Is it 'downhill' in your thirties??!!

scoobydoo22

Hi! I am just back from an hour cycle and feel fitter and stronger than ever. I turned 34 in July. The thought just stuck me;bloody hell, next July I will be halfway to 40!!From what I hear and read does your fitness and physical strength diminish in your 30's. When you hear that a professional footballer is finished by 34/35. Also your optimum heart rate drops as you get older?!
So how do you all feel; can you be just as fit in your thirties and into your forties as you were at your 'supposed peak' of 26-28 years?
Do you have to adapt your training and sporting activities as you get older?
I feel better than ever aged 34. When I was 23/24;I was quite fit, but spent a lot of time hanging around, drinking etc. My impression is that I am probably fitter now, but think I don't recover as quickly after a football game and am maybe a little more prone to injury.
Then you look at someone like Lance Armstrong;he is 38/39 and probably fitter than most people half his age!

I will be interested to hear what you think!

Scoobydoo!!!!

Captain Havoc

Ages peak in various sports, sprinters generally (running) tend to peak in their early twenties, endurance athletes late twenties/early thirties and goalkeepers in their thirties, so it's not all bad.

Half way to forty? Would that not be 20, not 35?

Don't feel too bad, I'm regularly overtaken by OAPs and I'm 29.

Deisetrek

yep , cycling is really great for your health.........as a doctor once told me following an examination recently ( in my late 40's) , he expects that I will be able to continue on "rodgering" well into my 70's such was my state of health :D:D.............makes you a bit delusional too though

McTigs

i think yor ability for distance endurance is stronger in your 30's. I have no scientific evidence to back this up but i'm 35 and feel physically better able to deal with distance now than i ever was.

I have no problem cycling 100 miles at a reasonable pace but i played a game of 5 a side footbal there recently and i thought my last hour had come and i was sore for days

petethedrummer

McTigs wrote: »

I have no problem cycling 100 miles at a reasonable pace but i played a game of 5 a side footbal there recently and i thought my last hour had come and i was sore for days

well they are two totally different activities. I've never felt achingly sore after cycling but nearly always do after football, especially if I haven't played for a while.

scoobydoo22

Yea cycling, swimming and gym are gr8 ways to stay fit in your 30's.
I play football once a week and provided u warm up before and stretch out for 5-10 mins before and after the game, it is no problem.
Cycling is definitely easier on your joints(knees & ankles!), in football/rugby etc you can do all the stretching and warm ups, but there's always the potential bad tackle, twist or knock!

Captain Havoc

Are ye guys going to start exchanging war stories now?

victorcarrera

As a rule of thumb, a club I cycle with increases a riders 25Mile (40Km) Time Trial age handicap by 20 seconds every year. This applies to 40 to 50 year olds. From results I have seen over the years it seems to be a fair handicap increment for average racers. But some of the top riders (former Ras winners etc) can beat this handicap easily, so it is not unusual for them to knock 10 minutes off this 25Mile age standard.

Roadtoad

Perhaps Deisetrek might specfy his/her gender, I expect it make a bit of a dfference....;)

Take a look at the 'old folk' photos on some of the sportifs, and ask are they enjoying themselves even if they are out of the medals.

DirkVoodoo

Play football against a guy in his fifties, wipe the floor with him.

Cycle against a guy in his fifties, you are now the mop.

My humbling moment came at the Bray wheelers randonee where myself, Gavin and Planet X were towed back to Bray by an older guy (60s maybe?) who led the whole group back at an impressive pace. I also know a few older guys who would leave guys half their age standing.

Cycling is definitely different to a lot of other sports, probably because of the low impact nature. Plus a lot of those vets are mad.

Beasty

Much fitter in my (very late) 40's than I ever was in my 30's, or 20's or even my teens.

Certainly my "theoritical peak" fitness was many years ago, and there is no way I could take part in contact sports any more, but cycling is keeping me fitter now than I have ever been in my life.

@Dirk - madness is what keeps us vets sane:D

blorg

Christ, 34, hang up your pedals and give up grandad.

I can't even imagine what it must be like being 34. Does everything creak?

Horrible horrible thought.

Thankfully I'm some way away from that myself, I have almost a full month left of being a youthful 33. Better start making the most of it I guess.

scoobydoo22

Blorg;enjoy it while it lasts;it is all downhill from here;only joking!
Many endurance athletes in cycling, mountain climbing,rowing, seem to be in their late thirties/forties.(eg Everest climbers)
But they say, to work out your max heart rate, take your age from 220. On that basis, how can Lance Armstrong compete with Contador and other top cyclists in their mid-late twenties? Or maybe he is just unique!

seanybiker

my brother is 36 and way fitter than me and Im 26.

Your gonna be half way to 70 though

Planet X

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Play football against a guy in his fifties, wipe the floor with him.

Cycle against a guy in his fifties, you are now the mop.

