How do sports people know whether they have hit their all time physical prime? How do they know whether they have started to decline as an athlete or a sportsman or sportswoman?
Whether we are talking about a professional athlete, an elite runner, an amateur sports competitor or a recreational and casual sports person or even a a regular gym goer, at some point in our sporting careers, if you like, we all come to a point where we reach a physical prime condition as an athlete or a competitor and we all at some point begin declining.
The ages when sports competitors peak can vary depending on what sport or exercise they compete or train in depending on which attributes are most vital in order to perform in that particular sport.
For example, a footballer whose game relies on physical attributes such as speed, endurance, athleticism and power will most likely reach their peak in their mid to late 20's as that is when they will be most developed as an athlete. Despite this, some footballers, who have great intelligence on the pitch and doesn;t solely rely on physical athletic attributes may peak going into their 30's because they don't have to run around to make an impact on a football match.
Moving onto other sports, tennis players often peak in their early to mid 20's as in this sport, athleticism, extreme energy, fitness and explosiveness are vital to performing to their highest level in this sport. Rugby League and Rugby Union players tend to peak in their mid to late 20's as their sports require a combination of speed, power, strength and a fresh body able to cope with the collisions the sport creates.
Despite the importance of physical speed and power, in some sports, it is very possible to peak well into your 30's. Marathon and long distance running is a fine example. Endurance is one attribute that tends to get better with age as your muscle memory develops over time. Many top distance track athletes such as Haile Gebrselassie have moved up to the marathon discipline after peaking in their late 20's and he became a world record holder in the men's marathon well into his 30's. Just recently, we have seen our very own double Olympic, World and European champion Mo Farah (see below) try his hand at the marathon and the long distance road running, as he approaches his early 30's.
At 29, right now, I still feel like I am in my physical peak years, but for how much longer I really don't know. In myself, I feel if I still have the desire to push myself when I train, I am convinced I have another year at the very least at my peak, maybe two, who knows?
I feel I really began to hit my peak and notice a huge difference in my speed, explosiveness, power and strength when I just hit 27. In my early 20's, my main strength and attribute in sports was my natural pace and speed, my quick footwork and my all round general fitness and endurance.
Although I relied on my natural attributes such as speed I knew in myself that if I trained hard, as I got further into my 20's, I would get faster, fitter and more explosive, providing I didn't suffer from any muscle or ligaments at a young age and thankfully I didn't.
It was definitely the age of of 25 when I feel my body developed into a fully developed athletic man's body. In my early 20's, I had all that speed, energy, quickness and fitness but I also lacked power and upper body strength, those were attributes I had to work on extra, but when I hit 25 and when I got myself fully fit, I noticed a massive difference in my body, it was almost like someone had flicked a switch and it happened overnight.
When I was 26, I probably didn't keep myself as fit as I should have all the time, due to various lifestyle reason's, but when I was fully fit, I noticed huge differences, my speed was getting better and so was my endurance, whether I was playing football or running the Leeds Half Marathon. Although, due to a bone injury in my foot, I wasn't performing anywhere near my best in my football, physically I knew I was coming into my physical peak years so I decided to join Kirkstall Harriers running club. I always felt I had a lot of potential in distance running and I knew that if I didn't take my running to the next level now, then I would regret it later in life.
In the ages of 27,28,29 and now as I approach 30 in a couple of months time, I just can't even believe how super fit I can get myself when I am in full intense training and competition. I have surprised myself and from this, I now have super self belief and confidence in what I feel I can achieve with my fitness levels. It's the best feeling in my life and I really don't want it to end, but I know it will at some point.
Below is my general training & competition plan when I am not in my marathon season training:
MONDAY - Olympique - competitive five a side football
TUESDAY - Indoor football (training match)
WEDNESDAY - Gym (weight training & core strength)
THURSDAY - Day off / rest
FRIDAY - Gym (body weight exercises, core, strength & conditioning)
SATURDAY - Day off / rest
SUNDAY - Race Day (now & again), Inter Mi Lager - competitive five a side football
EXTRA - Boxing pad-work or punch-bag for extra fitness - no regular routine
EXTRA - Whenever I am bored, I'll go down for 30 press ups or a 60 second plank, or run up and skip steps and things like that, any little ways of keeping fit or working on muscles during the day are a huge help.
