Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1515290
www.AbbysHealthFood.com | # 61| Page 23 the way that may also help you on your journey as a masters athlete. T I P # 1 – C O N S I S T E N C Y I S K E Y I'm a firm believer that the older we get, the more consistent we need to be in our training. Our bodies have an incredible ability to adapt and respond to regular daily movement. Looking back on my 5-month break, I backed off too much and my body adapted to the lack of movement. There are certainly periods when we need to allow our bodies to recover after intense racing seasons, but we should still remain active. Backing off on volume while still inserting short bursts of intensity helps remind our bodies that we're still athletes, not lazy people. With every year (month for that matter) that passes, the phrase, "Use it or lose it", looms larger in the background. T I P # 2 – D O N ' T B E A F R A I D T O A S K F O R H E L P Since taking up running 14 years ago, I had dealt with things like calf and hamstring strains along with little niggles here and there. But until this past December, I had never dealt with any serious knee issue. After trying to diagnose and treat myself through Google and YouTube for a few weeks, my knee wasn't getting much better. I decided to swallow my pride and visit a Physical Therapist who had lots of experience working with runners and triathletes. During that initial evaluation, Kevin was able to spot weaknesses that we would address over the following 10 weeks. It was so refreshing to have another set of eyes who could spot things that I couldn't see. I consider our sessions together to be an investment into my running longevity. T I P # 3 – L I M I T T H E S I T T I N G Our Chiropractor likes to say, "Motion is lotion!" I've also heard him reference sitting as the new smoking. A few things can happen during long periods of sitting in the same position: • Our metabolism can slow down – Decreased muscle can lead to slower clearance of fat from the body and decrease the effects of insulin. • It can lead to chronic pain - Sitting for too long, especially at a desk, can cause excess pressure on certain parts of the body, like the lower back. • You'll have less energy. Sitting too much means moving less. Movement, like going for a brisk 20-minute walk, can up our energy levels quickly. • Our mental health suffers. In fact, studies have indicated that sitting indoors and communicating with others strictly online can reduce social skills and affect psychological well-being. As someone who enjoys sitting while reading a good book, I'm trying to get into the habit of setting a timer that goes off every 30 minutes or so. This reminds me to stand up and get some blood flow by moving. T I P # 4 – D O N ' T N E G L E C T S T R E N G T H W O R K Age-related muscle loss is known as sarcopenia. After age 30, we begin to lose as much as 3-5% of muscle mass with each passing decade. I don't know about you, but I'd like to do what I can to slow down this trend. In order to do that, I'm realizing the value of incorporating weekly strength training to help complement my running. This doesn't mean I'm pumping iron like a bodybuilder. I'm learning that simple bodyweight exercises can be quite effective at working my core and eliciting muscular burn and fatigue. Endurance athletes can't go wrong when we work our hips, glutes, and core. When these areas are weak (like mine were), we begin to rely on hamstrings and calves to take on more load than they should. Do a simple search on YouTube and a wealth of effective bodyweight exercises will come up. You'll be amazed to see how fast your body will adapt to just one or two strength/ core sessions of 30 minutes each week. T I P # 5 – R E C O V E R W E L L The older I get, the more important recovery from intense sessions becomes. My foam roller and massage gun are a couple of my best buddies these days. They help keep hot spots from turning into strains. I've also learned (sometimes the hard way) how many hard sessions my body can handle each week. Where a younger athlete might be able to squeeze in 3-4 hard efforts per week, my body seems to do well with 2 of these efforts. Each is followed by 2-3 days of easy effort. I know other masters athletes who stick to one hard effort per week which allows them to fully recover and remain injury-free. Each individual needs to dial in that sweet spot depending on experience. Another practice I've been implementing consistently is taking a scoop of PerfectAmino powder by Body Health prior to bedtime. Sleep is easily our most effective recovery tool. During deep sleep, our bodies can utilize these precious amino acids for repair in conjunction with the natural growth hormone released. An added bonus I've noticed is my body maintaining the muscle I don't want to lose any time soon. I'm convinced that these 5 tips can help add life to your masters years. Each of us can be intentional about slowing down our athletic decline. Time to get back at it… after all, I have a Flapjack 5k title to defend! CJ successfully defended his Flapjack 5k title on April 9, 2022 (2 months shy of turning 49), though he did have to fend off a pesky 17-year-old to do so.