Use it or lose it! Competing in sport is a great way for all ages to keep motivated and stay fit. Of course, you certainly don’t need to compete to benefit from being active, but racing certainly helps you set goals, challenge your mind, challenge your body, and gives you extra motivation to stick to a fitness plan. You will also likely meet like-minded individuals who will help create a social support network and make your activities more enjoyable.
Here is a list of resources, good reading, and inspiration for masters athletes.
General Resources
- Coaching Masters Athletes – this is an excellent evidence-based resource featuring research and practical advice on coaching master’s athletes by Canadian researchers from Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia (Dr. Bettina Callary); the University of Ottawa in Ontario (Dr. Bradley Young); and the University of Lethbridge in Alberta (Dr. Scott Rathwell).
- Master Athletes (Sport Information Resource Centre-SIRC)
- Masters Athletes challenge our thinking about health and aging (York University)
- USA Track & Field
- Masters Athletes (many online resources – Australian)
More Reading & Good Advice
Here are some articles that provide some great information (and much inspiration) for you to stay active.
Strength Training/Injury Prevention
for Masters Athletes
- Ride Strong After Menopause (good article, but ignore Bicycling’s hyperlinks, and advice to take valerian as a sleep aid) (Selene Yeager, Bicycling Magazine)
- Fast After 40: Master Your Injury Prevention (Pete Magill, Competitor Magazine)
- Why weight training is crucial for master’s athletes (Australian Institute of Sport)
- How to Keep Your Muscles Strong as You Age (Wall St Journal)
- Should Masters Runners Lift Weights? (Jay Johnson)
- Chronic Exercise Preserves Lean Muscle Mass in Masters Athletes. Scientists provide evidence that declines in vitality and increased frailty associated with aging have much to to with lifestyle choices (The Physician and Sportsmedicine).
- Can weight training help endurance athletes last longer? (Alex Hutchinson)
Optimal Training/Workouts for Masters Athletes
- Ride Fast at Any Age: Who says aging up has to slow you down? New research shows that our bodies are capable of some impressive accomplishments on the bike as we get older. (Bicycling Magazine)
- From Joe Friel’s excellent series on aging athletes: Aging: Is It Just a Number in Your Head? Aging: An Excuse? Aging: What’s Happening to My Muscles? Aging: What’s Behind the Decline? Aging: Risk, Dose and Density.
- Speed works: why high intensity exercise is increasingly important as we age (Margaret Webb, Globe and Mail)
- Why all over-40 runners are not created equal (Greg McMillan, Runners World)
- Six Steps to becoming a more successful over-40 runner (Malcolm Campbell, Running Times)
- Speed training for veterans: how to combat the decline of speed and power (Peak Performance UK)
- How master athletes can reduce the decline of their endurance levels (Peak Performance UK)
- Seven Deadly Mistakes Made by Masters Athletes (Peter Reaburn)
Why Exercise is Critical to Healthy Aging
- Exercise Keeps Us Young (sheilakealey.com)
- An investigation into the relationship between age and physiological function in highly active older adults (The Journal of Physiology, 6 JAN 2015)
- Exercise can prevent age-related loss of muscle – keep moving! (Broskey NT et al.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 May) - Chronic Exercise Preserves Lean Muscle Mass in Masters Athletes. Scientists provide evidence that declines in vitality and increased frailty associated with aging have much to to with lifestyle choices (The Physician and Sportsmedicine).
- Exercise to Age Well, Whatever Your Age (Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times)
Nutrition Considerations for Masters Athletes
- Masters endurance athletes may require more post-exercise protein (Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2015 Sep 24)
- Nutrition for Masters Athletes (Jill Parnell, No Baloney Blog)
- Fueling for the Masters Athlete (Pamela Visevich Bede, Runners World)
- Nutrition Needs of Senior Athletes (SIRC)
- Protein Needs of Masters Athletes (Australian Masters)
Coaching Masters Athletes
- Coaching Masters Athletes – this is an excellent evidence-based resource featuring research and practical advice on coaching master’s athletes by Canadian researchers from Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia (Dr. Bettina Callary); the University of Ottawa in Ontario (Dr. Bradley Young); and the University of Lethbridge in Alberta (Dr. Scott Rathwell).
