensity, equipment, nutrition, etc.
When you have reached an “optimum” level, you can maintain peak performance for years through the manipulation of each element. The following advice will help you compete for a podium position in your age group.
Kids and teenagers
Triathlons should be fun for children and teenagers. If it becomes a chore, they have taken it too seriously.
A focus on technique is important for all swimmers, especially during their formative years. Our neural map is more pliable during this time, so it is essential to have a swim coach.
Although they may not seem like it at the time, building blocks are essential for learning the key elements of the triathlon. They are also enjoyable, although this may not be apparent until later.
If you’re a young athlete looking to do some strength work, know that you can lift weights, contrary to popular belief. However, it’s best to have an experienced triathlon coach guide you through it, especially in the early teenage years when bones are still hardening. Bodyweight exercises are ideal for this age group.
Good fuelling habits are something that young triathletes – and their parents – should take in. A good way to start would be with a pint of water with breakfast and home-cooked food.
How to train in your 20s
Many 20-29-year-olds are likely to be improved through education. This is due to many things such as having to swim, bike and run away from home. However, one of the most important things for this age group is nutritional advice.
According to the head coach of Tri for Fitness, Terence Collins, this fuelling advice applies especially to young people, who could easily develop unhealthy eating habits. To maintain a healthy diet, Collins recommends consuming the recommended daily amounts of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, lean meat or fish, whole grains, pulses, and dairy. He also advises against consuming processed foods such as crisps, sausage rolls, pies, pasties, cakes, and biscuits, as they contain high amounts of sodium, fats, and sugar, which can be harmful to your health.
Avoid ready-meal ruin
By avoiding ready-made meals and instead using a Nutribullet. The Nutribullet has been a Christmas kitchen hit in years past and is now present in many athletes’ kitchens because it allows you to make healthy juices and smoothies with little mess. A breakfast smoothie containing cherry juice is scientifically proven to ease sore muscles, while evidence shows age-groupers can race harder and longer thanks to beetroot continuing to grow.
Traffic-light system
Acclaimed nutritionists, like James Morton, who was formerly with Liverpool FC and is now with Team Sky, use a traffic-light system. Under this system, green light foods are high in carbs (1-1.5 g carbs/kg body weight per day), amber light foods are moderate in carbs (0.5-1 g/kg), and red light foods are low in carbs (less than 0.5 g/kg).
The intensity of your workout should dictate how many calories you eat before, during, and after the session. For example, if you are doing a strenuous 3-hour ride with lots of hill climbing, you will need to eat more calories than if you are just swimming for 30 minutes. If you need to lose weight, you would eat fewer calories.
If you want your body to burn more fat for fuel, you need to eat fewer carbohydrates. You can track how much progress you’re making by using an online program like Today’s Plan. The program uses a traffic light system to help you keep track of your progress and see how well you’re doing.
Use energy products only during tough workouts, suggests Collins. Also, be sure to check that nutrition products have been thoroughly tested before using them.
The recommended amount of protein per day for people aged 20-29 is 2-2.5g/kg. This protein should ideally come from real food sources such as tuna and chicken, but it is also acceptable to get it from recovery shakes.
How to train in your 30s
The average age of parents having their first child has risen by almost four years to 33.2 years for men and 30.3 years for women over the last four decades. This presents the triathlon paradox, according to Tim Williams of coaching outfit Perfect Condition.
According to him, the ideal age group for Kona winners is 30-39 because they are old enough to have experience and training, but young enough to be at their physical peak.
However, athletes in their thirties typically have young families and financial commitments, which often means that they have to squeeze their training and racing into short, sub-optimal spots.
Williams provides two areas of focus to optimize time and improve performance – these areas are broadly connected.
Optimise your time
Optimizing time means making the most of the time you have. This includes things like running with a stroller or indoor riding while babysitting. And that’s where a simulator like Zwift comes in. The online cycling company Zwift offers three courses with many different routes where you can virtually compete against triathletes and cyclists from all over the world.
The only things you need to create a cosy indoor space where you can train on your bike are a turbo trainer or rollers, an internet connection, and a device that can connect to the internet (from a desktop computer to a smartphone). You’ll also need a bike and a tool that can measure your performance using ANT+ or Bluetooth technology.
