{"id":539,"date":"2017-03-28T11:31:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T15:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=539"},"modified":"2018-07-21T07:50:06","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T11:50:06","slug":"when-athletic-ability-declines-with-age-6-tips-for-staying-in-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2017\/03\/when-athletic-ability-declines-with-age-6-tips-for-staying-in-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do If You\u2019re Not the Athlete You Once Were"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 55 years old, Heidi Christensen relishes the chance to defy stereotypes. \u201cYou didn\u2019t just get passed by an old person,\u201d she says of the 20- and 30-somethings she zooms by on bike paths. \u201cYou got passed by an old lady<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost three decades ago, chances didn\u2019t look good that she\u2019d be passing anyone while bicycling\u2014or running or swimming\u2014ever again. This, despite the fact that she was a professional triathlete who, at age 28, had just come in fifth at the Ironman World Championships. <\/p>\n

The problem was, not long after that triathlon triumph, the leg weakness and pain that Christensen had been experiencing for some time intensified to the <\/span>point that her legs \u201cbasically stopped working,\u201d at least at a competitive level. Yet doctors couldn\u2019t figure out what was wrong.<\/p>\n

So, at the peak of her career, Christensen faced the agonizing reality many professional and recreational athletes confront around their 30s, 40s or 50s: she could no longer compete in the sport she loved. \u201cIt was a hard adjustment,\u201d she says, \u201ca very hard adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christensen quit triathlons and went on with her life, but the pull of athletics never left. Before too long, she found a related sport\u2014and excelled in a way she\u2019d never expected.<\/p>\n

The Inevitable Transition<\/b><\/p>\n

For both professional athletes and weekend warriors, athletic performance declines with age. Stamina, power or simply the time to train lessens, or injury or illness makes competing impossible.<\/p>\n

Since athletes often shape their lives and even identities around their sports, the what\u2019s-next period can be depressing and confusing. Some quit physical activity altogether. But others are eventually able to find athletic fulfillment in new ways. They discover a different sport, change their level of competition or feed their soul through recreational exercise.<\/p>\n

Older athletes and experts echo similar advice for making a transition like this: stay positive and think outside the box.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tip 1: If You Have to Quit, Experiment<\/b><\/p>\n

In some sports, older athletes can continue participating, just at lower levels of competition. But that\u2019s usually not the case with explosive or high-impact sports like football, basketball and hockey.<\/p>\n

As you get older, your jumping ability and explosive power decrease, says J. D. DeFreese, PhD, program manager of the Brain and Body Health Program at the University of North Carolina\u2019s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes.<\/p>\n

Decreasing bone density and flexibility make injuries more likely, and recovery becomes more difficult with age. In addition, your ability to compete could be impacted by old injuries that tend to linger from high-impact activities, DeFreese says. <\/p>\n

Most professional athletes in sports such as these retire young, but even recreational players must usually give up the game. <\/p>\n

When you have to quit a sport, \u201cyou lose a part of yourself,\u201d says Doug Gardner, EdD, coordinator of mental training services with the NFL Players Association and founder of ThinkSport Consulting Services in California. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a loss, it\u2019s a loss of a sense of purpose\u201d\u2014including purpose for working out since that\u2019s been tied to the sport, Gardner explains.<\/p>\n

To regain excitement for physical activity, Gardner recommends brainstorming other activities you\u2019ve enjoyed or want to try and training for those. Experiment to see if you can get the same level of satisfaction from them.<\/p>\n

After all, as people grow older, we engage in sports not as much for external rewards like getting a scholarship or making it to the pros but \u201cbecause we want to grow as a person and we want to challenge ourselves,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about the participation; it\u2019s about the work; it\u2019s about improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tip 2: Try a New Outlet for Your Skills<\/b><\/p>\n

Former NFL player Steve Freeman of Oxford, MS, found his workout motivation in a new job.<\/p>\n