My humbling moment came at the Bray wheelers randonee where myself, Gavin and Planet X were towed back to Bray by an older guy (60s maybe?) who led the whole group back at an impressive pace. I also know a few older guys who would leave guys half their age standing.

Cycling is definitely different to a lot of other sports, probably because of the low impact nature. Plus a lot of those vets are mad.

From Laragh to Bray!

That'll be George O'Rourke (Sorrento). 60yrs. old. Vets. races, very strong. Was out with him last weekend.

rottenhat

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Ages peak in various sports, sprinters generally (running) tend to peak in their early twenties, endurance athletes late twenties/early thirties and goalkeepers in their thirties, so it's not all bad.

That might be the physical peak for endurance athletes but in terms of actual performance, the guys who are winning RAAM etc are often in their forties and fifties. I think success in that area has more to do with mental fitness than physical (not that physical fitness isn't a fundamental requirement) and that is something that develops over years of sustained effort, and the overcoming of countless obstacles.

ROK ON

I guess a lot of the answer depends on what you are comparing.

I am significantly fitter at 37 than I was at 27. However that is not comparing like with like. I rarely drink nowadays and have started moderated my sybaratic diet.
In my late 20's I lived hard, drank a hell of a lot, ate like a king (King of Gluttonia that is). I had a great time. I took no exercise whatsoever.
What would be a fair comparison would be to compare the fitness of a person in mid 30's who takes similar exercise/diet and is similar weight than they were in mid 20's.

In my early 20's I was very very fit. HAd years of a lot of hard exercise and sport. I am nowhere near that level of fitness (yet), I may never get there - who knows.

SleepDoc

Way way fitter now at 34 than at 24. As a twenty something rowing was my sport of choice. Scores on the rowing ergometer are similar to when I was training 12 + times per week (now I cycle to work and gym it).

Haldir

This guy recently won the Over 80's criterium in the 2009 Sydney World Master Games.
There is a great pic of the finish in this months (January) Velo News.
So no, I don't think mid 30's is the beginning of the end!

blorg

scoobydoo22 wrote: »

But they say, to work out your max heart rate, take your age from 220. On that basis, how can Lance Armstrong compete with Contador and other top cyclists in their mid-late twenties? Or maybe he is just unique!

If you believe that formula I am 16.

Seaswimmer

I am a commuting cyclist in my late forties. (so what i hear you say).. however my father took up cycling aged 50. He has done numerous Malin -Mizen, w200's and other events.He is now 77 and manages 10-15 miles every day all year. I think as you get older you get more time to yourself so you can probably do more training/cycling. When you are in your 20's/30's/40's you are probably concentratiing on home/family/career but as you hit your 50's you should in theory have more free time to get fit and embarass the "young ones"

thebouldwhacker

I think the only 'downhill' about being in my thirties is the amount of abuse I gave my poor body in my 20's... I had a great time though and its not like I'm after joining a monastery but I'm taking better care of myself now though I certainly I pushed myself to the limit on a number of occasions. Now in my 30's I'm turning that 'energy' toward sporting activities so I am most def healthier, fitter, stronger and more determined than in my last decade. The only question remaining is what if I had put this energy and time in when I was in my teens and 20's..... such is life.

But to answer the OP's question I do not think age should be such a factor. I met a guy in the West Cork 200 last year, he was over 70, cycling a new Stratus bike and wearing full euro approved gear. He did the 100 course and was thrilled with himself. He was talking about how he used cycle in bygone years but said that he was just as proud of his 2009 achievements as he is of those in his youth... I guess its all relative:D.

beans

Today is my 30th birthday. This thread is just the thing to shake off my Monday birthday-blues

Captain Havoc

beans wrote: »

Today is my 30th birthday. This thread is just the thing to shake off my Monday birthday-blues

Happy birthday old man

seamus

Downhill is probably not recommended as you go into your thirties. Your bones are beginning to become less flexible and your reactions will slow (slightly) meaning that you're more likely to crash and when you do, you're more likely to break in half. Coupled with the fact that downhill is for people who prefer not climbing hills and enjoy biking while hungover (actually makes you a better downhiller), you should be aiming to live healthier in your thirties.

Oh wait, that's not what you're talking about.

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

I think the only 'downhill' about being in my thirties is the amount of abuse I gave my poor body in my 20's... I had a great time though and its not like I'm after joining a monastery but I'm taking better care of myself now though I certainly I pushed myself to the limit on a number of occasions. Now in my 30's I'm turning that 'energy' toward sporting activities so I am most def healthier, fitter, stronger and more determined than in my last decade. The only question remaining is what if I had put this energy and time in when I was in my teens and 20's..... such is life.

As I approach that magical age, I find myself doing the same - I'm turning off ****ty foods and 5 days of straight partying and finding myself actually enjoying the healthier options. My aim is to hit 30 in the kind of shape that I *should* have been in at 20 I have 2.5 years to do so, so...

