When it comes to senior/middle-aged athletes & a high level fitness that they've achieved, many will brag about their accomplishments as well as training program. Many will also try to instill their trainjng regime, nutritional program & dietary supplement use on others. You see this a lot on YouTube with a bunch of showoffs & grifters. Lol
What is not known is if these guys are using TRT/HRT (I believe most are) or are just genetic outliers. 🤔
The thing is, TRT won't repair bone cartilage in your knee or a torn meniscus, or a bad Achilles.. So while those guys are liars and grifters, they are still putting in the workouts, they just A LOT more out of them than the unjuiced mortals.
I would never take testosterone just to run faster, but if I thought it would repair my bad knees, I'd shoot up in a heart beat.
But Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can regrow cartilage, increase range of motion & reduce pain in arthritic joints (there are several studies showing this). HGH can also decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass & strength - that's why HGH & it's peptides are banned by WADA - it's a real performance enhancer.
It's use is also popular with TRT use as part of an anti-aging program (though HGH is very expensive compared to TRT). Check out some of the workout videos of 79 yr old Sly Stallone who uses TRT/HRT. His physique looks like that of a 35 yr old athlete. And his strength & energy in the gym is unreal.
That's why on these types of threads, I ask if guys are using TRT/HRT who have the resources to pursue these anti-aging modalities.
I haven’t read anyone discuss much about the mental struggle we have watching our paces drop. We have our gps watches and strava reminding us how pathetically slow we are getting.
Maybe I am unique but I get discouraged as I review my daily runs. We are told repeatedly not to compare ourselves to others or our younger selves. But I am really struggling with it. I really believed that as I got older I would be at peace accepting that all my PR days are long gone. And just be a satisfied older consistent runner. But I am not. I can’t put my finger on why it is troubling me so much. But I need to find joy somehow running so slow and less powerful.
Maybe I need to toss the gps watch.
As my wife says, the goal of masters racing is to get slower slower than everybody else is getting slower. You have to accept the reality that you can train harder and will still get slower. The passage of time is a relentless opponent, and you have to find your joy in the process and knowing that you have put in your best effort, and accepting whatever the result is when you have done that.
Okay, but I'll let you in on little secret.
I'm not the man that I used to be, but with the help of age grading, I don't feel that much less, either.
This is great advice. Keeping the love of learning is important in all aspects of life and something I try to focus on. I view everything from training, nutrition and aging as a science experiment which always seems to intrigue me even if the outcome isn’t favorable to me.
all my life I have done the time trial thing to see where I stack up with things. I simply hate how I get when I do races from the amount of pressure I put on myself to my desire at beating someone which may set me back in life.
where do you find these all American standards? I’d like do to the same as you Frisky.
The thing is, TRT won't repair bone cartilage in your knee or a torn meniscus, or a bad Achilles.. So while those guys are liars and grifters, they are still putting in the workouts, they just A LOT more out of them than the unjuiced mortals.
I would never take testosterone just to run faster, but if I thought it would repair my bad knees, I'd shoot up in a heart beat.
But Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can regrow cartilage, increase range of motion & reduce pain in arthritic joints (there are several studies showing this). HGH can also decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass & strength - that's why HGH & it's peptides are banned by WADA - it's a real performance enhancer.
It's use is also popular with TRT use as part of an anti-aging program (though HGH is very expensive compared to TRT). Check out some of the workout videos of 79 yr old Sly Stallone who uses TRT/HRT. His physique looks like that of a 35 yr old athlete. And his strength & energy in the gym is unreal.
That's why on these types of threads, I ask if guys are using TRT/HRT who have the resources to pursue these anti-aging modalities.
But no doctors prescribe HGH to treat knee arthritis. If it were really a treatment insurance companies would stop paying for knee replacements, and pay for hgh injections that cost pennies.
As someone about to turn 39, I'd like to say that this thread has been incredibly informative and eye-opening. Definitely motivates me to make the most of the next 4-5 years before I hit 44...
