As We Age…..things to watch out for…….

As our fitness industry expands, there are more and more ‘mature’ athletes moving into the physique movement, and more sports science is required to help explain this unique cohort.

As a ‘vintage’ athlete, we ARE different because our aging bodies are different, especially as a woman, and at 40+ there is a difference, but at 50+, there is even MORE of a difference. (I thought I was a mature athlete in my 40’s, but once over the half-a-century mark, things changed even more).

I ‘rust’ more, that’s for sure. My achi-ness is evident in the morning, and more so if I don’t stretch after training. And if I don’t train for a few days, things start to tighten up even more. I guess I always need to move….

I need more recovery time, to be sure. I no longer ‘leave it all on the gym floor’, because my body doesn’t recover in the same way. This ego-driven, hyped up nonsense is further damaging women’s metabolisms, and results.

I need to focus on sleep a bit more, as it comes less easily, and with lack of sleep comes decreased performance, so I need to be careful. (In my younger years, I could party all night, and still train the next day, no problem!).

My eating has to be more dialed in, because my body and tolerance to off-the-rails eating has changed, and I can’t get away with little indiscretions anymore.

I need more protein, and I am more carb-sensitive, so I cycle through them more, to keep my energy and performance up, while staying around 18-20% bodyfat year round.

I lessen the cardio as much as possible, because it truly rips that hard-won muscle off the body, at this age. So little to no cardio, preferring to work it off with nutrition and MET sprinkled in my workouts.

I need my fats. I don’t know why, but I can live without carbs or protein, but I really, really need my fats!

Hormonal health is vitally important, and the best way to manage them is eating well and training well. Bio identicals are important to me (non-synthetic HRT) and I use them to stay even keel.

I can gain weight faster and it’s tougher to lose, for sure, as proven by heading back into competition at 52. Yes, the body changes, and I don’t think it’s as much about having a slower metabolism (I’ve trained through 4 decades now, so things have remained fairly constant, as has my muscle), as it is the body says NO to yet another round of dieting. It gets wiser, I suppose, and holds the reins to protect itself.

I have to watch my nervous system, and treat it with care. Every sports coach knows that the success of any athlete rests in the nervous system, and strengthening it to be able to handle the training volume, and also to know when to let it fully rest. Other things ‘hit’ my nervous system too, and can tax it, like stress, over-work, sleepless nights. All these things have to be understood and managed more as we age, and recognizing that emotional stress can impact and draw on your nervous system just as much as physical stress (training). But STRESS CAN BE MANAGED, and we all have stress. It’s how you look at it, and accept it. Again, it’s all about how you look at things.

My training mindset is far stronger than it’s ever been. I dig deep within, and I ‘experience’ my training at a deeper level. THIS to me is the ‘high’ I get from training. For me, these days, it’s all about being able to perform at my age, day after day, year after year. This is what I call ‘Zen and the Art of Bodybuilding’, which is the athlete’s mindset. It’s all about the ‘flow’.

I’m not swayed by hype, traditional models of thinking, marketing mayhem, trends….I’m fairly rooted, having been in the game a very, very long time, and I keep it basic, real and consistent. There is no magic. Doing the work, day in day out is the magic. It’s all you need.

I protect my joints (no Crossfit, thanks!), and am careful on lifts. I still squat (unless I am tired or unfocused), deadlift, press, etc, but I also need more multi-planar work to stay supple and flexible, so Rotational work, Hybrid work, MET work is important. But traditional lifting ROCKS! At this point in the game, I have my areas of past and current injuries and limitations, we all do. But I honour them and work around, not through, them. They are my scars of training, battle wounds, I suppose, and I listen to them all the time to see how far into certain moves I can go. I no longer push on through. That’s ego training, or the OCD of training (gotta do every rep, every set!!), and I let that go a long time ago.

I understand genetics, and whether I have them or not. Body mechanics, symmetry, limb length, tie ins, and of course, the propensity to build, is set by genetics, and there isn’t enough spoken about this (those with genetics ALWAYS think that you can overcome poor genetics with harder training, but consider where they are sitting). The pro’s are the pro’s because of hard work, yes, but genetics too. (And some other ‘assists’ that are rarely if ever mentioned). These are blessed individuals, with god-given shape, to start with.

Know your limits, and play within it. You CAN improve at every turn, ladies, but there is a cap to it. And as you age, and the longer you’ve been training (I am talking physique training here, where we are working to alter our physiques), the gains are lesser, but still do-able. But even in maintenance mode, you gotta continue to train hard. At this point in the game, intensity (4-5 days a week, 45-60 minutes at a go) is needed to maintain, not necessarily gain any longer. But maintaining is still moving forward.

This is the Warrior Woman Way. We honour our changing bodies, we listen to, and respect, our boundaries, and we ‘love ourself into health’. Always.

– karen