How to Adapt our Training as we Age
Unless you’ve tapped into the fountain of everlasting youth, or are a vampire…this blog is for mere mortals like you and I. Pretty sure living forever isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anyway…
It’s funny because this topic makes me reflect back to my health studies degree in University and specifically to my Gerontology class. It was a 3 hour lecture every Wednesday night in a dimly lit theatre-style room with cushy nap-inducing seats. The environment was already working against the students in terms of being attentive and engaged. Sitting in a room full of one hundred other 19-20 year olds, we listened to the prof drone on and on about what happens as we age. At the time, it was the least exhilarating, most dry topic in our curriculum. Back then I didn’t have the perspective or life experience to even be remotely interested. “Just stay awake long enough to pass the course” I’d think to myself. Luckily, they gave us a 10 minute break at the halfway mark, but now knowing that humans can only generally pay attention for 90 minute blocks 2-3 times a day…it seemed like a losing battle.
If I were to take that course again now, in my 30s, after having worked for 12 years with all demographics, including the aging population (which is a weird category of folks because we are all aging 🤔), I would be much more interested. For all intents and purposes we’ll say that generally people report feeling physically different in their 30s and beyond compared to their teen years and 20s. And this is for reasons we understand.
If you feel stiffer, slower, and less energized…you’re not alone. A lot of changes occur as we age, including psychologically, socially, spiritually and physiologically. Today we’ll focus on the physiological changes that occur, but that are inevitably influenced by all other aspects.
Before we dive into how to adapt our training as we age, it will help to understand what happens to the body physiologically as we age.
Aging is a natural and inevitable process that affects every individual. Physiologically, aging brings about numerous changes in the body over time. The most noticeable effect of aging is the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. This decline in muscle function can lead to decreased mobility, balance issues, and increased risk of falls. Additionally, as individuals age, there is a decrease in bone density, making them more prone to fractures. The cardiovascular system also undergoes changes, with a decrease in the elasticity of blood vessels and a decline in cardiac output, leading to a higher risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The respiratory system also undergoes age-related changes, resulting in a decrease in lung volume and capacity, leading to decreased exercise tolerance and increased vulnerability to respiratory infections. The body basically slows down, therefore reactive, quick movements become difficult. Now, while this is quite a dire picture we’ve painted, it’s also important to acknowledge that the rate of decline of bodily processes varies and is highly dependent on how well-trained you are. In other words, the longer you’ve been training for, the slower the decline occurs.
So, what kind of training are we talking about?
If we are to address the natural decline in each of these processes, we can draw a parallel to a type of training that would slow the decline for each. For muscle loss, we want to ensure we are strength training and challenging our muscles. It should be noted that you have two types of muscle fibers, slow and fast twitch. To maintain fast-twitch muscle recruitment, you need to practice moving fast and dynamically, so it is a good idea to incorporate some reactive and more dynamic exercises especially into our upper years. For bone density, we want to ensure we are strength training, loading our bones and protecting our skeleton with strong muscle tissue. For joint mobility, we want to ensure we are moving through full ranges of motion. For cardiovascular health, we want to ensure we are doing cardiovascular exercise, increasing the heart rate regularly to build a stronger heart muscle. For respiratory health, we want to ensure we are doing cardiovascular exercise, increasing the breathing rate to keep the lungs strong. The frequency and intensity prescription of any of these types of training will depend on the individual’s starting capacity.
If training has been a part of your life for years or decades, you have surely experienced an evolution from what training in your 20s was like compared to your middle and upper years. Here are a few tips to feel your best during training throughout your lifetime:
Never skip warm up. In fact, you may need to lengthen your warm up the older you get.
Incorporate additional mobility exercises in your training program. Perhaps you have cranky hips or back or neck. Sprinkle extra mobility work in between your strength exercises to feel more limber.
Take your recovery as seriously as your training. If you are sleeping well, eating whole foods, hydrating and foam rolling, you’ll be able to train more frequently for years to come.
Organize a training regimen that is well-rounded, yet sustainable. Include strength, mobility, cardiovascular training and exercises that promote fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment.