This text is discussing different types of speed sensors that can be used for training, indoors or outdoors. Indoor training can be beneficial, but adding a competitive edge through platforms like Zwift can make it even more motivating.
Strength and Conditioning for People Over 50
I will not reduce older readers to children by speaking to them as if they are. Many articles discuss the importance of going slowly, having a plan, and getting medical clearance before beginning a workout routine.
You will find conflicting opinions about what you should and should not do regarding your workout routine: some say not to squat, not to lift heavy weights, and to make sure you take certain supplements; while others say not to bend or twist in certain ways.
At Breaking Muscle, they have access to many trainers, coaches, and experts who have a lot of experience working with 50-year-olds at all stages of their fitness journey. This allows them to get a lot of feedback and insight from people who are directly involved in this age group’s fitness journey.
Matthew Levy of Fitness Cubed doesn’t see a big difference between being an older trainee and a younger one. He says that people over 50 generally just need to spend more time building strength at the end range to keep their joints healthy.
The phases of anatomical adaptation, hypertrophy, maximal strength, and maximal power need to be longer and more abbreviated, respectively, for the athlete to see results.
In other words, if you are trying to build maximal strength, Levy suggests that you use lower weight and do more reps.
Every person will experience ageing differently. Your level of activity in the past will determine how much damage has already been done to your body. You need to be cautious when starting an exercise routine if you are older and have been inactive, but you shouldn’t be scared to try it.
“You’re never too old to start working out. In fact, it becomes even more important as we age because we start to lose muscle mass. But studies have shown that even older muscles still respond to exercise, which is key to avoiding falls and other problems later in life.” Says Wayne Bradley, Gabinete Dietetico De Rueda-Bradley nutrition clinic.
Athleticism Declines with Age
The athleticism of an individual will start to decrease once they reach their twenties. Nevertheless, by following a specific training plan that takes their age into consideration, athletes are now able to prolong their careers.
According to Scott Glasgow, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Brigham Young University, and former Xtremeperfect Weightlifting Club President, by the time an athlete is in their 50s, optimal training for competitive weightlifting should include no less than half of the work being performed in modes that are clearly identifiable as bodybuilding in nature.
Jesse Irizarry discusses how bodybuilding can actually aid in recovery and increase mobility, instead of limiting it like many people think.
Even if you are a world-class athlete, you need to focus on recovery and mobility as you age. If you are not a world-class athlete and starting out later in life, you need to be aware of the need for recovery and an emphasis on mobility.
Tom MacCormick, who is an expert in hypertrophy from London, England, believes that lifting heavy weights is beneficial. MacCormick cites The Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, which found that there are 10 biomarkers of ageing.
MacCormick explains that the two top biomarkers of physical age are muscle mass and strength. He states that lower levels of these two indicators are associated with a decrease in age-related decline. MacCormick points out that the muscle fibres that are most positively linked to strength, muscle mass, and blood sugar management are fast-twitch fibres. Therefore, it is beneficial to train these muscles throughout one’s life.
If you are an older trainee, you don’t need to try and break any world records or risk injury with maximal loads to stimulate the fast-twitch fibres. These fibres will be fully activated with loads at around 85% of your 1-rep max, which will be age-appropriate. Performing challenging sets of 6 reps means every rep will recruit your fast-twitch fibres.
If you want to stay strong and healthy as you age, MacCormick recommends doing resistance exercises with multi-joint movements in the 6-10 rep range. This will help improve your strength, power, and muscle mass, and have an overall anti-ageing effect on your body.
You have to be careful not to get patronized when you are getting advice. A lot will depend on the quality of the work you do and not ego lifts, personal records in poundage or any of the other things that could end up pushing you towards injury and failure.
, Understanding How the Body Works Fioranelli says that people over 50 need to be more aware of how their bodies respond to exercise, and how they feel during the workout. He says that it is more important to focus on these things than on what type of exercise you are doing on any particular day.
Jarlo Ilano, Managing Director of GMB Fitness, believes that progress slows down significantly after the age of 50 and injuries take much longer to heal.
” Robert Follis emphasizes that it is better to have consistency in training rather than train intensely but not as often.
