Crooked Thumb

Photo: March cycling in Minnesota

The sky is overcast and the temperature is in the mid-40s. Bucking a headwind, I lower my head and focus on maintaining a smooth tempo. Trees are bare, lakes frozen and piles of snow line the roads. This is March in Minnesota. You’d think after Nordic skiing all winter I would be fit for cycling, but no, my butt hurts, my legs and neck ache. Doesn’t matter. It’s time to start training for the 2025 National Senior Games in late July. Last year I qualified for all four 2025 cycling events. Read the story here: Show up and Pay Attention Now it’s time to put up or shut up.

This article is about training for events. If you are going backpacking in Colorado, canoeing in Northern Minnesota, or running a 5K race, you can benefit from training principles detailed in this article. I have a few principles to keep in mind when you are training: don’t get hurt; be cognizant of your biological age (see my prior blog: The Weak Link: Variability in Aging); and set realistic goals that are a function of age and commitment. Most importantly, enjoy the journey. Your event may last hours or weeks, but the preparation takes months.

Workout Variables

When training, we control frequency, duration and intensity of our workouts. As we age we generally lower the duration and frequency or our workouts. At age 71, recovery from a long duration training ride takes days. Since my events are short, I focus on intensity. Even training for 8 day backpack trips, I focus more on intensity: steeper hills, more weight. Read my article: High Intensity Interval Training: A Fitness Regimen for all Ages and Abilities Remember, know your limits. Stop when you know you can only do one more interval.

Allowing recovery in the frequency of workouts is critical for training. The long duration and high intensity workouts demand longer recovery time. I write about the training principle or supercompensation in my article: Recovery: The 50+ Athletes Secret Weapon Also important is the periodization of your workouts. After several weeks of hard training, I take a week of active recovery. This sets up the body’s ability to adapt to a harder cycle in the next phase of training.

Aging Limiters

As we age, our aerobic capacity declines, we gain body fat and lose muscle mass. By age 65, men lose on average 20 pounds, and women 11 pounds of muscle mass. By age 70, men gain on average 15% body fat and women 13% over the preceding decade. In a study of fit male cyclists, aerobic capacity as measured by VO2 Max declined by 30% from age 50 to age seventy. This is the heavy hand of time.

The key here is the qualifier, “On average.” Rigorous training and a good diet can keep you on the right side of average. I am blessed with good genes and a disciplined work ethic. Over the last 20 years I have lost 22 pounds. My body fat percentage has declined from 18% to 15%. So I have lost 6 pounds of fat and 16 pounds of muscle. My VO2 Max was over 60 at age 60 and at 71 it is still in the low 50s. Training not only works for competition, but slows the aging process. Read my article: Gaining Fitness, Losing Weight and Slowing Aging with Interval Training

Conclusion

Every training program should incorporate interval training, strength training, and staying lean with a heathy diet. Making progress towards a goal requires recovery, rest and a good night’s sleep.

Please contact me if you are interested in getting help achieving your goal. I have a lifetime of experience training myself and my clients. You can reach me at steve.crookedthumb@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

Photo: four medals at the 2024 Minnesota Senior Games qualifying for the 2025 National Senior Games.