RACING AND AGEING: WHAT IS THE REAL ASSOCIATION

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RACING AND AGEING WHAT IS THE REAL ASSOCIATION?

• Michael Turnbull
• 2nd November 2005

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OVERVIEW

• The participation of adults over 40 in
  competitive sport has increased dramatically.
• Triathlon has a highly competitive age-group
  scene.
• However, ageing will lead to a decline in
  performance.

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OVERVIEW

• Areas to be addressed
• Does ageing affect performance?
• Physiological changes and ageing
• How trainable are middle-aged athletes?
• Does intensive exercise pose any health risks?

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SPORTING PERFORMANCE

• Swimming
• 1500m times decline steadily from the age of 35
  onwards.
• Cycling
• 40km times decrease at about an average of 20secs
  (0.6) a year.
• Running
• A declination rate of about 1 per year from the
  age of 27-47 can be seen in 10km times.

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BODY SIZE

• Height is lost and weight is gained.
• Height loss can start to occur as early as 35.
• Weight gain generally begins between 25-45.

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BODY COMPOSITION

• However, training can attenuate these changes

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BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING

• Regular training in older athletes can maintain
  body composition to similar levels as sedentary
  young people.

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STRENGTH

• Strength can decrease by approximately 1.8 per
  year from 35 years.
• Maximal and dynamic strength is reduced.
• Active people experience a shift towards slow
  twitch muscle fibres.
• The total number of muscle fibres and fibre cross
  sectional areas decrease with age.

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STRENGTH TRAINING

• Strength and resistance training is an important
  aspect.
• Research has shown that ageing does not impair a
  persons ability to increase muscle strength or
  muscle hypertrophy.
• Individual muscle fibres also have the ability to
  grow in size.

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CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION

• Endurance performance declines with age.
• Max HR decrease less than 1 beat per year
• HRmax 208 (0.7 x age)
• Max stroke volume and cardiac output decrease.

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CV FUNCTION TRAINING

• Studies indicate that CV changes are minimized in
  older athletes who continue to train.
• Stroke volume can be maintained in older athletes
  who have continued to train.
• Physical inactivity plays a bigger part than the
  ageing process.

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RESPIRATORY FUNCTION

• Vital capacity and FEV decrease linearly with age
• Residual volume increases
• Maximal expiratory ventilation decreases.
• These are primarily caused by a loss of
  elasticity in the lung tissue and the chest wall.
• Total lung volume remains unchanged

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VO2 MAX

• Aerobic capacity decreases by approximately 1
  per year.
• The primary limiter of VO2 max is the decreased
  oxygen transport to the muscles.
• Similar results have been found for highly
  trained endurance athletes - although the
  variation is much wider.

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VO2 MAX
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VO2 MAX TRAINING

• High intensity training should not be reduced.
• High intensity training leads to significantly
  smaller decreases in VO2 max.
• Endurance training improves muscles oxidative
  enzyme activities.

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EXPOSURE TO HEAT

• Older adults are more susceptible to fatal heat
  injuries.
• There is a reduction in thermal tolerance and
  regulation
• Even when people are matched for body size, comp,
  VO2 max, and acclimatization, these age related
  differences persist.

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TRAINING ADAPTATIONS

• Endurance exercise training produces similar
  gains in healthy people, regardless of their age,
  sex or initial level of fitness
• Training cannot halt the process of biological
  aging, but it can lessen the impact of ageing on
  performance.

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CONCLUSION

• Ageing affects physical performance
• Cardiorespiratory function, strength and body
  composition are all impaired with age.
• It is clear that much of these changes is
  attributable to inactivity.
• Physical activity leads to changes that are
  similar to that seen in young adults.
• Age is not a barrier!