• Injuries, Expectations, and Training for the Masters and Beginner Athlete
  
• Best of April 2011

This post is dedicated to anyone over 40 35 trying to make a comeback in Masters Track, but it also applies to everyone of all ages who wants to begin Track and Field, or any sport for that matter.

I get a lot of email from readers asking for advice on making a comeback, especially the sprints.  However, the thought of a sedentary 50 year old male weighing 90kg (~200 lbs.) running a 400 meters or doing Triple Jump scares the heck out of me.

Since I like to ramble (and that’s what old guys like to do, by the way), here are some pointers and recommendations for your training plan.

The Injury Bug

The number one setback you will incur is injuries.  There are several books on injuries and how to prevent them, but I’ll try to summarize it here. 

The most common reason for getting injured is the old cliché, and that is doing too much, too fast, too soon.

John Smith of HSI gave me 3 pointers (you can read my 2005 meeting with him here) and that is:

1. when you are tired (i.e. overtraining)
2. when there is an imbalance
3. when the mind wants to do something the body doesn’t want to do

My personal stance on injuries (and I’ve had a lot) stems from two reasons:

1. too much repetitive pounding, twisting or force on muscles, tendons and joints
2. when you are compensating for a weak muscle

An example of too much pounding and twisting are Achilles injuries.  Having good ankle mobility and Achilles flexibility is one thing, but that cannot cure the high volume of pounding, twisting and force of sprinting.  Think carpal tunnel syndrome in your wrist for computer people.  Iimagine your Achilles has 200,000 miles on them, and you can’t change the shock absorbers.  You can ice, take Advil, and stretch all you want, but you’ll have to get those tendons stronger if you don’t want the soreness down the road.

As for compensating, Loren Seagrave once said, “Elite athletes are the best compensators in the world”.  Read the article Hamstring Injuries, the Iliopsoas and Imbalances for more information.

Now that I’ve depressed the hell out of you, I’ll talk about prevention and hopefully cure.

Considerations and Expectations

If you had world class speed as an open athlete, chances are you’ll do well in your age group.  If you were a mediocre athlete back then, chance are you’ll be mediocre in the Masters.  There are exceptions to the attrition rule where “average” athletes have shown little attrition and become world class at the Masters level (i.e. USA’s James Chinn, Canada’s Mike Sherar and Holland’s Eric Roeske).  And of course, how can we forget the amazing Troy Douglas or Merlene Ottey who were still competitive at 40?

If you are curious what to expect (with exceptions), I wrote an article about realistic goals from Open to Masters where I mentioned some basic formulas or using WMA Age Grade tables.  Again, these are just guidelines.

Using the car analogy, the real key is how much mileage you have in your body.  Some people are born with a durable car, others are born with a delicate car (or sometimes lemon?).  Over do it, and you end up with Achilles tendonitis, bad knees, or chronic hamstrings problems.  What used to take 2 weeks to recover is now 8 weeks or more.  Sadly, you can’t change shock absorbers at 100,000 kilometers or miles. 

My Top 7 Recommendations

I covered some of these topics two years ago in this article but I’ll elaborate more here.

1. Get Fit First. 

GPP (General Preparation) workouts all the way, especially for leg strength and power, and core workouts.  Tempo workouts (with light circuit training) will get your fitness back, trust me on this.

2. Lose Weight and Regain flexibility

Unless you resemble your College body, any excess weight will increase the stress on your body.  Using traditional height and weight comparisons won’t cut it, as you can gain fat and lose muscle and still have the same bodyweight.

3. Strength, Speed, and Explosive Power are Synonymous

Running fast in workouts are great, but you need strength and power from plyometrics and weight training.  Hills are great for power and stride length.  2X per week is sufficient.  For a balanced training plan, see article here.

Outside of your competition event, I believe here is the key to success: a balance of various isometric strength, dynamic strength, speed strength, power, and explosive power.  The number of sets, reps, and load (i.e. weights) will vary.

You are basically trying to prepare your body for the physical strain of a particular movement.  Unfortunately, the only way you can get better at pole vault is pole vaulting.  The only way you can get your muscles and tendons ready for pole vault is pole vaulting.

So you want to prepare the body the best you can in all forms of movement.  If you are still getting injured, you’ll have to revisit the Injury Bug section.

4. Recovery is King

World Class athletes do not work in an office 40+ hours a week, train after work, and sleep 5 hours a night.  So how do you expect world class results?

1. sleep
2. active recovery
3. passive recovery
4. water and proper hydration
5. massage, foam rollers
6. EMS
7. microstretching, resistance stretching, yoga
8. compression clothing
9. supplements (i.e. ZMA, glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, etc)
10. breathing techniques
11. ice baths, contrast baths (hot/cold)
12. Active Therapeutic Movements
13. ASTYM treatment 
14. Low Level Laser therapy
15. Copper, Magnetic & Titanium Bracelets, and PhysioBalm
16. muscle rubs, arnica, traumeel

5. Nutrition is Queen

You’ll need to get your weight down and lose the excess fat.  You’ll be surprised what 5 pounds of weight loss will feel like.  Avoid dieting, and use caloric expenditure as your weight loss mechanism, not caloric restriction.  Many people try to substitute supplements in exchange for bad nutrition, which is a bad idea.  Whatever you eat, try to have the foodstuff packed with vitamins, minerals, good fats, and fiber.

6. Train on Grass… Surfaces, that is (no Ross Rebagliati jokes please!)

Get an old pair of spikes, get long spike pins or needles, and do sprint work on grass surfaces.  You’ll want to go on a synthetic track and run fast just to feed your ego, but your legs and joints will pay the price the next day (or two!)  Since I recommend running top speeds at 95%, there’s no need to go 100%, especially in practice.  At the World’s Finals, well, that’s a different story.

Bud Winter was the first person to prove the idea that the key to winning in sports was not to extend a 100 or 110 percent effort.  He said “Far more can be achieved with a four-fifths effort”.   His book So You Want to be a Sprinter covers this topic, and his classic book Relax and Win is scheduled to be re-released.

Speaking of World’s, some athletes worry about running the rounds, but you have to get to the starting line of the heats first!

7. Growth Hormone and Testosterone… naturally!

I don’t have to tell you that Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Testosterone is the holy grail to staying young and being stronger (but I just did?).  For those who want to cheat, that’s your prerogative, but I rather get mine naturally.  Here are 3 ways:

I mentioned ZMA in past articles on the Blog.  ZMA is simply Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B-6, and taken before bedtime (in the correct formulation) to increase natural testosterone, and provide a deeper sleep.  A new formulation is available.   I’ve used this in the past, and I feel it works.  Some experience lucid dreams.

But the good news is exercise is known to stimulate HGH release, and the higher the intensity of the exercise, the more HGH will be released.

Phil Campbell, author of the book Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness, recommended limiting carbs up to 2 hours after exercise so it does not inhibit the natural Human Growth Hormone (HGH) from being secreted from post-exercise activities.  Remember, this advice is for those who want to benefit from natural HGH, and not fat loss or recovery.  For recovery, you’ll need a good post workout shake.  You’ll have to decide what works best for you.

Good Luck to everyone on your comeback trail!

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