Improve Strength and Conditioning for 33 year old

bauney

Hi all,

This year with club GAA football was riddled with injuries for me. Had hamstring problems for 3 months that wouldn't mend even though i did all what physios asked. Then i started getting calf strains when i eventually get back. Then groin started feeling sore. was simply feeling like a crock. Ended up only playing a few of games in which i wasn't even fit or sharp or confident. Disaster.:mad:

I have just turned 33 and had no major injuries during my career. Although i had issues since 17 with my hips resulting in stiffness and restricted movement but i appear to have managed this relatively ok and don't think of this as an issue.

So its most likely a combination of age, career (working in IT since college) and commuting in a car (12 hours a week) that are all affecting my aging body but i believe i have another couple of years left of playing at my GAA club at Senior level.

I need to do something different for next couple of years to sustain playing football e.g. like to do strength and conditioning exercises, weights, swimming, cycling, yoga

Any advice on this? By the way i am based in Mayo.

/B

Alf Veedersane

The groin issue might be related to the hip. Not necessarily but it's something that's increasingly showing up, especially in people who play sport, afaik.

How did you manage your stiffness and restricted movement by the way?

nice_guy80

Invest some money in yourself.

Go see a strength and conditioning coach and get a proper mobility assessment.
They should be able to put together a proper training program for you that tackles your problems and builds a proper strength and flexibility base.
Go back 3/4 months later and get a more progressive program.

Injuries generally stem from mobility issues or weaknesses in the chain of muscles.

Eoinbmw

Age is also a factor and generally lads who hit their 30's will suffer mainly hamy's and calf problems due to shortening of muscle and connective tissue its just part of the ageing process!
Flexibility is an area you need to invest in!

Mellor

Eoinbmw wrote: »

Age is also a factor and generally lads who hit their 30's will suffer mainly hamy's and calf problems due to shortening of muscle and connective tissue its just part of the ageing process!

I disagree.
It's the effect of years of not looking yourself not the "the aging process".
There are plenty of older people with excellent mobility.

Eoinbmw

Mellor wrote: »

I disagree.
It's the effect of years of not looking yourself not the "the aging process".
There are plenty of older people with excellent mobility.

Years of not looking after yourself is definatly a factor for many or just pure ignorance towards their body!
But aging is an inevitable factor for many and the body does change over the decades!
If you have not suffered such injuries maybe you don't understand them!
Ive had my share of them and spent many an hour on the physio table! Ultimately I gave up "field" sports but am happy to be weightlifting for fitness and health!
Its a learning curve and you learn a lot more after an injury than you did before it!
Why do you think most pro footballers etc. finnish in their mid 30's?

Mellor

Eoinbmw wrote: »

Years of not looking after yourself is definatly a factor for many or just pure ignorance towards their body!
But aging is an inevitable factor for many and the body does change over the decades!

I'd say years of not looking after yourself is overwhelming the main cause of people being in bad shape by the age of 30.
Of course the body eventually declines over time. I’m not saying it doesn’t. But at 30 years old the deciding factor is how you looked after your body up to that point, not old age imo.

If you have not suffered such injuries maybe you don't understand them!

That’s a bit of a silly attitude tbh.

Why do you think most pro footballers etc. finnish in their mid 30's?

Because they are no longer physically capable to compete at the top level of the game.
But a 33 year old pro-footballer who hangs up his boots is probably still in great shape, certainly better than the typical 33 year old who neglected to look after himself, which backs up my whole point.
I can honest say that right now, I’m feel in far better shape than I felt in my mid 20s, by all markers (strength, fitness, body comp, mobility). And that with training/competing in a relatively high intensity sport. I put this down to an increasingly improved approach to my training and my body.


The OP’s case is a typical reactive approach you find in GAA, especially that generation. Never had injurys so never needed to work much on mobility or S&C. There’s a cumulative stress to this, and everything is just about functioning. Then when one element goes, the rest are forced to compensate, which often leads to something else unable to cope and another injury. Example, hamstring, then calf, then groin problems one after the other.

bauney wrote:

So its most likely a combination of age, career (working in IT since college) and commuting in a car (12 hours a week) that are all affecting my aging body but i believe i have another couple of years left of playing at my GAA club at Senior level.
I need to do something different for next couple of years to sustain playing football e.g. like to do strength and conditioning exercises, weights, swimming, cycling, yoga

A lot of commuting plus more likely a job that involves sitting a desk for long periods (or crawling under desks) could be a big culprit here.
This is a good place to start imo;
http://www.dominicmunnelly.ie/2013/01/4-mobility-tests-to-reduce-risk-of-injury/

Going on from there I’d get to work on your mobility and general flexibility. With a guided assessment from a local S&C coach if possible. This is as important for injury prevention as it is for rehab.
You mentioned a hip issue since 17, what sort of work did you do on this over the years to remain functional, or was it simply a case of working around it?

MartyMcFly84

I go along with the general consensuses here.

It sounds like you badly need to work on your flexibility and mobility. Its something we struggle with in Ireland as there is very little emphasises on it from a very junior level all the way up. Unless you are competing at a high level you might have never worked on it at all.

Going into a strength and conditioning program without addressing these issues could only compound them and make things worse.

I am 31 and have only really started diligently working on my mobility after ACL reconstruction over the last year. I feel so much more loose and overall I feel better. It has become an essential part of my training routine. As we hit our 30s we need to me more concious of looking after our bodies if we want to extend our use of them. Mobility and stretching is an essential part of this. It can be quite meditative once you get into it.

deadybai

There was an article posted on the Kilkenny GAA fourm about Richie Doyle and his injury troubles. I was reading through this website and it could be out help to you.

http://functionalmovementingaaplayers.weebly.com/

http://www.the42.ie/richie-doyle-kilkenny-2294954-Aug2015/

Thud

It's probably somewhere between the two opinions, playing 20+ years of a contact sport will take it's toll on your body no matter how well you look after it.
Recovery from impact injuries (knocks, twists, sprains, breaks, bruising etc) that happen no matter how flexible you are, will take longer to recover from when you are over 30.
You'll need to give injuries extra time and not try to come back too soon or you will re-injure or pick up related injuries (eg. groin and hamstring in op)

You won't be able to train or recover like a 25 year old but if you adjust your training (including S&C and mobility) and have an understanding coach you should be able to play a few more seasons.

cc87

Just putting it out there.

33 is not old in any way, shape or form.

JJJJNR

53 isn't old, 43 your fitness prime, 33 ! perfect starting point.