Below is a picture of what my training and competition schedule looked like as a 21 - 22 year old, and you can see a difference in the amount of load I put on my body back the and how specific my training tends to be now in order to get the best out of myself.
I have my own ways of documenting my progress as an athlete and documenting my fitness levels. I have a Microsoft Word document on my USB stick where over the years I have a list of all physical attributes and I have recorded down which age or ages I feel I was at my absolute best or strongest in that particular attribute. From this, I work out when I am in my prime.
See my Physical Attributes List that I use to record below:
I have really set myself challenges during my physical peak years and I am proud of some of the things I have achieved. See some of the things I am proud to have achieved over the last two or three years below, I've provided a picture with a caption too.
Generally, I usually get myself to my ultimate peak physical condition what I called my 'super fit' condition, probably twice a year. At this time, I don't feel like I could get myself any fitter in whatever it is I am working on, whether it's marathon running, strength and conditioning, core strength or athleticism. Most year's, particularly the last couple, it tends to be late winter / early spring time and autumn time when I reach my ultimate peaks in the year.
When this happens I know, as my body just seems at the top level. I know I have reached this point for example when I play football, I can keep running and running and running, changing pace suddenly, full of energy and explosiveness and despite that, I have the endurance to keep it up all game without feeling like I am slowing down, inside myself, I just know when I have hit a peak.
When this happens, from my own personal experience I know the only way is down from there not up. In order to avoid burning myself out and not making any more progress I rest my body. This may only be for two or three weeks, but it is wise to give your body a rest so you can re-charge your batteries but most of all, let your muscles recover and develop, I've learned that rest is very important in training.
Of course there are times in the year when I lose fitness and there are times when I am not competitive / match fit. Usually the Christmas / New Year / Birthday (December/January) time of the year I am at my un-fittest, it is the party season for me so there is a lot of drinking alcohol and eating dessert food around that period. I think you need periods like this though, so you keep the desire to want to train hard for something. After the New Year period, I usually go straight into my marathon training. The summer holidays are also a time in the year when I can lose a lot of fitness with the party holidays, summer drinking and BBQ eating, it's all part of the fun. During this time I like to keep active but I don't tend to enter many competitions because I know I probably won't be at my best.
Have any of my physical attributes started declining?...
Although I still feel I am at my physical prime, there are two attributes I think I have noticed slightly, not massively but slightly on the slide. Some attributes have never been at a higher peak such as my strength and conditioning, my endurance and my core muscles but I do feel two are on the slide which are:
Explosiveness
My explosiveness has always been one of my biggest strengths, the ability in football to turn my pace with great force and athleticism and my ability to accelerate past a defender and hot a fast shot off. I feel I am not doing that as often and where as a couple of years ago, at a certain level of standard I could beat two sometimes three defenders almost at will, I am now beating the one, or pushing at beating a second, which for me is what made me the player I am.
I have started changing some of my training techniques to try and keep my speed off the mark but from this slight decline in my explosiveness, I have noticed a decline in power.
Power
Power is something I've never possessed naturally, and to be honest, it was always something I struggled to build too. But it wasn't until I was about 27, when from my training and trying different things, I realised that most of your power actually comes from your legs. So I worked really hard on improving my explosiveness and not relying on my natural explosiveness speed, I worked on improving it. From this at around 28 I started developing loads of power I had never had before and using the speed of movement from pushing off my legs to create power, whether that was a shot on goal in football, running up a hill in a race or having a race in s print finish with a competitor. I knew it wasn't going to last forever but I enjoyed that power while I had it and there is no doubt in my mind, that with the slight decline of my explosiveness, my power has really declined this last half a year or so.
Fighting the decline...
Although I don't think I am massively declining, I know that I may not have a great deal of time left at my peak, so I have been looking at ways to fight the decline. Whether that is lifestyle changes, new fitness training or new ways of recovery, there are always different things we can do.
