Middle-Age-itis

 I am not turning 40…just wanted to clear that up. I am a few years off that number, but I have many friends that turn the big “4-0″ this year. I have some other friends that are turning or have recently turned 50 as well. Whether you see middle age as 40 or 50…or any age, it really does not matter. Middle age is not a physical condition (it’s not a condition at all), rather it is a mental outlook. Either way, if you are within the ages of 35-50 you probably are feeling a bit different about your fitness than you did when you were in your twenty’s and early thirty’s.

I am a firm believer that your age does not mean a whole lot. I have written in the past about age and how it isn’t a good excuse to stop doing what you want to do or perform how you want to perform. The only difference now is that you have to go about it in a slightly different way.

Once you pass the 35-year mark (give or take a few years) in most cases, you will have to do a small amount of “preventive work” to maintain your health and more so, make positive gains. Your body will not recover as it once did. Even if you feel “tremendous” and think you can take on the world, recovery rates will slow down. This is just part of the aging process. With that said, taking the proper steps to age like a competitive athlete, or a fitness god, will have you feeling invincible and you wont even know how old you really are.

Reaching Middle Age or just getting older does not mean you have to stop your hard-core training or stop competing in weekend flag football games. It does not mean you can’t be as active as you once were. It only means that you have to take a few extra steps along the way to ensure you improve and stay healthy.

I currently train an 82-year-old woman three times a week, for an hour each session. She does 45 assisted chin-ups per session, 45 full body weight squats, and a plethora of other “advanced” exercises for her age. She still works full time everyday and is more fit than many people are half her age.

Last year, I trained a 70-year-old competitive baseball player. He is a pitcher that still throws in the 70s. He trained with me 3 days a week and did a full spectrum of sports specific drills and a lot of what some would call “hard-core” training. Sled dragging, barbell squats, resisted running, etc… were common training exercises for him. He went on to play in the World Series in his league and won, while pitching a two-hitter.

You see, age is really just number and to use it as an excuse for not being able to train or play sports is pretty lame. People are doing it all of the time, and these people are doing it into their 60s, 70s and 80s.

Here are some things you can do if you have already crossed that “middle age” line:

• Work on your hip strength and hip mobility every day. Simple exercises such as leg swings (front and back and side to side) will do wonders. Stretch your hamstrings, hip flexors, and keep your hips mobile. Also, incorporate squats, and lunges into your routine.

• Keep your shoulder complex strong. Make sure you are including pulling exercises into your weekly plan. Whether it is chin-ups, or rows of some sort, pull more, and push less. If you are a bench press fiend, get out of that mind set. You do not need to bench all of the time to be strong and healthy. If you are only benching and not doing the right amount of pulling to offset the imbalance that you are creating, you will be in trouble very soon. Download my free report for more information on the “Push/Pull” problem.

• Take extra time to warm up before you exercise or compete. If you play pick up basketball, or tackle football, or just workout in the local gym, take about 10-15 minutes before to get all of your joints moving and warm. Do some body weight squats, lunges, small hops back and forth, jump rope, etc… just move all of the joints for a few minutes. Break a sweat and make sure you do not forget about your ankles, knees, and shoulders since those are the three areas we see the most injuries among everyone, especially older athletes.

• Do not forget about working on your grip. Your grip will be one of the first things to go as you age. Work on it. Again, download my free report to find out great grip saver exercises that you can do. Having a strong grip will make your life much easier and make you a much stronger and better athlete.

• Force recovery. Many people forget to recover. Once you are done playing or training, make sure you take active steps to ensure your body’s recovery. Lying on the couch and popping some Advil will not cut it. Do some slow stretching after you are done, followed by a 15-minute walk. Many people make the mistake of going home and not moving. You need to allow your body to fix itself. Finally, do not underestimate the value of ice. If you are sore or hurting, ice it. Cold application can go a long way. Get a bag, fill it with some ice, and place it on the area for 20 minutes. Do this as much as you need too. It might seem uncomfortable at first, but it will go a long way.

• Get your core going. Make sure you incorporate “core” strengthening into your workouts. The core is much more than abs. Low back, all abdominals, upper back and glutes make up the core. Try some planks each training session, followed by some standing medicine ball work.

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