Mar 30 2010
If Lance and Dara….
Armstrong and Torres, that is, need extra massage therapy and stretching after intense workouts, then don’t we all? lol Okay, so they’re elite, professional, big-time athletes. They’re also young enough to be my children. And, they always (pretty much) have been in top condition relative to the gen pop. Granted, having cancer and babies plays havoc on your body, but they dedicated themselves to their sports and their livelihoods. Look at Lance in Comeback 2.0 when he’s “fat and out of shape”, getting ready to prep for his return to pro cycling. I’m pretty sure most of us don’t have those muscles.
So what about those of us who are aging weekend warriors, trying to ward off the ravages of time, not to mention dissolute living? An intense workout for us is no less intense because it would be nothing to a younger elite athlete. Intensity, afterall, is relative. Lactic acid, fatigue, weaknesses are all amplified in us precisely because we don’t do as much, don’t have the underlying base conditioning, and are getting older. Follow Lance’s tweets and you’ll get a picture of a guy who realizes he’s not as young as he once was. Still great; still competing at the highest level; still a force in his sport. But, clearly, still on the high side of the age bracket. Dara is the same way.
I follow their training regimens and try to get tips from what they do. The two clearest messages seem to me to be: 1) do something every day toward your goals; and, 2) make sure that stretching and massage are always included in your recovery – every day. The first lesson does not mean that you run every day or cycle every day or swim every day. Cross-training is hugely important. Variety isn’t just the spice of life – it seems to be a sure path to better health (and, if you do have a specific activity that you favor) to better performance. The second lesson has been especially painful to me. The single most important component to my workouts is now both stretching and massage – afterwards.
If you’ve followed the last couple of days or so, you’ve read how I raved about my pain free workout only to be almost immobile the next day. Well, here it is 2 days post pain free workout and I’m pain free again. Why? If you answered “stretching and massage” go to the head of the class! Quick re-cap: Sunday – pain free workout; Monday – can’t walk. Monday afternoon – short, easy 1 hour spin-type ride to loosen things up some. Then to the gym for a session on the Vibraflex. OUCH! and WOW! Then, home for the usual stretching and massage. And, today? Pain free again!
In case you’re wondering, we’re not sponsored by any of the products that we mention on here. We’re not nearly good enough for that! This is stuff that we use to make our training lives easier or better or happier in some way. So when we give props to something, it’s because we’ve tried a bunch of stuff and this is something we think merits a mention. That said, a shout out goes to the Muscle Trigger Points app for iPhone. I love that little app! Because of it, I have been able to discover the source of several aches and pains and take actions to alleviate the same. Beats taking a handful of Alleve every 4 hours (which btw, I’m not necessarily opposed to).
AND I ALMOST FORGOT….eating well is very important for older athletes as well….and I dislike that part about as much as I dislike running in general.