Just turned 66. Female. Been running for 51 years. I have had two injuries since I turned 60 that took me over a year (each) to get back to racing. I'm actually still coming back from the last one. I did a lot of PT and worked hard after the first injury to drop the excess weight (I have never been super skinny) and ran well after a year and a half. This time, I'm only running 5 days a week (35-40 miles) and running in the pool the other two days (so boring). It's going to take a while before I can say I'm running decently again.
I do Dynamic stretching in the morning, "prehab/strength" at night. Today I ran a 6k race at a pace that is 40 sec. mile slower than what I used to run long runs at in my 40s (on trails even). So that's depressing. I run mostly grass and trails, which distracts me from whatever pace I am running. [I haven't bought a Garmin (yet) and use a timex and my phone. ] Today was over 3 minutes slower than what I ran 2 years ago at the same course, but on the plus side, I was able to run and finish and I don't think I re-injured anything. My teammate and I agreed that we are grateful to be able to keep doing something we love because you don't know what life has in store for you.
As someone about to turn 39, I'd like to say that this thread has been incredibly informative and eye-opening. Definitely motivates me to make the most of the next 4-5 years before I hit 44...
If you are in your late 30's or early 40's don't put off any big running goals you might have. You wont always be fit enough for a BQ, or to run NYC, or break X time at Y distance.
Being fit and healthy at any age is a worthwhile aspiration but wanting to be as fast as a 12 year old at 60 or older (which is all you might manage) hardly seems worth aiming for. Growing older is inevitable. It appears growing up isn't.
Thanks for taking a dump on any thread where you post!
I told my chiro that I just ran the best workout of my adult life. By adult life, I mean after age 50. He was surprised. What I meant was, I ran 4x8 min fast. I have no idea what pace I ran, but I felt great. I have not been able to do 4 of those things for years. But, I have been able to train consistently for a couple years now, and feel better than ever.
I do all of my training off road, on trails that I am familiar with. I also run for time or distance, but no both.
As my wife says, the goal of masters racing is to get slower slower than everybody else is getting slower. You have to accept the reality that you can train harder and will still get slower. The passage of time is a relentless opponent, and you have to find your joy in the process and knowing that you have put in your best effort, and accepting whatever the result is when you have done that.
Okay, but I'll let you in on little secret.
I'm not the man that I used to be, but with the help of age grading, I don't feel that much less, either.
Link availble on request.
Keep in mind with the invention of super shoes age grading is inflated to the plus 3-5%.
But Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can regrow cartilage, increase range of motion & reduce pain in arthritic joints (there are several studies showing this). HGH can also decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass & strength - that's why HGH & it's peptides are banned by WADA - it's a real performance enhancer.
It's use is also popular with TRT use as part of an anti-aging program (though HGH is very expensive compared to TRT). Check out some of the workout videos of 79 yr old Sly Stallone who uses TRT/HRT. His physique looks like that of a 35 yr old athlete. And his strength & energy in the gym is unreal.
That's why on these types of threads, I ask if guys are using TRT/HRT who have the resources to pursue these anti-aging modalities.
But no doctors prescribe HGH to treat knee arthritis. If it were really a treatment insurance companies would stop paying for knee replacements, and pay for hgh injections that cost pennies.
For advanced OA (basically bone on bone) HGH is not effective. The studies showing effectiveness were involving mild OA & moderate degeneration to the joints.
There was a time when NFL players were routinely using HGH in their rehab of injuries involving trauma to ligaments, tendons & cartilage. However, the league with the approval of the players union decided to make HGH a banned substance which curtailed it's use. I don't know if a player can get a TUE for HGH? (they can't get a TUE for TRT even in documented cases of "low-T").
When it comes to senior/middle-aged athletes & a high level fitness that they've achieved, many will brag about their accomplishments as well as training program. Many will also try to instill their trainjng regime, nutritional program & dietary supplement use on others. You see this a lot on YouTube with a bunch of showoffs & grifters. Lol
What is not known is if these guys are using TRT/HRT (I believe most are) or are just genetic outliers. 🤔
I would never take testosterone just to run faster, but if I thought it would repair my bad knees, I'd shoot up in a heart beat.
I don't think a lot of senior runners are taking TRT/HRT just to run faster. If they really wanted to run fast - and immediately - EPO would be the PED of choice.
