Australian Mountain Bike – August 01, 2019

InAustralianmountainbiking,Mastersfields

commonlycomprisethestrongestnumbers

ofallcategories.It’seasytohypothesisewhy

thismaybe:perhapsthefieldsarestacked

withjuniorsthatmovedawayfromelitesport

becauseofthedemandsofracingatthatlevel

onlytocomebackintheirlateryears,orthose

thattooka hiatusforcareerorfamilyreasons

arenowreenteringthesportintheirlate

thirties,orsometimesit’sassimpleaspeople

discoveringhowawesomemountainbikingis,

justa littlelaterinlife.

Whateverthereason,togetthebestout

ofyourselfinthelatethird,fourth,fifth

decadeandbeyond,therearesomeimportant

considerationstomakewhendevisinga

trainingprogramthatfora mastersathlete.

Inthisarticlewewillcoversomeoftheykey

differencesbetweenmastersandjuniororelite

athletes,andhowyoucanimplementsome

everyday‘lifehacks’intoyourtrainingtoget

themostoutofyourtimeonthebike.

1

RECOVERY

Whathappenswhenyouhave

a youngfamily,a fulltimejoband

aspirationsofmountainbikingglory?Fatigue.

Fatigueiswhathappens.Thereforeit’smore

importantthanevertooptimiserecoveryfrom

highintensityandhighvolumesessionsonthe

bikeorinthegym.

Theincreasedneedforrecoveryispartly

impactedbya decreaseintestosteronelevels,

discussedbelow.Thisdecreaseinrecovery

istwopronged:mastersathletestakelonger

torecoverata cellularlevel^1 andhavehigher

perceivedexertion^2 aftermultipleharddays.

Studieshavealsofoundthatdespitethe

well-knownincreasedneedforrecoveryby

mastersathletes,theyarenotoriouslypoor

atimplementingrecoverytechniques!^3. While

muchofthismakessensewithincreased

commitmentswithage,ignoringtheimportance

ofrecoveryisshootingyourselfinthefootif

you’rea mastersrider.

Whatdoesthismeanforyouif you’rea

mastersrider?It meansthatmorecareful

planningandimplementationofrecovery

strategiesisparamountforbuildingfitness.

1 Easthope,C.andothers(2010).Effectsoftrailrunning

competitiononmuscularperformanceandefficiencyin

well-trainedyoungandmastersathletes.EuropeanJournalof

AppliedPhysiology,110:1107-1116.

2 Fell,J.andothers(2006).Performanceduringconsecutive

daysoflaboratorytime-trialsinyoungandveterancyclists.

JournalofSportsMedicineandPhysicalFitness,46(3):395-403.

3 Reaburn,P.andothers(2013).Pooruseofrecovery

strategiesinveterancyclists:anAustralianstudy.Proceedings

oftheAmericanCollegeofSportsMedicineConferenceand

WorldCongressonExerciseisMedicine,Indianapolis,USA,May

28-June1.

TRAININGHACKS

• Forjuniorandeliteriders,a typical“meso
  cycle”(mediumtermtrainingblock)consists
  of3 weeks‘on’followedbyonerecoveryweek.
  Forthemastersathlete,using2:1work:rest
  intervalscanallowforsolidworkloadinthe
  workperiods,followedbyfrequentenough
  periodsofrestandrecoverytomitigatethe
  potentialforincreasedinjuriesandexcessive
  fatigue.Thiscanbebroughtdowntoaneven
  smallerlevelbyensuringyourmacrocycles
  (weeklyblocks)featureenoughbreaksand
  intermittent‘easy’daystosupportrecovery
  inordertohittheharddayswithvigour.This
  iscalledimplementinga ‘fatigueresistant’
  trainingplan.


• Atthedailytraininglevel,consistencyin
  adoptinggoodrecoveryhygieneisparamount.
  Thisincludes:a highproteinsnackormeal
  aftertraining^4 , goodsleep,stretchingand
  otherrecoveryadjunctssuchascompression
  garmentsandmassageatkeytimes.Recovery
  stretching,foamrollingandyogaisa great
  opportunitytoinvolveyourfamily,too!

4 Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2016 Apr;26(2):168-78. doi:

10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0102. Epub 2015 Sep 24.

Postexercise Dietary Protein Strategies to Maximize Skeletal

Muscle Repair and Remodeling in Masters Endurance Athletes:

A Review.

Doering TM1, Reaburn PR, Phillips SM, Jenkins DG.

OPTIMISING FITNESS

FOR OLDER RIDERS

WORDS: ANNA BECK PHOTO: LACHLAN RYAN AND DAVE ACREE

110 - AMB