Athletic performance in your 40s?

[basinbeater]

I definitely find that squats help skiing performance big time. That is perhaps my biggest motivator for doing squats in the fall. It just makes those cirque traverse laps easier all season long. I also find that when i increase my lifting as a % of my overall fitness activities, (mainly riding bikes these days) i get faster on my bike. I don't really notice it that much, but when i look at recorded tracks, the time difference is there. Get stronger get faster.

I could really use a more structured routine with a properly designed set of routines etc. I'll go to the gym today and probably do what I normally do. 3 sets of each thing, and hopefully that last set i can only eek out 6 or 7 reps if i have the weight right. I do really enjoy the way i feel after lifting weights.
I'm 45 fwiw.

[bodywhomper]

Spending my day listening to Andy Galpin and doing this

[Dantheman]

BFR seems to be great for rehab, especially preventing and/or reversing atrophy since you can cause hypertrophy at low loads. Doesn't seem to be all that useful outside of that, and there's no way I'd do it without the supervision of a trained professional.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I turned 39 in January. Honestly haven't been the same since having covid in Jan 2022. I feel good, been riding the bike and lifting, but damn I just know I am not where I was physically in 2020/2021 which may have been my peak and not sure I can ever get it back without making training a full time job. Is what it is though. I know I'm still way healthier than 95% of the US population my age and I am happy with that.

[sb]

Health is both mental and physical.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Lifting throughout your life, and as you age, in my opinion, should be about functional strength and avoiding injury. Tweaking the “Bro Science” might net a 1% gain that probably won’t do shit for real outcomes. Just do a lot of everything and not a lot of any one thing, move your body consistently, the rest is fluff. Aesthetics means shit. Functional joints/tendons/ligaments/intervertebral discs that aren’t trashed from some moronic mid-life crisis workout routine are important. Just move, and have fun doing it.

I’m sure many will disagree.

This thread could die with this post. Keep moving, eat well


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[CarlMega]

This thread could die with this post. Keep moving, eat well

X2

[The AD]

I put my athletic performance in my 50s (I'm almost 53) to the test over the weekend at masters swimming Nationals. It was a mixed bag for me. I had a pretty good swim in the 1650 yard freestyle, got second place in my age group, and swam a well-paced race. On the other hand I died like a dog in the 500 free. I was in good shape at the halfway point and then just couldn't keep up the pace. My other races were okay. I'm certainly not as fast as I was a decade ago, but on the other hand I haven't been training nearly as much and I suspect that's the bigger factor than age. Competition is what keeps me going, though. If I don't have something to train for I get lazy.

[HappyCamper]

X2

"Keep moving, eat well"

I think I have my new mantra.

[Trackhead]

I know I'm still way healthier than 95% of the US population my age and I am happy with that.

Change the number to 99%. Look around. If you're not driving around a grocery store parking lot for five minutes looking for a spot so close to the door so you don't have to walk, then you are > 95% of Americans.

[bodywhomper]

I found listening to Andy galpin to be challenging without a notebook to take notes

Injury (and recovery) has been my biggest challenge to maintaining athletic performance. Became more difficult with my first injury after I turned 40 (breaking a toe).

[J. Barron DeJong]

I found listening to Andy galpin to be challenging without a notebook to take notes

Yup.

Tons of good info, but I really feel like I’ll need to just sit down to focus on listening and taking notes so I remember the important (to me) parts.

[Mofro261]

BFR seems to be great for rehab, especially preventing and/or reversing atrophy since you can cause hypertrophy at low loads. Doesn't seem to be all that useful outside of that, and there's no way I'd do it without the supervision of a trained professional.

It works quite well in healthy adults too, not just for rehab or stalling atrophy from injury. I brought up in relation to older adults (40+ in this thread) who may not be able to lift heavy as often like they did at younger ages without increased injury risks. I wouldn't advise DIY training without consulting a PT/Dr that has the right sized cuffs to apply even pressure and tune the proper occlusion based on individual physiology, but it's something anyone could see benefits from and is easy to port over to working out unsupervised once the basic routine is in place. Less time working out, lower loads so less chance for injury, faster recoveries.

