Why are the male masters runners so muscular?

There are a couple of masters guys in my area who frequently compete in national track meets, break age group records, etc.

They are in their 60s/70s and if you go back into their FB photos, they looked like normal middle aged men ten years prior.

But they have lost a lot of body fat, have put on a ton of muscle and are very vascular.

I think the TRT epedemic is huge in Masters track and am surprised USADA doesn't test those guys more often.

TN Boy wrote:

There are a couple of masters guys in my area who frequently compete in national track meets, break age group records, etc.

They are in their 60s/70s and if you go back into their FB photos, they looked like normal middle aged men ten years prior.

But they have lost a lot of body fat, have put on a ton of muscle and are very vascular.

I think the TRT epedemic is huge in Masters track and am surprised USADA doesn't test those guys more often.

I don’t think there is a “huge epidemic” but I think you are correct that some Master’s athletes are on banned substances, as are many younger athletes. There are steroid warning signs posted in the locker rooms at gyms. I’ve heard that in some gyms with private showers men will go into a shower in pairs so they can inject each other (with drugs, need to qualify that with all the smart alecks here). One of the biggest groups of PED abusers is high school boys, mainly for football but other sports as well. Someone told me one of the top high school distance runners many years ago was on steroids in high school and college.

Watch out when you make statements about people being “very vascular”. There are people who naturally have large veins. When people have low body fat percentages the veins show. Barry “Steroid Boy” Bonds looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy when he was juiced so not all dopers are vascular.

seattle prattle wrote:

Hey, to the last poster, this is a bit off-topic, but by the sounds of it, have you tried active recover and stretching? I know i would still feel stiff after hard workouts even 3 days later if it weren't for jumping right onto a solid stretch session and a concerted effort to move around that night or the next day (or both). I've tried it both ways and it does most definitely make a difference.

I do lots of stretching. Active recovery helps but even with that recovery takes longer than when I was young.

I consider it a huge compliment to be accused of using drugs.

One interesting thing about genetics and aging is that many people who live to great age seem to still kind of age badly but just stay alive longer. They look like they are 60 starting at 40. Kind of like Grandparents back in the day.

Conversely people can age very well and keel over at 70.

Hard to say which is better, quality versus quantity.

darkwave wrote:

Very similar for women, if not easier. Some menopause drugs contain small amounts of testosterone. You don't even need to go to an anti-aging clinic to get put on those.

Where I get suspicious is if I see a woman who has been running for some time suddenly have a jump in performance around age 48-50 - about the same time menopause should be hitting with an associated drop in performance.

That would explain Hitchings.

3)

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/one-handed-handstand-4233024.jpg

That would be a lot more impressive as a movie clip. Isn't it just a frame picked from a cartwheel? Impressive, but not earth-shattering...

Testo... duh

If what you say is correct then some of the best athletes in the world would be in their fifties. But they aren't.

Armstronglivs wrote:

Dad Strength wrote:

False. There is old man strength. You just never had it. Not every man develops it. It is more of a by-product of manual labor.

I am almost 50 and exactly the same weight as I was at 18. But I'm a lot stronger now.

If what you say is correct then some of the best athletes in the world would be in their fifties. But they aren't.

The "Great One" , Wayne Gretzky once said , "anyone in their 40's that say , i'm just as athletic in my 40's as I was in my 20's , must have been really, really awful in their 20"s.

Armstronglivs wrote:

Dad Strength wrote:

False. There is old man strength. You just never had it. Not every man develops it. It is more of a by-product of manual labor.

I am almost 50 and exactly the same weight as I was at 18. But I'm a lot stronger now.

If what you say is correct then some of the best athletes in the world would be in their fifties. But they aren't.

The best manual laborers are.

analogy man wrote:

Armstronglivs wrote:

If what you say is correct then some of the best athletes in the world would be in their fifties. But they aren't.

The "Great One" , Wayne Gretzky once said , "anyone in their 40's that say , i'm just as athletic in my 40's as I was in my 20's , must have been really, really awful in their 20"s.

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky never even tried to be n athlete in his 40s. How would he know?

TN Boy wrote:

There are a couple of masters guys in my area who frequently compete in national track meets, break age group records, etc.

They are in their 60s/70s and if you go back into their FB photos, they looked like normal middle aged men ten years prior.

But they have lost a lot of body fat, have put on a ton of muscle and are very vascular.

I think the TRT epedemic is huge in Masters track and am surprised USADA doesn't test those guys more often.

It wouldn't matter much if USADA increased IC testing because athletes can easily find glow times for the particular PED(s) they're using and time the washout period accordingly (I've heard some anti-doping experts say that elites that positive IC are "stupid dopers." Lol).

OOC testing is the only effective measure in detering doping to some degree. For example, the Kenyans for the longest time had virtually no OOC testing. And very few ever tested positive IC. Then over the last few years OOC was better organized & structured and bam: numerous Kenyan doping positives with some of their top elites (e.g., Kiprop, Bett, Jebet, Sumgong, etc).

IC testing means nothing these days (only the dopey dopers get caught). OOC is more of a deterrent because PED(s) users who are on their pre-comp cycle and build-up toward their target event never known when the testers might show up. And refusing an OOC test goes down the same as a positive in terms of punitive measures.

Dad Strength wrote:

Armstronglivs wrote:

If what you say is correct then some of the best athletes in the world would be in their fifties. But they aren't.

The best manual laborers are.

And what competition is that?

Jagr wrote:

analogy man wrote:

The "Great One" , Wayne Gretzky once said , "anyone in their 40's that say , i'm just as athletic in my 40's as I was in my 20's , must have been really, really awful in their 20"s.

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky never even tried to be n athlete in his 40s. How would he know?

You missed the point. There's a reason why he wouldn't have been still trying to compete in his forties. It's called decline. So name the world record holders in their forties and fifties.

And I don't mean age group record holders.

Armstronglivs wrote:

Dad Strength wrote:

The best manual laborers are.

And what competition is that?

What is being men.

Armstronglivs wrote:

You missed the point. There's a reason why he wouldn't have been still trying to compete in his forties. It's called decline. So name the world record holders in their forties and fifties.

Eliud Kipchoge ?

Clean buff stud wrote:

I’m 59, have never taken T or any other banned substance. Have great skin, strong muscles and my cardiologist told me I have the heart of a 20 year old athlete. Some of us are genetically blessed.

As a cardiologist I can say with 100% certainty that while you could possibly be in superb shape, at age 59 you in no way have the heart of a "20 year old athlete". At least not any 20 year old athlete who competes in any endurance sport. If your doctor told you that he's full of excrement.

Armstronglivs wrote:

Dad Strength wrote:

The best manual laborers are.

And what competition is that?

Bricklaying competitions and lumberjack type stuff.