FINALLY, REASONS TO LOOK FORWARD TO AGING

Mayrene T. Earle

“I’m throwing twice as hard as I used to, but the ball isn’t going as fast.”  ~ Lefty Gomez

If you’re over age 35, chances are you know exactly what former Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez was talking about. It’s discouraging when, no matter how many hours you train, you can’t seem to outdo your performance as a young athlete. In athletics, perhaps more than any other arena, aging seems to be all about loss – loss of strength, loss of flexibility, loss of speed. Heck, in some sports professional athletes are considered washed-up has-beens at the ripe old age of 17!

Fortunately, as the huge Baby Boom generation enters its retirement years, the sheer number of older athletes is giving rise to a whole new outlook on aging. Today, there are more and more resources available for older athletes – certainly far more than in the 1930s, when Lefty pitched his way into the Hall of Fame.

Yet while there’s plenty of advice available on how older athletes can maintain strength and flexibility and avoid injuries (a few key pointers are outlined below), not much attention is given to the benefits of aging for athletes. Surely there must be advantages to offset the losses.

Over the past few years, I’ve been privileged to coach several rowers who are septuagenarians and octogenarians. While they may find getting into and out of their boats challenging (ingenuity and humility help), they are determined and highly skilled rowers. They are also my inspiration and role models. In working with them and with other masters athletes, I have discovered that aging does indeed have its rewards. Older rowers bring more maturity, wisdom and joy to the sport than their younger counterparts. And they’re not afraid to laugh along the way!

What other benefits does aging give athletes? Here’s what several masters rowers told me:

• We respect our limits and train smarter, so we are less apt to over-train.
• We have a greater appreciation for the beauty of rowing.
• We are better at living in the present, so we value the process at least as much as the outcome. We have finally learned that winning really isn’t everything. (Well, some of us have.)
• We see training as a lifetime commitment rather than simply a seasonal or goal-oriented task.
• We are more creative in finding ways to work out. If we don’t have a boat, we go to camp or join a club. We cross-train using swimming, hiking, skiing and other machines besides the erg, making training lots more fun -- and just as effective.
• If we have trouble motivating ourselves to train, we find or develop networks of supportive friends or hire a personal trainer or coach.
• We appreciate the effort, skill, rewards and opportunities more.
• We love the camaraderie of the rowing world.
• We are less driven by ego. We can do the 200,000-meter challenge on the erg . . . OR NOT!
• We’ve come to appreciate that the while crowd at the finish line used to applaud and say, “Great race!” now they applaud just because we made it across the line.

STAY-FIT TIPS FOR OLDER ROWERS

The growing participation of masters in sports and fitness has given rise to the emerging medical specialty of geriatric sports medicine. Dr. David Burke of the Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, who has been called a “sports doc for the geriatric jock,” has been quoted saying that it simply is no longer acceptable to tell injured older athletes that they should stop doing the sport they love. He notes that a decline in strength and flexibility is not an inevitable outcome of aging and that even injured older athletes usually can stay active by adapting their routines.

Following are selected tips for older athletes:

• Stretch more to help overcome the loss of flexibility that comes with aging.
• Identify muscles that have tightened and emphasize stretching them.
• Allow more recovery time after demanding workouts.
• To enhance recovery after exercising, consume the right nutrients in the proper amounts.
• Cut back on the distance or time you train, but boost the intensity, which is more important to fitness.
• Be sure to build in recovery days; this lowers the risk of injury.

Finally, look around and observe rowers who compete in older age groups. Note their strategies and commitment to life and sport. And remember, the most important thing is to have fun!

To discuss training issues in greater detail  or  to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation, contact Mayrene Earle at mayrene@masterscoaching.com.