In 1987, after playing in the NFL for 13 years, mostly with the Buffalo Bills, Freeman retired because his body was just worn out. \u201cI knew it was time to walk away before something major happened,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But Freeman kept right on training because he knew what he wanted to do next: be an NFL referee.<\/p>\n

In 2001, he got his chance. In 2014, 60-year-old Freeman was called on to ref the Super Bowl, \u201cpretty much the pinnacle of anybody\u2019s career.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can play some sports from the cradle to the grave. With others, you have to compromise. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During games, \u201cyou\u2019re running anywhere from three to five miles,\u201d Freeman says. \u201cI\u2019m running up and down the field with 20-year-olds, so I have to keep my body in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman, who has torn biceps and rotator cuffs and has had a number of surgeries\u2014all, after retiring from football\u2014maintains a rigorous training regimen and stretches every day. \u201cIf you can\u2019t keep up with [flexibility] it\u2019ll leave you in a hurry,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He also uses his own hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a large machine that he notes many athletes use for recovery. It pumps pure oxygen into a pressurized environment. \u201cI pretty much stay in it five to six hours a week,\u201d he says. The increased oxygen helps tissues heal. \u201cIt\u2019s taken away all the soreness that I ever had. All the joint pain\u2014everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tip 3: Make Adjustments in the Same Sport<\/b><\/p>\n

Some sports, such as tennis, swimming and golf, offer athletes a longer lifespan than others, allowing people to transition within the sport rather than leave. They might continue at a less competitive level or simply move up in age category.<\/p>\n

Fencing is one of those \u201ccradle-to-grave\u201d sports, says Donald Anthony, a former Team USA fencer who\u2019s now board president of the United States Fencing Association. <\/p>\n

Older athletes have some advantages. For one thing, they listen to their bodies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fencing has various age classifications\u2014the highest being 70 and older. Anthony, who\u2019s 56, won the US national championship in his category last year.<\/p>\n

Though he hasn\u2019t had to leave his sport, he has noticed his abilities change. Being a married, working professional leaves less time to train, so he\u2019s learned to maximize his strength-and-conditioning time.<\/p>\n

But then there\u2019s the knee arthritis. \u201cWhen I was younger I used to have an extremely long, very powerful lunge,\u201d says Anthony, who\u2019s also the founder of the fencing-promotion company SwordSport. Arthritis precludes such a lunge today. So he made adjustments. To attack an opponent, Anthony now uses other quick footwork to close the distance and finishes with a shorter lunge. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where I think the advantage of being an older athlete is. We listen to our bodies more,\u201d he says, \u201cand we have that level of experience or wisdom where we can develop ways of still being highly effective without necessarily having to focus on one area of physicality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Tip 4: Avoid Injury<\/b><\/p>\n

Whether you stick with your sport or find a new one, it\u2019s all for naught if you get sidelined by a bad injury.<\/p>\n

Many times, people do push themselves to that point, says Jim Thornton, president of the National Athletic Trainers\u2019 Association. \u201cThey\u2019re still 18, 19 in their minds, and their bodies aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prevent injury, Thornton recommends keeping up your \u201cmuscular prowess\u201d (perhaps through something like Pilates), warming up before competing and engaging in a daily stretching and dynamic warm-up routine. \u201cMaintain that range of motion in all of the joints, from your ankles all the way up to the top of your noggin,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

And listen to your body. Pain that lasts more than two days or that doesn\u2019t get better means \u201cyou\u2019re hurting yourself, and you need to see your doctor,\u201d he says. \u201cExercise and movement should improve your health, not affect it negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, DeFreese, of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, notes that minor pain doesn\u2019t always mean you have to stop your sport. In fact, being sedentary could make things worse. Your doctor may recommend physical or occupational therapy instead.<\/p>\n

When seeking out therapists and doctors, Anthony says it\u2019s helpful if you can find someone who knows the sport. He has access to the USA Fencing team\u2019s physical therapists and works with an orthopedic physician who\u2019s well versed in fencing. <\/p>\n

