When does age become a performance factor?
 

I think I fit the standard of many riders here. I raced poorly 25 years ago. I still ride about 4500 miles a year at a moderate pace with competitive riders. I am 61 years old and this year biking has been tough for me. I had been able to keep up a moderate pace of 18-20 MPH in past years, but am really struggling this year. My saddle time and training have stayed about the same. When does age become a factor. Today I had trouble hanging onto a couple of 30 somethings at 21 MPH. Have you slowed as you aged? Have you changed your training routine as you got older?

I read in Joe Friel's Training bible that age can start taking its toll by the late 20s. By that, he means it starts getting harder to improve. When you're younger, improvement is noticable.

it sounds like at 61.

Every year past 18, you will be getting weaker. Sad but true. You won't generally won't notice it until you're past, say, 30 or so.

Be glad you're not a tennis player... in that sport, you're considered old enough to retire at 28.

It may be true that our VO2max potential decreases with age, but it is like "only" 1% per year....so changes in your potential maximum performance should be VERY gradual.

If you notice a significant dropoff, something else is going on besides "normal" aging.

18? Where did you get this? Everything I've ever read about cycling says the peak age is around 31 or 32.

Every human on the face of the earth has their physical peak at 18. You might be in better shape at 24, or a better racer at 32, but you will never physically be better than you were at 18, assuming you maintain the same level of fitness.

To summon my best Botto - wrong

Where do you get these things? Are you just making them up or reading some crackhead blog?

First of all, women reach their peak before men, so picking a single age for both is already wrong.

Not a ton of strategy or skill or mental pressure in a marathon. Just run a steady fast pace for 26 miles. (I realize this is probably insulting to runners, but I'm trying to make it simple here)

28-32 is widely reported as the peak age of cardiovascular performance. If it was 18 there would be a lot of 18 year olds in Olympic sports, or the pro peloton, or any number of other sports. In most sports 18 is the top end of the junior range. When was the last time you saw a high school swimmer beat a 25 year old Olympian?

The 25 year old Olympian or the 30 year-old cyclist has been training for upwards or more than ten years longer than the 18 year-old. The decline from 18 to 25 is also very small.

But anyone who knows anything about biology knows that a person physically peaks (even if not in terms of athletic performance) somewhere between 18 and 22.

Sorry that you 30+ year olds can't handle the truth.

so show me some proof. If this is such simple science, cite something. I've looked, and haven't found anything to support your claim, only to support mine.

And I'm 21 by the way.

physical prowess declines after your body peaks at 18-22 years of age (as does your fluid intelligence). this is considered pretty common knowledge (though, apparently not). for sake of clarity, let's assume we're all talking about your "explosiveness", or "fast-twitch muscle action", as that seems to be genetically determined and exhibits obvious age-related declines. slow-twitch muscles are not as affected by aging, and can be more easily improved through training.

performance in competitive sports will peak a bit later, as athletes become more experienced over time (just as your crystalized intelligence increases as you age). thus, it's the balance between physical decline and increased experience that sets the "peak" for a given sport. for example, in basketball, most players "peak" at their mid-late 20's. but most players are not as athletic at 28 as they were at 18. MJ, Kobe, etc, all peaked in their late 20's in terms of winning championships, yet how often do they take it to the rim and dunk later in their careers?

for me, i peaked physically at age 17 while playing sports in highschool. as soon as i turned 22, it was a night and day difference in terms of playing sports. in my case, there were lots of confounding variables such as lifestyle (smoked, drank, gained weight, didn't exercise, was often sleep deprived, etc during college), but even as i try to get myself back into shape, i'll never get back the explosiveness i had at 17 (even though it wasn't very much to begin with). btw, i'm 26 now.

I'm definitely slower at 49 than I was at 29. I have better endurance but that's at least partly due to training for it. I'd like to think I race and train smarter now. I'd also like to think that there's no performance cliff waiting, where one year I'll just suck no matter what I do. Actually this year's been like that, but it's been due to health problems. Which may be a sign of old age. What was I talking about again?

for something that is such common knowledge, you're both having some trouble citing any research.

i don't have any of my textbooks with me at the moment, and i'm too lazy to log in to VPN to access scholarly journals.

I've never bought into that generalized canard. Too many variables relative to the specific physical activity/sport. Some sports such as gymnastics, where the athletes start at a very young age, perhaps 18 is the peak.

I get my ass handed to me regularly by 55-59 year olds. Haven't seen a 60 year old whoop me yet. But I don't ask everyone their age and I haven't ridden with everyone. Still, I would put the magic "going downhill" number at 60. Saying that I have ridden with several 70-76 year olds who do a decent job holding their own.

I think the comment about 18 being peak might be in reference to the body's ability to improve and repair itself, producing the quickest results.

So, is this inevitable? My endurance is still good, no trouble riding centuries. I just really have a hard time with speed and hills. I am probably 25 lbs over my ideal weight. I have asthma and my arthritis causes some discomfort while riding. I just really miss being able to keep up with the front of the group. Oh, and you kids keep out of my yard!!!

check this article for example: http://geronj.oxfordjournals.org/con.../P113.abstract (i can't get the whole article without library access).

they say the peak performance is mid-late 20's. this quote in the abstract "...and the relative roles of biology and learning are discussed as determinants of peak performance. " is the point i was making in the earlier post. the biology will be a downward trend as age increases and learning should increase with age. what we consider "peak performance" is determined by that balance of decreasing biological ability with increased learning/experience.

here is a link that's not as scientific that mentions just the physiological aspect: http://www.cptips.com/age.htm

i've also ridden with some strong older people. one of the reasons i got into cycling is because it's a sport that one can enjoy as one ages. but those 60+ riders who are fast/strong now, i'd bet they were straight up beasts in their 20's.

after 18-22, in general, people lose their explosiveness and their ability to recover.

I think you just identified the problem.

This.

I'm 52, racing for years, it's harder now than it was when I was in my early 40's. The older you get, the more critical being skinny is if you want to run or cycle with younger people who are fit. You can get away with 10-20 extra lbs @ age 40. Not @ age 60.

I've come to the conclusion that whether I want to race or ride with the guys that race I need to be the skinniest guy in the room or forget about it. I am working on it.

Correct.

How many 18 year olds would you see in the NFL if the league allowed it?

So if you live to 100 you have no VO2max?

Originally Posted by slushlover2
So, is this inevitable? My endurance is still good, no trouble riding centuries. I just really have a hard time with speed and hills. I am probably 25 lbs over my ideal weight. I have asthma and my arthritis causes some discomfort while riding. I just really miss being able to keep up with the front of the group. Oh, and you kids keep out of my yard!!!
You just told us your problem. Loose some weight. That's the biggest problem.