Some back up lit including for pro/olympic athlete references and a youtube explanation below for those interested in how it works.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8811521/
Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2022 Jan; 4(1): e71–e76.
Blood Flow Restriction Therapy and Its Use for Rehabilitation and Return to Sport: Physiology, Application, and Guidelines for Implementation

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/s...striction.html
A Hot Fitness Trend Among Olympians: Blood Flow Restriction

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33196300/
Am J Sports Med. 2021 Jun;49(7):1938-1944. doi: 10.1177/0363546520964454. Epub 2020 Nov 16.
Blood Flow Restriction Training for Athletes: A Systematic Review

Conclusion: The literature appears to support that BFR can lead to improvements in strength, muscle size, and markers of sports performance in healthy athletes. Combining traditional resistance training with BFR may allow athletes to maximize athletic performance and remain in good health. Additional studies should be conducted to find an optimal occlusive pressure to maximize training improvements.

Good short explanation of pressure settings and weight %'s to use for upper and lower body, intended use purposes from Squat University

[Dantheman]

I found listening to Andy galpin to be challenging without a notebook to take notes

The Huberman Lab website has show notes that summarize most of the key takeaways.

It works quite well in healthy adults too, not just for rehab or stalling atrophy from injury. I brought up in relation to older adults (40+ in this thread) who may not be able to lift heavy as often like they did at younger ages without increased injury risks. I wouldn't advise DIY training without consulting a PT/Dr that has the right sized cuffs to apply even pressure and tune the proper occlusion based on individual physiology, but it's something anyone could see benefits from and is easy to port over to working out unsupervised once the basic routine is in place. Less time working out, lower loads so less chance for injury, faster recoveries.

Some back up lit including for pro/olympic athlete references and a youtube explanation below for those interested in how it works.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8811521/
Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2022 Jan; 4(1): e71–e76.
Blood Flow Restriction Therapy and Its Use for Rehabilitation and Return to Sport: Physiology, Application, and Guidelines for Implementation

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/s...striction.html
A Hot Fitness Trend Among Olympians: Blood Flow Restriction

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33196300/
Am J Sports Med. 2021 Jun;49(7):1938-1944. doi: 10.1177/0363546520964454. Epub 2020 Nov 16.
Blood Flow Restriction Training for Athletes: A Systematic Review



Good short explanation of pressure settings and weight %'s to use for upper and lower body, intended use purposes from Squat University

Good stuff, thanks.

[J. Barron DeJong]

The Huberman Lab website has show notes that summarize most of the key takeaways.

Am I just dense? I looked for notes/transcript there before, and went back to look again. Still not finding anything.

I do see some other websites with Huberman Lab show notes.

[Dantheman]

Am I just dense? I looked for notes/transcript there before, and went back to look again. Still not finding anything.

I do see some other websites with Huberman Lab show notes.

https://hubermanlab.com/foundational-fitness-protocol/

[carlh]

How are you guys balancing cardio with strength training and recovery? I feel like I am always on the verge of over training with a few days of bike commuting, some yoga and a couple MTB rides or ski days per week. I would like to do more strength work but not sure what to drop.

[J. Barron DeJong]

How are you guys balancing cardio with strength training and recovery? I feel like I am always on the verge of over training with a few days of bike commuting, some yoga and a couple MTB rides or ski days per week. I would like to do more strength work but not sure what to drop.

I’m sure others can provide better feedback here, but from what I got from Episode 2 of Huberman is that true strength/power weight training shouldn’t be fatiguing. The reps are kept low, and only a small number of lifts are near one rep max. (Look up the Prilepin chart, which gives a guideline for the number of total sets/reps at what load to do each week).

Hypertrophy training (maximizing muscle size) is different, and does require more volume and rest.

Power/strength training should be done first, when fresh, to maximize benefits, but then you could do other exercise immediately after, or later the same day (cardio, hypertropy, etc.)

[rod9301]

Twice a year i do 6 weeks of weight training, 3 times a week. During ski or mountain bike season, once a week for legs, 5 reps only at the same max weight achieved during the 6 week sessions.
This way, i keep the strength and not get fatigued or sore.
Upper body still 2-3 times a week.

Sent from my moto g 5G using Tapatalk

[rod9301]

https://hubermanlab.com/foundational-fitness-protocol/

Not having read the entire thread, are these recommendations for year and training?

