Changing Goals for the Older Athlete

 

Exercise is essential to health and well-being, but the fun part revolves around competition.  We all want to be good at something.  We learn early on that not all of us can run a marathon or compete in the Olympics, but we never lose that desire to compete.  If we can’t beat someone else we set imposing goals for ourselves in order to best our own efforts.

 

Mentally we are as strong and focused as we have ever been, but after 50 we discover that in order to stay healthy; we have to look at the whole sports continuum differently.   We continue to push ourselves until it finally dawns on us that too much pushing is becoming a threat to stiffening joints, rigid muscles, hardening arteries, and even to our seemingly indestructible hearts.  It is usually a word to the wide from our doctors that finally gets through to us. Still, it is a bitter pill to swallow because we have to admit that we are getting older.  I agree that it isn’t fair because we still want to play and have fun, and we want to win.

 

Kevin Helliker writes in his  article for The Wall Street Journal (September 1, 2009) about being “Older, Wiser, Slower……,” it is easy to see that the emphasis on exercise has become a mantra in America, but little thought has been given to how to cut back when the body starts sending out subtle signals.  Nobody, he says, wants to acknowledge that exercise is not the fountain of youth.  Exercise gurus will have you believe that you can keep making gains if you work harder, but this isn’t necessarily true.  If you still think you should be able to train as hard at 50 or beyond as you did when you were 20, you will end up being depressed, bitter and stressed out, and in pain.   

 

We are all aware, even if we don’t exercise, that exercise can provide a certain amount of protection against chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and depression.  However, excessive competitiveness can also cause damage (here is where the older, wiser, slower part comes in). The older athlete who struggles to fight off declining performances with excessive training may end up in big trouble, but it is hard to give up.  It is hard to extinguish that competitive flame.

 

This doesn’t mean you should give up exercising but it does mean that you should focus on something other than winning.  How about just having fun, or enjoying the fresh air and sunshine as you jog around the neighborhood.  If you must compete, do it at a senior level rather than trying to beat the records you were setting at 25.