I think they're using TRT/HRT to recover better & more quickly from workouts - especially hard ones. To feel less sore next day & be able to train hard more often. Some with a chronic injury history are also using it for reducing risk & severity of those injuries.
I'm a gym rat - 6 days a week working out at all hours at the gym. Over the years, I've talked to a lot of middle-aged/senior men on TRT - some even recreational runners that sign up & run a few local-mocal 5/10ks during the year.
Overwhelmingly, they all tell me the biggest benefit they're getting is improved recovery from hard workouts - whether with the weights or cardio. They say they feel less sore & depleted the next day. They also tell me that they sleep better, have more energy & drive, and experience an improved mental state of well-being.
As my wife says, the goal of masters racing is to get slower slower than everybody else is getting slower. You have to accept the reality that you can train harder and will still get slower. The passage of time is a relentless opponent, and you have to find your joy in the process and knowing that you have put in your best effort, and accepting whatever the result is when you have done that.
Okay, but I'll let you in on little secret.
I'm not the man that I used to be, but with the help of age grading, I don't feel that much less, either.
Link availble on request.
And once again.
I'm not the man I used to be and I'm okay with this.
There’s always a lot of negativity in this type of thread, particularly on here but wherever the subject of oldies exercising comes up. Why don’t we just keep quiet, stay in our lane and wait for the inevitable?
I am early 50s and train with and race against athletes both older and much younger, getting beaten in competition by more of both than I would like. Does it matter? No, not at all.
I train (sprints and jumps now) for health reasons, my sanity and the fact that use it or lose it is all too true as you age. Anything lost or diminished is increasingly difficult to regain.
Mostly I do it because I enjoy it. This seems to be beyond the ken of many on here and elsewhere.
My more senior friends approach it for much the same reasons. Some are exceptional for their age (see EM and WMAF champs) , others not so much. They have all found their own way of navigating the inevitable loss of performance.
Someone mentioned age grading earlier. It’s just a handy metric. I don’t bother with it, preferring to see where I am languishing on our national ladder based on the actual data. Sobering, inspiring and comical in almost equal measure.
I don’t expect to be as quick or jump as far as a teenager (both of mine are club athletes), but I am definitely going to try and beat my equally decrepit mate from another club in the next league match. Then we are going to have a laugh afterwards looking at the results board.
There’s always a lot of negativity in this type of thread, particularly on here but wherever the subject of oldies exercising comes up. Why don’t we just keep quiet, stay in our lane and wait for the inevitable?
I am early 50s and train with and race against athletes both older and much younger, getting beaten in competition by more of both than I would like. Does it matter? No, not at all.
I train (sprints and jumps now) for health reasons, my sanity and the fact that use it or lose it is all too true as you age. Anything lost or diminished is increasingly difficult to regain.
Mostly I do it because I enjoy it. This seems to be beyond the ken of many on here and elsewhere.
My more senior friends approach it for much the same reasons. Some are exceptional for their age (see EM and WMAF champs) , others not so much. They have all found their own way of navigating the inevitable loss of performance.
Someone mentioned age grading earlier. It’s just a handy metric. I don’t bother with it, preferring to see where I am languishing on our national ladder based on the actual data. Sobering, inspiring and comical in almost equal measure.
I don’t expect to be as quick or jump as far as a teenager (both of mine are club athletes), but I am definitely going to try and beat my equally decrepit mate from another club in the next league match. Then we are going to have a laugh afterwards looking at the results board.
Read through many of the posts on this thread, and I can't believe no one has yet mentioned red light therapy, also called photobiomodulation. A couple years ago, I invested a few thousand dollars in a full body red light panel (bit of a misnomer - it's NIR and IR wavelengths). It's totally worth the money for me and my husband. I'm in my mid-40s, and am able to train and recover like I was in my mid-30s, same for my husband. And over all have less aches and pains, more energy, better sleep. It takes 24 min 5 days a week (we do 12 minutes front, 12 on the back). I listen to an audiobook or play on my on my phone, so it goes quickly.
Try finding a red light bed near you and pay the few hundred for a month package or whatever to try it out. The beds are ridiculously expensive (well over $100K), but panels are affordable, just make sure they're from a reputable company and not a China knock-off.