As an athlete who has just entered the realm of “Masters” (I turned 40 last September) I am intrigued by information about older athletes and the aging process of athletes. I am sure, if you are “past the threshold” like me that you have been told countless times that your performance, strength, stamina, [insert any word associated with young vibrant athletes here] is inevitably going to decline.
I am the first to admit that things definitely change at this ‘advanced’ age. I have struggled to deal with the changes in my body and figure out the training that is going to work for the new me. But I’ve always believed that I can still be fast and strong, even in my older body. (I am still working on proving this…)
You have to admit that more and more aged athletes are competing at a high level, not just at a high Masters level, but against younger competition. Yes, they probably have to train differently than when they were 20, but they can still be competitive.
I recently came across a study that gave me even more hope; hope that perhaps we shouldn’t accept that we older folks can no longer be the athlete we once were.