Issue 176
You’ve progressed from student to master and can still teach your opponents a few lessons.
At your age you can still compete and don’t have to be relegated to being a drunken master. Being older means you have to be smarter. “You must take advantage of your perspective on things,” says Dion Riccardo, a 20-year veteran MMA coach.
“This is something the young athlete does not have. You need an action plan that focuses on maintaining strength, keeping your weight down, agility and flexibility. Being more disciplined and focused to stay on track with your action plan is the advantage of veterans. And balance out hard training with recovery, so for every hour of strength training you should do an hour of yoga.” This will keep you balanced and injury free.
WISE VETERANS SHOULD FOCUS ON
1: Keeping your weight down
Older shouldn’t mean a bigger weight class. A five-point increase in your BMI – about 25lb or 12kg – can make your testosterone levels drop to those of guys a decade older, found research in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The solution? Breakfast. Older men on low-calorie diets who crack onto eggs at the start of their day were 65% more likely to be lean than those who quaffed a bagel with the same number of calories, found a study in the International Journal of Obesity.
2: Maintaining muscle and strength
“After 35 your bone loss outstrips its replacement, and by 50 this imbalance, especially on the weight-bearing joints like your knees and hips, makes you more injury prone than Wile E Coyote,” says Chaplin. Between the ages of 57 and 86 your body dries out and you’ll be made of 54% water rather than the 61% your fresh-faced peers are made of. It’s a good time to develop a thirst for water throughout the day and increase your intake after training.
3: Staying mentally sharp to hold onto your skills.
Adults who did moderate cardio four days a week had more blood flow in the area of their brain where memories are formed, according to a Columbia University study.
This increased blood flow can signal the growth of new brain cells.
And another study found people who did regular strength training saw a 13% jump in their performance on memory test.
WISE VETERANS SHOULDN’T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT
1: Intense long-winded cardio
High intensity aerobic intervals (like two to four minute sparring session) improve circulation better than the steady-state exercise (running at the same hum-drum pace), found a study in Journal of American College of Cardiology.
2: Aging and getting slower
Cells of fighters with higher omega-3 levels age slower, found research from the University of California. This is thanks to the high anti-inflammatory properties this fatty acid offers.
You can also take a chondrotin and glucosamine supplement to improve the quality and quantity of a joint’s protective synovial fluid, found a study in medical journal The Lancet.
WISE VETERANS AND ENERGY
Your testosterone, the muscle-building, anger and energy-yielding hormone, really starts to plummet.
This can make you feel depressed, irritable, disrupt sleep and reduce muscle and bone mass, found research in American Journal of Psychiatry. Lots to look forward to, eh?
To combat this, you need to keep your fat intake high, found a study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. And stick to the weight training at least twice a week, which can boost your T count up by to 49% found research.
WISE VETERANS SHOULD EAT...
Sports nutritionist Freddy Brown says you should eat all that the young gun and champion eats while including the following foods:
> Plenty of lean meat, like lamb and beef
> Multi-vitamin
> Plenty of oily fish
> All forms of dairy
> Reduced carb intake
AVERAGE fighter’s push-up total
The Washington Post reports that these how many guys could do in 12 minutes.
Age, bad condition, average, excellent
20-29, 22, 37, 62
30-39, 17, 30, 52
40-49, 11, 24, 40
50-59, 9, 19, 35
No matter what your age you should be able to crank out at least 100 push-ups in that time frame if you’re a fighter worth betting on.
WISE VETERANS SHOULD EAT...
Sports nutritionist Freddy Brown says you should eat all that the young gun and champion eats while including the following foods:
> Plenty of lean meat, like lamb and beef
> Multi-vitamin
> Plenty of oily fish
> All forms of dairy
> Reduced carb intake
THE WISE VETERAN’S WORKOUT
You need maximum results with short workouts. “Here you’ll spend 15 seconds on station A, then rest for 15 seconds, and then do 15 minutes on station B for 15 seconds,” says Riccardo, the workout’s designer. Repeat for three minutes then onto the next round.
Keep going until you’ve done this on every round. Make sure to warm-up for five to seven minutes before and ten minutes of flexibility training after.
Your ability to recover from workout to workout is now critical but with the right game plan, you can still keep competitive like a 1970s muscle car – it may be vintage but it’s still ready to race.
> Round 1
Bent-Over Rows
Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your torso over so it’s at 45 degrees to the floor and the dumb-bells hang from your shoulders. Pull the weights to the sides of your chest, pause then slowly lower to the start.
Water ball get-ups
Use a Swiss ball filled 40% with water. Lie down and place the ball on your chest. Start the movement by sitting up and while holding the water ball on your chest stand up and lay down to start over.
> Round 2
Medicine ball slam
Start this movement by holding a bounce-able medicine ball overhead. Use your whole body-slam the ball to the ground, letting it bounce up to chest height. Catch the ball and go again.
Kettlebell swing
Hold a kettlebell with both hands and let it hang in front of your body between your legs. Squat down with your feet pointed slightly out. Now flex your glutes and hips to pop the kettlebell forward so that it goes out in front of your body then return back to the squat position.
> Round 3
Victory sprawl
Start in your fighting stance. Drop down into a sprawl. Roll over onto your back putting your hand on your head. Get up to your feet without using your hands and start over.
Twister
Sit on the floor placing your right hand and left foot on the floor and raise your left hand and right foot. Put your right hand where your left foot is and vice versa. Keep moving without letting your glutes touch the ground.
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