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Most fitness-minded people, especially those with a competitive streak, dread 'getting old'. Many are convinced that they will rapidly lose control over a body that has taken years to get in shape, and will have to resign themselves to a diet of progressively gentler workouts. As always, things are never as bad as we worry they will be... Inevitably, changes do take place that affect your active life. You will eventually get slower, and will have a proneness to niggling aches and pains, to name a couple of the negatives. But bear in mind that these changes will, in general, happen very gradually. And anyway, age is to a large extent an elaborate excuse - expecting the decline and behaving as if it has already happened can cause the drop in performance in certain areas. In other words, a major part of the problem is that people do act their age!
Get active
Dedication to your fitness is more important as you get older, not less. If you cut down on exercise, this will be the decisive factor in any decline, not your age. For instance, through weight training and just generally keeping active, you can maintain a good level of muscle strength into your seventies.
Of course, the older you get, the more vital it becomes, especially if you want to compete, to obtain your GP's approval and advice. You will probably be most worried about your heart. But, as long as you've received the all-clear from your doctor, rather than increasing your chances of having a heart attack, you will be protecting yourself against it in the long-term. You will be controlling cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and helping to deter serious health problems like stress, diabetes, and stroke.
Warm-ups and cool-downs are important. Whereas you might have got away with skipping these parts of the workout when you were younger, they are a must in later life if you want to stay injury-free.
Stay on target
Whilst you should certainly keep up your involvement in sports and other activities, you should also regularly review your priorities and targets regarding these sports and activities. An obvious change of target, for instance, is from doing well in competitive events to doing well in the Masters or Veterans class in competitive events. This is a booming area in many sports, with competitors ranging in age from 30 to 80-plus. Taking cycling as an example, you can ride as a Master or Veteran in more or less any type of event you fancy, even 24-hour rides if you have a really voracious appetite for miles. And these races are just as competitive as races for younger riders, with plenty of elbows and insults flying around at the serious end of the pack. The not-so-serious competitors simply enjoy the occasion. Also, how about getting involved in the refereeing side of your favourite sport or making the most of your experience by getting involved in the coaching side of things? Watching a younger person improve under your instruction can be just as rewarding as beating them in a competitive situation. All these things can help you maintain your motivation and fitness.
So you see, even for the fitness-minded person, ageing is nothing to despair about. See your active life as a long and enjoyable road along which you are constantly diversifying and growing, as well as maintaining a healthy level of fitness at all stages. Follow Jack Benny's philosophy: Age is strictly a case of mind over matter ... If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
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Author: Darren Ward
Copyright www.exercise.co.uk
2001
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Copyright Exercise, Fitness & Leisure 2001
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