It is something that I wanted to give a go and have been thinking and talking about it over the last year or so. Although for me it is just something I am doing for fitness, I did set myself the challenge of learning the sport, putting myself out of my comfort zone. I did go down to a proper 'amateur boxing' class with a running friend of mine but to be honest, although I enjoyed the session and got a 'buzz' from it, my technique is way off and I think it is something I will keep doing just for fitness, where technique isn't massively important. However, the door is always there to at some point learn the art of boxing and maybe when I am older, I will do this as a challenge to set myself and as a way to keep my fitness up, who knows?
Over training & competing in my youth days & taking rest weeks in the now...
One thing I have learned over the years is that rest is important, particularly as you get older. In order to keep my energy levels and speed, I want to keep my body fresh so I can train hard. So, if I ever feel I am feeling a bit tired physically, that is my body telling me I need a little rest, so I may miss a session, or even rest for a week or two from a particular type of training. I think rest becomes more important as we get older.
In my younger days I used to over train (see my schedule on my old training plan from 2007) and compete far too much and probably play way too much football for different teams, there were times I just burned myself out. Despite the fact that I was really fit, my body just didn't have the energy and I felt jaded and tired at times which meant there were periods I wasn't performing.
So from my experience, it's all about listening to how your body feels...
Burning the candle at both ends...
In my early 20s to mid 20s I went through a period where I used to burn the candle at both ends, which really wasn't good for my body. I'd keep myself at a high level of fitness during the week but then I'd also abuse my body partying and binge drinking. It definitely was taking a toll, not so much on my body but at the time my health I think. I ran two half-marathon's on no sleep straight after been out drinking the night before.
I would regularly play competitive football matches after been out all night partying and although I was fit at the time, I wasn't always in a 'fit condition' to compete and when I was younger I could get away with it but it eventually takes its toll on your body and health and I don't advise it. As I have got older and matured I don't do things like this any more, the party lifestyle and the sports life style don;t really mix.
It is a sport where you don't necessarily have to be at your physical athletic prime to excel in. Endurance and experience are the key elements in succeeding in long distance running. Endurance is one thing that gets better with age due to muscle memory and that, combined with tactical experience of running a race can give a marathon runner that great combination to keep getting PB's well into their 30's and I feel this is one sport, that if I dedicate more time into my training I may keep getting better and potentially peak going into my mid 30's if I keep that desire to challenge myself.
Thankfully and touch wood (touching my head), I've never had any major long term injuries in sport. Don't get me wrong I have had a few injuries and some quite bad ones but they have been injuries that I know will guarantee recover and were just short term injuries.
One thing some of these injuries needed was rest and that has been where I, particularly in my younger days when wrong, I carried on training or competed and made them worse, ending up been out of action longer.
I have an injury now, a tear in my right calf, but I now know from past experience I need to rest it fully before trying to return as not resting can effect injuries in the long term, long term damage is not what any of us need as sports people, as it is frustrating when you can;t physically do something. I have learned that injuries happen in sport and you just have to accept it.
Burning the candle at both ends and competing in sport in a dehydrated state is definitely what has cause most of my injuries and although I know that, I still haven't learned my lesson on that side of things, that is why I know it is important to look after my body in other areas of life.
List of significant injuries I have suffered:
Grade 1/2 right calf tear (football and running)
1 week to now - on going
I.T. band knee pain 2014 (marathon)
1 month
Achilles Tendionapathy 2013 (marathon & overuse)
2 months
Grade 2 left calf tear 2012 (football)
3 months on and off
Turf Toe foot metertarsal joint sprain 2010 (football)
6 months on and off
Severe Ankle sprain 2006 (football)
1 month
As you can see in the above picture, I have always set myself challenges and ambitions in sport and all but one I have failed in. I have some future challenges that I haven't yet started and some that are on going and I believe I can achieve them all.
I am now personally very content with the challenges and achievements I have completed in sport, but I still have the desire to challenge myself both physically and mentally.
I have achieved my most important ambitions (sub 3 hour marathon & 1,000 goals) at a young age, still at my peak and I am excited about what else I can set myself as a challenge and what else I can achieve. Any suggestions would be of great help.
CHARITY FOR LONDON MARATHON 2015:
I have decided that the charity I will run the Virgin London Marathon 2015 for is MIND...
More details to be released after Christmas...
Richard Kennedy-Joyce.
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