3 Tips For The Aging Athlete : Staying Stronger As You Age

Stretch More !

Loss of flexibility is a natural effect of aging that can be counteracted through a program of daily stretching. However, quite apart from aging, the repetitive movements involved in practicing any sport for a long period of time results in muscular imbalances that get progressively more extreme.

These require targeted efforts to loosen and lengthen only those muscles that have become short and tight, because stretching all muscles equally will only take the imbalance to a higher level.

Tip, identify short and tight muscles and devote special efforts lengthening them through stretching.

Flex those muscles

The older you get, the more important strength training becomes. One of the more crippling effects of aging for athletes is the gradual loss of muscle mass, and the loss of strength that it entails. Athletes in sports that dont require tremendous strength are particularly susceptible, as they tend to try and get by without resistance training.

When you’re young, very often you can get away with it, but the older you get, the more important it becomes to train for strength specifically, no matter which sports you do.

Tip, focus on strength training.

Pump those antioxidants

Free-radical damage, also known as oxidative stress, is now known to be one of the primary components of aging. Unfortunately, athletes are even more prone to free-radical damage than non-athletes. For this reason, they need to be especially vigilant in consuming antioxidants, those vitamins and vitamin-like compounds that protect against and repair such damage.

Vitamins C and E are especially helpful to athletes, as controlled studies have shown they can dramatically reduce post-workout muscle soreness in the short term, in addition to minimizing long-term oxidative stress.

Tip, get more vitamins for your body.