Ah such potential wasted.

Sure 30 is the new 25...right?

thebouldwhacker

beans wrote: »

Today is my 30th birthday. This thread is just the thing to shake off my Monday birthday-blues

I take back everything I said above...

Me @29




Me @ 30




YOUR DOOMED!!!!!!!:D

happy birthday by the way:)

brayblue24

ROK ON wrote: »

In my late 20's I lived hard, drank a hell of a lot, ate like a king (King of Gluttonia that is). I had a great time. I took no exercise whatsoever.

+1

Did exactly the same-fitter and thinner at 42 due mainly to cycling (still like the odd pint but it's purely medicinal now you understand):D

WicklowRacer

The MTB XC race results in Ireland are definitely biased towards the more mature gentleman. Some of the elites are also vets and even those who are not are on the wrong side of 30, bar a couple of notables. I think your capacity to suffer is greater as you grow older... also you have better motivation to train (like escaping the kids for a few hours...)

DirkVoodoo

Happy Birthday Beans!

beans

Well if people's experiences are anything to go by, I should be able to be just as average a cyclist in 2010 as I was in 2009... hell, even more average!

bcmf

beans wrote: »

Today is my 30th birthday.

Happy Birthday young fella

Quigs Snr

I think a lot of it comes down to capacity. If you are trained to your peak in your late twenties then in your mid to late thirties you will start to decline from there as most pro's do - although from what I have seen it seems to be the head that fails long before the legs do.

However most if not all of us, are nowhere near our peak level of capacity, not even close, so we may continue to improve for a very long time to come yet... I might be much faster when I get to 45 then I was at 25 (although if I had given it my all in my teens and early twenties I would have hit a higher peak at 25 than would have been possible at 45). I know that at 34 I am a lot more powerful than I was 4 or 5 years ago (at least when race fit).

For validation turn up to any combined race on the Irish Calendar and let me know how you get on against the vets. Some of them, you'd die happy if you got to the level of performance they are hitting in their late forties... I saw Sam Bennett and another Ireland Junior get beaten in a 3 man breakaway with a 51 year old a couple of seasons ago...

Ryder

Suppose i would echo what everyone else has said. Used to be a competitive rower in my late teens and early twenties. Now in my thirties feel fitter moless time, although a different sport. Studies have shown that strength and speed/power peak in your twenties but endurance keeps improving into your thirties/forties. As others have said, a more mature and efficient approach to training also helps

lukester

There are some seriously fast vets out there, who like nothing more than eating up younger riders, and their own young 'tis rumoured.

Greyspoke

It's an interesting topic this and one that'll affect us all in time. If you have looked after yourself all your life and been active in sport more or less continuously then, barring injury, fitness will diminish slowly and almost imperceptably and cycling in particular lends itself to longevity. So much depends on the head - the motivation to continue pushing -but as the years go by, you do get mentally stronger, have a better understanding of how your body functions and are much better at pacing yourself so while a younger athlete might be able to churn out significantly more power, a slow burn vet will often last longer. Okay, so recovery from injury takes longer as does recovery from training but with the knowledge gained from the years, better management becomes second nature - there is far less obsession with sticking blindly to demanding schedules and more train by feel. There is a lot to be said for being a late starter too - joints and muscles have taken far less wear and tear and there are many examples of people coming late to running in particular and reaching international level .
As a side note and an example of what is achievable as you grow older, by coincidence I got an e-mail from my sister in the States yesterday, reporting on her first ultramarathon that she ran in the Nevada desert last Sunday. She was first woman home and 6th overall out of 230+. 50kms of sandy trails in just over 4 hours. She turned 50 earlier this year.

Beasty

Greyspoke wrote: »

. There is a lot to be said for being a late starter too - joints and muscles have taken far less wear and tear and there are many examples of people coming late to running in particular and reaching international level .

Got to agree with the late starter point in particular - I have only been seriously into cycling over the past couple of years or so (although I have been a recreational cyclist for much of my adult life). I started from a low base (and high weight!), which allowed me to show significant and sustained improvement particularly in the early days. I still have no idea of my potential (although the rate of improvement is clearly slowing down). I have no training schedule - simply try to get on the bike as much as I can (which, because of a young family, is mainly on my 23km commute), and push hard when I feel up for it.

NorDub

The father of a good friend of mine took up active cycling/ racing in his thirties. He said, with the years the distances just got longer and longer. I met him last time when he was about 60 and he claimed he didn't do anything shorter than 200k. (That was at the week-end he cycled Trondheim-Oslo, he did the about 540k in 23 hours.)

Personally, I never felt better than now at age 34. Maybe one of the reasons is that I'm in a more stable phase of my live now, I'm not moving around so often anymore. I still haven't made it to a kind of regular training but it's way easier to keep up some steadyness, build upon and expand a base. And yes, the distances get longer and longer; I've the impression my style of cycling changes slowly.