Ching and hundreds of thousands of maturing athletes like him are launching a quiet revolution in the world of sports. At an age when their own grandparents were heading for the rocking chair, these over-50s are taking to the pools, the gyms and the courts in record numbers. It’s not that these late-life athletes are ever going to relive their glory days. The finest 60-year-old tennis player can’t pretend to have the strength and easy agility he did at 20. But a growing number of them are discovering firsthand what doctors have said for years: exercise keeps you young. Over-50s are eager to reap the health benefits–a stronger heart, improved posture, sharper mental acuity, less depression and lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. And they’re remaking both their sports and their attitudes to do it.
The key to healthy aging is finding a fitness routine that can last a lifetime. “You don’t drive a vintage car the way you would a new race car,” says Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, spokesman for the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. “You have a different body than you had in your 30s. It’s going to need kinder, gentler handling.” Older athletes often switch from high-impact sports to lower-impact ones like biking, swimming and walking. They also take up cross-training to improve cardio fitness, flexibility and strength. All the while, they’re weaving a network of active, optimistic fellow travelers–competitors, coaches, mentors and mentees–that experts say is vital for healthy aging.
Going the distance after 50 means learning a whole new way of working out. Physical decline is a natural part of aging. After 30, hormonal changes cause people to lose muscle mass, reducing strength. After 40, men and especially menopausal women lose bone mass as well. Without exercise, connective tissues that once had the elasticity of rubber bands become more like pretzels ready to snap.
The answer is to train smarter, not harder. Don’t go all out on the track or tennis court six times a week. Mix in some mellower cardio sessions–at least 20 minutes three times a week–to crank up the metabolism, whip off the extra kilograms and keep the heart strong without hurting yourself. And be careful with weight training. Heavy weights may build muscle mass faster, but they also set the stage for injury. Less weight and more repetitions–around 30–is a safer way to improve strength and flexibility. Swimming, yoga and massage help, too. Although recovery time varies, older athletes may need two or three down days a week.
If you think nagging arthritis pain or that old rotator-cuff tear gives you license to retire to the couch, think again. These days doctors recommend exercise for almost everyone. “My older patients who run complain they have arthritis pains in their knees for a few hours after working out,” says Dr. William Raasch, an orthopedic surgeon at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “But my older patients who don’t run have arthritis pain 24 hours a day.”
Being older doesn’t quench the fires of competition. Plenty of mature athletes still play hard. Jim Day, a 71-year-old Brit, trained 10 hours a week to prepare for the British Masters Athletic Federation, where he took a gold medal in pole-vaulting. “Obviously I’m getting older,” he says, “but I want to remain at the top of the pile for as long as I can.” Day still competes hard, but not so much against his fellow pole-vaulters. The one to beat is Father Time.
title: “In A Race Against Time” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Hilda Kent”
Jansen and hundreds of thousands of maturing athletes like her are launching a quiet revolution in the world of sports. At an age when their own grandparents were heading for the rocking chair, these over-50s are taking to the pools, the gyms and the courts in record numbers. Health-club memberships for those 55 and older climbed from 1.9 million in 1990 to 7.4 million in 2000. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the trade group that tracks fitness and exercise trends, the number of Americans 55 and older using strength-training equipment on a regular basis has quadrupled in the past decade, from 1.1 million to 4.9 million. “I never want to quit working out,” says Jansen. “As long as I can move.”
These late-life athletes aren’t chasing after their glory days. The finest 60-year-old tennis player can’t pretend to have the same raw strength and easy agility he did at 20. But a growing number of aging boomers are discovering firsthand what doctors have said for years: in almost every way, exercise keeps you young. The over-50s are eager to reap the health benefits–a stronger heart, improved posture and balance, sharper mental acuity, less depression and lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. And they’re remaking both their sports and their attitudes to do it.
The key to healthy aging is finding a fitness routine that can last a lifetime. “You don’t drive a vintage car the way you would a new race car,” says Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, spokesman for the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and a consultant for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Pennsylvania Ballet. “You have a different body than you had in your 30s. It’s going to need kinder, gentler handling.” Older athletes often switch from high-impact sports to lower-impact ones like biking, swimming and walking. They also take up cross-training in order improve cardio fitness, flexibility and strength. All the while, they’re weaving a network of active, optimistic fellow travelers–competitors, coaches, mentors and mentees–that experts say is vital for healthy aging. Top priority for older athletes? Jansen knows: “The most important thing,” she says, “is staying in the race.”