Finally, before starting a new sport, Thornton recommends seeing a doctor for a preparticipation physical exam, to make sure your body\u2014including your joints and heart\u2014is ready to go.<\/p>\n

Tip 5: Take Care of Yourself Mentally<\/b><\/p>\n

If, despite these tips, you\u2019re having trouble mentally or emotionally during this time of change, you\u2019re not alone. \u201cTransitions are perfectly normal parts of life,\u201d DeFreese says, \u201cbut it\u2019s normal for them to cause stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

At age 45, Gardner, a sports psychology consultant, is facing such a transition himself. He plays hockey for fun as a goalie but isn\u2019t sure how much longer he wants to put his body through those paces. <\/p>\n

He believes athletes who compete recreationally sometimes feel the loss even more profoundly than professionals. For them, \u201cit isn\u2019t about the termination of a career. It\u2019s about the ability to do something that brings them pleasure and enjoyment as a lifelong activity,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re not doing this for all of those extrinsic rewards\u2014money, fame, glory. They\u2019re doing this for pure love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, \u201cfor so many people participation is about being a part of a group,\u201d Gardner says. Once the sport is gone, that social network may be lost as well.<\/p>\n

So surround yourself with a supportive group of friends and family if you can. And don\u2019t be afraid of seeing a mental health professional. \u201cI would recommend that if it\u2019s causing them to lose sleep, if they\u2019re depressed, they need to see somebody,\u201d Thornton says of transitioning athletes.<\/p>\n

Some people who have a particularly hard time may even be dealing with an addiction, says Gardner. Runners, for example, may be worried about losing that runner\u2019s high.<\/p>\n

But, as with any loss, there is a light at the end of this grieving tunnel, as HeidiChristensen found after she first stopped competing.<\/p>\n

Tip 6: Find the Fun Again<\/b><\/p>\n

In 2011, 25 years after quitting triathlons, Christensen finally got a diagnosis for what was causing that leg pain and weakness: she had blockages in arteries that supplied blood to her legs.<\/p>\n

Turns out, this is a common condition in triathletes and bicyclists. But it was barely known when Christensen developed it. <\/p>\n

Surgery repaired her arteries, but by that point, Christensen had missed a quarter of a century in her sport. However, she had gained achievements in a related sport: swimming.<\/p>\n

About seven years after quitting triathlons, having kept fit, Christensen started competing in swimming. She won national masters championships in her age group, and in 2013, at age 54, she won a 10K world masters championship in the open water.<\/p>\n

How? Christensen learned to swim without using her legs. \u201cA lot of women long-distance swimmers don\u2019t use a lot of kick because it doesn\u2019t really propel you that much for the total oxygen cost,\u201d she says. \u201cI mastered a really fast stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 55, Christensen can now bike again thanks to that surgery. But she\u2019s finding that she\u2019s become more laid back about exercise. \u201cI think I get more joy just from doing the activity than I used to,\u201d she says. \u201cI may not be as fast as I was, but I\u2019m out there, and I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to find a way to have fun doing whatever you\u2019re capable of doing,\u201d she says, \u201ceven if it\u2019s taking the dogs for a walk for a few miles. Enjoy that as much as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christensen is starting to have some leg pain and weakness again. But she\u2019s trying to accept it gracefully. \u201cLegs or no legs, I can always swim,\u201d she says, looking on the bright side. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a thread that runs through all these athletes\u2019 tales: stay positive. Keep your head up. Keep moving. You never know where fulfillment might come from next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 55 years old, Heidi Christensen relishes the chance to defy stereotypes. \u201cYou didn\u2019t just get passed by an old person,\u201d she says of the 20- and 30-somethings she zooms by on bike paths. \u201cYou got passed by an old…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more What to Do If You\u2019re Not the Athlete You Once Were<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-getting-older","category-healthspan"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"wps_subtitle":"Here are 6 tips for staying in the game","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4958,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions\/4958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}