An athlete is a person who
takes part in competitive sports. My
interpretation is a little more liberal as I don’t think that you need to be a
Lance Armstrong in order to be considered an athlete or to be an athletic
person. Competition is what creates
excitement and much as you deny it, you want to win. So, whether you are training for your first 5
K or are like me, just trying to jog a mile in under 15 minutes, it is good to
have a goal.
I just read an article by
Kevin Helliker in the Wall Street Journal (September 1, 2009) called “Older,
Wiser, Slower.” This is the article that
the older athlete needs to read. The
article discusses why older, avid athletes have to let go of that “need” to win
if they want to stay healthy. Even competing
against oneself may be too much. You
probably won’t believe his words of advice until you hear it you’re your doctor
first, but at least take it under consideration.
He goes on to talk about the
call for Americans to exercise more but says that there isn’t much discussion
about learning how to taper or cut back as you get older. Every message that you read or hear is about
exercising more and training harder, as if this is indeed the fountain of
youth. We all grew up with the no-pain no gain mentality so we keep pushing
ourselves to do more.
Too much exercise and over-training
becomes painful to stiffening joints, rigid muscles and hardening
arteries. Yes, it is true that exercise
can protect you against a number of chronic illnesses while helping to control
your weight, but too much exercise can cause damage too. Overuse injuries increase with age no matter
how careful you are.
When you get older, your
game isn’t quite what it used to be and this comes as a rude shock. You can’t run as fast or hit the ball as
crisply or serve as hard and it is a bummer.
You can still remember how it used to be. Loss of prowess generally means that you give
up exercising altogether or that you train to excess and do a lot of damage
too. Neither outcome is deal. If you can’t extinguish that competitive edge
you need to re-examine your goals and jus learn to race or play for the fun of
it.
The author mentions a book
by Mark Allen (former Triathlon Champion) called “Fit Soul, Fit Body” that
argues against fighting age with more hours on the treadmill. My library system doesn’t have it yet but I
will be looking for it. It sounds like just the book we need to promote
exercise wisdom to the masses. Your health and independence are the real
goal. Health and independence are
personal and have nothing to do with beating the other guy.
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