Endurance

Pagina: Anti-Aging For Men

Endurance

For those who participate in endurance sports, there is even more to be cheerful about. There is less loss of the endurance capacity that sustains us in a marathon than there is of the muscle strength that counts so heavily in an anaerobic event such as a sprint. Read on.

Endurance is defined as the capacity of the body to sustain while performing continuous submaximal contractionsthat is, maintaining a less than all-out pace for an extended period of time. This is why many runners, swimmers, cyclists, or cross-country skiers gravitate toward longer races as they age. Such a progression is testimony to how endurance predominates over strength as we age. We may not be faster, but at least we can go longer.

When age-related changes in athletes over 30 are reviewed, running speed of men over 40 declines less with longer races than with shorter races as compared with similar times for younger athletes. This difference is substantiated by microscopic changes found in our neurons as well as at the muscle, tendon, and cartilage level. Strength (speed) losses are greater than endurance losses, and results in the sprint are more likely to decline with age than in the marathon. Losses are also greater in events such as high, long, and triple jumps, where explosive strength becomes a more significant factor.

One theory, by the way, on why older men perform better at longer races is that many opt to avoid rigorous, intense, and often painful interval training required for the shorter length races. In other words, although they are able to compete in shorter events, they often choose not to. As the body changes, so does the mind, or maybe vice versa.

With years (should) come(s) wisdom. anti-aging diet