Because this doesn't leave a lot of time or energy for the fun part, which for me is skiing or mountain biking 5 times a week.

Sent from my moto g 5G using Tapatalk

[sb]

Just do stuff.

Got a khiropractical buddy who swears by that bfr stuff.

[J. Barron DeJong]

How are you guys balancing cardio with strength training and recovery? I feel like I am always on the verge of over training with a few days of bike commuting, some yoga and a couple MTB rides or ski days per week. I would like to do more strength work but not sure what to drop.

Here’s fairly detailed show notes for the strength/hypertrophy training episode, which gets into that a little:

https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-la...sity%2C%20etc.

I’m just starting to listen to episode 4, but I think that’s the one that’s really going to get into how to balance things to meet your goals:

https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-la...-huberman-lab/

[The Reverend Floater]

I've been largely sticking to my gym routine but mixing in some easy road/gravel riding now that things are thawing. I've seen my maxes at the gym increase steadily in bench, leg press and shoulder press specifically, which is rewarding. I've also lost a few pounds (plenty more to go) and can feel my clothes fitting differently.

I've stuck to the AG1 first thing in the AM, Fish Oil and Vitamin D sups, 16 hour fasting and eating simpler foods. I haven't gone to the point of counting calories or the like (nothing wrong with that), but just being very mindful of what I put in my piehole.

From a performance standpoint, having more well rounded strength is evident while working around my shop, moving furniture, etc.

This is going to sound ridiculous but I spend a lot of time in the woods and this week I did some morel scouting in thick, brushy timber. This entails a lot of stepping up onto logs, walking down them through downed timber "pick up sticks" zones or across swollen creeks, hopping on to another log, etc. Today I noticed that my balance seems better...not that this sort of thing is ever "difficult" (a child could do it), but now it just feels like I'm quicker because I'm steadier. Guessing smaller stabilizer muscles have benefited from the strength training. Hard to describe but enjoyable.

Mainly though, I just feel generally better. More energy, less creaky, sleeping better. Now if the trails would just thaw, I could get on my MTB and really enjoy myself!

[neufox47]

My personal hot-take in regards to fitness/health/workout/nutrition is that all too often unrealistically high expectations are included in the protocols/methods/programs from leading experts. There is sooooo much great information out there on how to optimize your health , but when it comes down to it a lot of people simply do not have the time to follow the optimal protocols put forth by experts. IMO, there needs to be more emphasis on bang-for-buck. Personally, i am fully booked from 6am-8pm every day with work or family. The 5-6am window is when i workout and shit/shower/shave. The 8-9pm window is when i get my breakfast/snacks/lunch ready for the next day and take care of leftover chores/errands. My available time to devote to personal care has shrunk tremendously from when i was single and my physique shows it (im about 10-15lbs lighter with crappier mobility). I know exactly what i should be doing to get back into incredible shape and health... but i simply lack the time and have had to compromise. IMO, the fitness/diet/health gurus out there need to put out more information about the most efficient methods, and not just focus on optimal methods. It seems that the folks who focus on efficiency and shortcuts are the hacks which means its up to me to parse together what i feel are the most important things to be consistent with, while dropping things i dont think are as important.

You can probably hit 85-90% of your potential working out 30 minutes a day. Something like:

Sunday - mobility / yoga
Monday - plyometrics and strength
Tuesday - cardio
Wednesday - long duration intervals
Thursday - mobility / yoga
Friday - plyometrics and strength
Saturday- cardio

Eat Whole Foods

Sleep 7-8 hours


I’ve heard a number of fitness gurus get asked, what is the most effective workout for the general population? And they respond with something akin to 60x3x50. You can do almost anything and if you do it 60 minutes a day, 3 days a week and 50 weeks a year.

One comment to the people who are afraid they will get hurt when lifting heavy, lifting heavy doesn’t mean going into the gym and lifting as much as possible. It should mean going in and doing a number of good reps, then very gradually, increasing the weight. Maybe 10lbs a week max, more commonly 5, even 5 lbs a week for 50 weeks means you’d increase a lift by 250 lbs in a year.

[subtle plague]

Übertraining is what I run into regularly when a hard work day skiing and climbing collide.