ELITE
I’M NOT AN ELITE ATHLETE. I’m just a guy
on the precipice of middle age who enjoys
running, biking, soccer and tennis. If I can
push mysel f to my physica l l i m it a couple
of times a week and still have the energy
to c rawl a rou nd w it h my daug hter, t hen
I’m satisied.
That makes me a useful ilter. The pros
have unlimited budgets and few demands
on their waking hours beyond making
themselves itter. If you want to spend
thousands – or tens of thousands – to
sleep in an oxygen pod wearing infrared
pyjamas, then knock yourself out. But
chances are you care only about things
that work, are safe and it your schedule
and budget. So trust the guy with a day
job, a bad back and a new baby. Here’s
what I learned in two years of reporting
for my book Play On.HOW DO ATHLETES PERFORM AT A TOP LEVEL
BEYOND AGE 40? THIS 41-YEAR-OLD REVEALS
STRATEGIES THAT EVEN REGULAR GUYS CAN USESTAY IN
THE GAME
BY JEFF BERCOVICIPeriodise your regimen
Theimportanceofperiodisingandtherisks
of not doing so have been drilled into my
head by the likes of soccer coach Raymond
Verheijen and exercise scientist Trent
Stellingwerff. For an elite athlete,
periodising can mean creating a structured
program of build-up and tapering that
yields peak itness at a precise time. For me,
it’s more about the principles: ramping up
training gradually, preparing my body for
speciic demands and avoiding fatigue. If
you invite me to play soccer and I haven’t
been keeping in soccer shape, or if I’m
nursing an injury I could play through, I say
no. Benching yourself sucks, but it doesn’t
suck as much as missing an entire season
because you got hurt.