Age and performance

[LEE]

There's so much nonesense spoken about declining ability due to age.
 
 Last Sunday I rode a 125 mile (200km) hilly Audax as a social event and could have carried on no problem.

Lee, no disrespect but 200 km at 47 is not really a challenge. There has not been any nonsense is this thread that I can see . As you age athletic ability declines. Hard exercise slows that decline, what is nonsense about that.

I never said there was any nonesense spoken on this thread.  My point is that "It's all downhill when you reach 35" isn't clear cut.

As you age athletic ability declines

Athletic ability doesn't always decline as you age.  What you mean is that the potential for maximum athletic achievement declines after a certain age.

Lance Armstrong reached his maximum potential therefore his athletic ability was always going to delicne.

Most people aren't very fit.  That means there is room to improve athletic ability.

Most 50 years olds in britain could improve their time for a 10Km run.  They can therefore improve their athletic ability.  I think this is more positive than telling them that there's no point in bothering.
Their potential for achieving gold in the 10,000m Olympic final certainly took a turn for the worse when they hit 35 though.

It all depends on your starting point.

The athletic ability of the friends I cycle with has increased over the last 3 years and they are all of an age where some people would have it that it was all downhill.

no disrespect but 200 km at 47 is not really a challenge

It certainly was for me and I suspect it would be for a vast majority of the people you know.

[Seineseeker]

200km at 47 is a challenge, of course it is. I know very few people who can do this. And even fewer who can do it in much less than 7 hours.

However, you could say it is something anyone can do if they are determined enough to get fit enough.

Most people I ride with are better cyclists now in their 40s or 50s than they were in their youth because they just messed around in those years, or like most of them didn't ride at all.

[Ian H]

An old acquaintance of mine, older than I, said (as he was half-wheeling me up an Exmoor hill),

"I dunno,  I can't climb as well as I used to. I just don't go as well at all. It all started to go downhill when I turned fifty-seven. I've never gone as well since...even sex isn't as good...

...might be with someone other than the wife...

...but not with her."


So next year worries me.

[inc]

 Athletic ability doesn't always decline as you age.  What you mean is that the potential for maximum athletic achievement declines after a certain age.

Lance Armstrong reached his maximum potential therefore his athletic ability was always going to delicne.

It all depends on your starting point.

My first post in this thread commented on age and potential but my comment about 200km at 47 was not specifically meant for you but any 47 year old male. physiologically there is no age  related reason why, with training they could not ride 200km at Audax pace. Your comment about the starting point is interesting from the age point of view as the later you start the less potential you will have. The degenerative ageing process starts in the early 20's and cannot be reversed but can be slowed by exercise, so if you start exercising late the ceiling on your performance is lower and if not exercising hard enough to slow the ageing process  will be reached sooner.

Armstrong has a power output higher than most other riders and with his training will loose very little each year although high aerobic power outputs alone is not everything in pro cycling, Boardman was up there with the best but apart from time trials achieved very little as a pro

[Bledlow]

200km at 47 is a challenge, of course it is. I know very few people who can do this. And even fewer who can do it in much less than 7 hours.

But that's because they're unfit, not because they're 47. How many 37 or even 27 year olds could do it?

[Manotea]

200km at 47 is a challenge, of course it is. I know very few people who can do this. And even fewer who can do it in much less than 7 hours.

But that's because they're unfit, not because they're 47. How many 37 or even 27 year olds could do it?

One of my retired clubmates was at the quacks, feeling a bit poorly. Doctor asked what exercise he did. "I cycled about 70  miles on Sunday if that counts." "That's fantastic", Doctor said, "how many people your age could do that". "Well", said clubmate, "everybody I know..."

[Seineseeker]

200km at 47 is a challenge, of course it is. I know very few people who can do this. And even fewer who can do it in much less than 7 hours.

But that's because they're unfit, not because they're 47. How many 37 or even 27 year olds could do it?

One of my retired clubmates was at the quacks, feeling a bit poorly. Docter asked what exercise he did. "I cycled about 70  miles on Sunday if that counts." "That's fantastic", Docter said, "how many people your age could do that". "Well", said clubmate, "everybody I know..."

Good point, on reflection I do actually know a lot of people who can ride 200km!

[Rich753]

200km at 47 is a challenge, of course it is. I know very few people who can do this. And even fewer who can do it in much less than 7 hours.

But that's because they're unfit, not because they're 47. How many 37 or even 27 year olds could do it?

One of my retired clubmates was at the quacks, feeling a bit poorly. Docter asked what exercise he did. "I cycled about 70  miles on Sunday if that counts." "That's fantastic", Docter said, "how many people your age could do that". "Well", said clubmate, "everybody I know..."

that a lol moment, thanks.   