But going the distance after 50 means learning a whole new way of working out. The mantra of the mature athlete–that a well-conditioned 65-year-old is fitter than a 30-year-old couch potato–is true, up to a point. Gradual physical decline is a natural part of the aging process. After 30, hormonal changes cause people to lose muscle mass, reducing strength. After 40, men and especially menopausal women lose bone mass as well. While many over-50s focus on the sagging skin on their cheekbones, muscles, tendons and ligaments on the inside are losing elasticity and resilience in the same way. Without exercise, connective tissues that were once the consistency of rubber bands become more like brittle pretzels ready to snap.
The answer is to train smarter, not harder. Don’t go all out on the track or tennis court six times a week. Mix in some mellower cardio sessions–at least 20 minutes three times a week–to crank up the metabolism, whip off the extra pounds and keep the heart strong without hurting yourself. And be careful with weight training. Sports doctors recommend abandoning short, intense workouts with weights in favor of long, lighter ones. While heavy weights build muscle mass faster, they also set the stage for injury. Less weight and more repetitions–around 30–is a safer way to improve strength and flexibility. Swimming, yoga and massage help, too. Whatever you do, avoid overtraining. You’re not bulletproof anymore. Make sure you get plenty of downtime between workouts. “You just can’t tax yourself the way you did in college,” says Bill Collins, 53, who holds 17 world records in track and also trains other athletes. Although recovery time varies, older athletes may need two or three down days a week.
If you think nagging arthritis pain or that old rotator-cuff tear gives you license to retire to the couch with the clicker and a Bud, think again. Twenty years ago doctors said arthritis and other age-related aches and pains were reason enough to stow away those sneakers forever. These days they recommend exercise for almost everyone. “My older patients who run complain they have arthritis pains in their knees for a few hours after working out,” says Dr. William Raasch, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “But my older patients who don’t run have arthritis pain 24 hours a day.” Injuries are unavoidable. Achilles’ tendons, rotator cuffs, tender connective tissue around the knee joint and the lower back are all persistent trouble spots. But there are things you can do to minimize the damage. Plenty of stretching helps. So do anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and nutritional supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin (although no one’s sure exactly how the latter two work).
George Haywood, 51, of Brooklyn, N.Y., returned to competitive running after a three-decade hiatus and found out the hard way that injuries are now just part of the game. Training for a regional meet last spring, he injured a hamstring and spent four impatient weeks recovering. When he attended his first international competition last July, blown-out muscles and damaged ligaments were as common as muddy cleats. Getting to the starting line, Haywood learned, “can be as tough as getting to the finish line.” One important tip: find a doctor who has experience working with active older people. The last thing an injured septuagenarian cyclist wants to hear is discouraging words. Older athletes need support, says Dr. James Garrick, head of the Center for Sports Medicine at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. So what does he tell his patients? “Staying active probably means living longer.”
Although the aging body may be subtly declining, in several important ways the aging mind is growing more resilient. Older athletes, doctors say, do a better job than their younger counterparts at keeping setbacks and injuries in perspective. Partly, mature athletes learn to accept their changing limitations. It helps that most simply don’t have time to dwell on it. “Sports aren’t the only thing in their lives,” says Dr. Walter Frontera, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. That can make recovery less fraught, as Diane Proud knows. Three weeks after placing 11th in her age group at the world triathlon competition, Proud, 52, was forced to don a blue immobilization boot in order to heal a persistent stress fracture in her left foot. “It’s what happens when you get old,” she says, laughing. Fifteen years ago she wouldn’t have taken her injury so lightly. “I would have been a basket case. Now I’m much more calm. I know it’s not going to heal unless I let it rest. I’m not going to let it frustrate me.” Age, says Proud, gives her the long view.
Being older doesn’t quench the fires of competition. Plenty of mature athletes still play hard. Downhill ski racer James Dooley, 84, hit the slopes 44 days last year. “It’s me against the mountain,” he says. “I go all out every time I do a run.” But the wisdom that comes with age can temper the competitive spirit. “Back in college, my competitors were my enemies. I hated whoever I was running against,” says Collins. “I never spoke to them.” A world-ranked athlete, Collins still races to win. But moments before the starting gun sounds, he can be found dispensing training tips and starting advice to other, less experienced runners. At the finish line, he’s generous with congratulatory hugs and words of encouragement. Collins still competes hard, but not so much against his fellow runners. The man to beat is Father Time.