- Coaching Masters Athletes (Coaching Association of Canada)
- Performance Training for Masters Athletes (SIRC)
- Planning the Training of the Adult Athlete
General Reading for Masters Athletes
- Older Canadian Triathletes are Smashing Stereotypes and Opening Up New Age Groups (Theresa Wallace, TriathlonMagazine.ca)
- 94-year-old shows us that exercise is potent anti-aging elixir (Christie Aschwanden, New York Times)
- Inspirational Athletes: 10 Master Athletes Older Than 50
Inspiration
What can we learn from older athletes who still love to compete? Probably plenty, and regardless, it’s fun and inspiring to read about people who are still speedy as they age. Here are some interviews or stories about fast masters (I’ve listed ages at story/interview time).
I’ll be adding to this list – so if you know of athlete stories I can link to, let me know!
- Bruce Conner (57 y) Speedskater. Bruce Conner demonstrates that speed knows no age limit. Be sure to check out Bruce Conner’s Faster as a Master website.
- Carmen Ayala-Troncoso (54 y) Runner. Three Decade Run. At 54, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso adapts and excels.
- Chris Horner (42 y) – Cyclist No peloton for old men: Chris Horner wants to race, but contract proves elusive
- Christine Kennedy (59 y) – Runner. Christine Kennedy Runs a 2:59 Marathon at Age 59.
- Claudia Pechstein (41 y) Speedskater. Claudia Pechstein going for Olympic speedskating records at 41
- Dara Torres (45 y) Swimmer. She’s 45 and trying for her sixth Olympic Games.
- Deena Kastor (41 y) Distance runner (5k, marathon, 10k). 5 Questions with Deena Kastor.
- Diana Nyad (65 y). Champion distance swimmer.
- Gene Dykes (71 y). Marathoner, ultrarunner. Runner Gene Dykes Is Playing the Long Game (Outside Magazine).
- Haile Gebreselassie (41 y) Runner. Still running with the world’s best at age 40, Ethiopia’s great Haile Gebreselassie gets a lot more than training done in a day.
- Henry Hawke (77 y) Runner and more. Henry Hawk is 77 and still obsessed with fitness. But lately he’s also been focusing on a new passion project (Outside Magazine).
- Harriet Thomson (91 y). Runner. 91-Year-Old to Run Sunday’s San Diego Marathon
- Jacki Munzel (50 y) Speedskater. 50-year-old speed skater achieves Olympic dream
- Jeannie Longo (54 y) Cyclist. Longo racing for another national title at age 54
- Joe Pavey (40 y) Runner. Jo Pavey, 40, wins 5,000m Commonwealth bronze for England
- Karla Del Grande (60 y) Sprinter. The fastest 60 year old woman in the world turns the clock backwards
- Laura Sophiea (52 y) Triathlon. 52 year old enjoys her 17th Ironman
- Lynn Marshall (52 y) Swimmer. Canada’s greatest ever master swimmer.
- Marilyn Arsenault (46 y) Runner. The Running Diva
- Ned Overend (59 y) Mountain Biker. Ned Overend’s Secrets to Riding Forever; Ned Overend on high-intensity training for masters
- Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (40 y) Biathlon. Bjoerndalen wins 7th career Olympic gold in sprint. “”I always forget that (I’m 40). I feel like I’m 20. My age is perfect.” The greatest Olympian you’ve never heard of
- Olga Kotelko (94 y) Track and Field. What a 94-year-old track star can teach us about aging
- Sinead Diver (42 y). Marathon (2:41). Sinead Diver finishes seventh in the London Marathon
- Robert Marchand (105 y). Cyclist. Lessons on Aging Well, From a 105-Year-Old Cyclist (New York Times).
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Updated April 29, 2019
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