[tonyh]

I started Audaxing in 2002 aged 60, having ridden quite a bit before that, often strenuously but never being "fast".  I'm disappointed with the (inevitable??) failure to go any faster since then, in spite of putting in quite a lot of miles, and mainly riding as hard as I can sustain (?) for whatever the distance is. In particular, I'm less able to keep up with anyone uphill (though I relish hills); and recovery tends to take longer and longer.

Edited to correct the year I started, 2002 not 1992!

[simonp]

I started audax in 2006 aged 34.  Then I was able to do a sub 12h 200; now, aged 37 I am looking at a sub 9h 200 as a target.

When I was 25 I was told my VO2max was 65.  This year I think it's around 56 (post LEL).  My potential is lower but I'm using more of it.

[Chris S]

I started audax in 2006 aged 34.  Then I was able to do a sub 12h 200; now, aged 37 I am looking at a sub 9h 200 as a target.

When I was 25 I was told my VO2max was 65.  This year I think it's around 56 (post LEL).  My potential is lower but I'm using more of it.

Haven't you slowed down since your sex change?

[simonp]

I started audax in 2006 aged 34.  Then I was able to do a sub 12h 200; now, aged 37 I am looking at a sub 9h 200 as a target.

When I was 25 I was told my VO2max was 65.  This year I think it's around 56 (post LEL).  My potential is lower but I'm using more of it.

Haven't you slowed down since your sex change?

That pic is about 10 years old. :-p

[tonyh]

Just edited my previous post, where I'd claimed an extra 10 years.
(Slightly disappointed that nobody else noticed!)

[mattc]

Just edited my previous post, where I'd claimed an extra 10 years.
(Slightly disappointed that nobody else noticed!)

But you always sound so wise Tony! Please don't say it's all bullsh bluff ?

[tonyh]

Wise?   Me??     I wish!

There's masses of wisdom in this place, but me, I can't even remember how old I am!

[mattc]

I started Audaxing in 2002 aged 60, having ridden quite a bit before that, often strenuously but never being "fast".  I'm disappointed with the (inevitable??) failure to go any faster since then, in spite of putting in quite a lot of miles, and mainly riding as hard as I can sustain (?) for whatever the distance is. In particular, I'm less able to keep up with anyone uphill (though I relish hills); and recovery tends to take longer and longer.

On a serious note:
it sounds like you haven't been sucked into the world of Structured Training. You can make some big gains compared with just "riding as hard as I can sustain (?) for whatever the distance is".
[and all without spending any more money!]

Go and look round this forum for a gazillion (mostly wise) pages of info.

You may not get much faster, but if you don't try you'll never know. And a different approach can be refreshing.

[Ian H]

'Tis true that if you just ride at one pace you'll gradually slow down. I use the local club tens as a bit of fun training, or I head for Devon hills to stretch my lungs.

[tonyh]

just "riding as hard as I can sustain (?) for whatever the distance is".

Yes, that wasn't a good description of my riding, which does include quite a few hilly circuits and so on. I hoped to venture upon some 10s this year but chickened out. So the encouragement is appreciated. Thanks!

[MSeries]

I improved my speed by hanging on to faster wheels for as long as I could and by riding up hills every day.

[megajoules expenditure]

Judging by your impressive performance at this years Mersey 24TT I don't think you should get too depressed just yet

Most of the current coaching articles agree that as you get older,in order to maintain as much speed as possible it is essential to use high intensity training sessions and also to allow yourself more recovery time between these than a younger rider would need.You can train just as hard as when you were younger as long as you don't neglect recovery(many cyclists train too much anyway). Also weight training can be a very good aid to preserving speed in older riders.

This is a thoroughly depressing thread.

[chillyone]

I am in my 60's.  I used to time trial many years ago, and have been riding bike most of my life since my pre teen years.  I have had a few gaps, the longest between 50 and 61 years old.  Then I started again to try and shift weight.  It hasn't worked, I was 18 stone 6 months ago and I am still 18 stone despite doing over a thousand miles.  Truth is I eat too much!

However, I have found that my climbing ability has never been so good.  When I drive a route that I also ride some of the hills frighten me, yet I am just going up them with little trouble.  Bear in mind this is Essex though, not the Pennines, thank heavens.  We might have a different definition of hills.

I agree with what has been said about recovery time.  If I do a thirty miler in my average of 2.5 hours (I didn't claim to be fast!!), there is no way I could do it agin the next day as I could twenty odd years ago.  For longer rides I have to do alternate days,  then I often go for a walk on the off days.

Much of the time I just go out and ride and take pleasure in being out with no pressure to perform.  Any pressure is self induced, except when being overtaken by a gorgeous 20 something young lady in very tight tights and I try and keep up for a few yards.  That is when age and performance do (and would) fail me.........