No matter your age, we all know that cycling is your ticket to good health. Whether you’re a young racer chasing glory or a veteran rider whose racing days are over, bikes offer both mental and physical benefits. But as we continue to push our limits, whether it’s a race or a long ride with friends, there’s no getting away from the truth. Age will eventually catch up with us. What changes occur in our bodies as the years pass and how do they affect cycling performance? What aging really means for cyclists, and birthday cake candles Find out how to keep striving to stay your best, no matter how many.
The phrase “Age is just a number” is often said, but as I approach my 40th birthday, I feel more anxious than excited, but I want to understand the physiological effects of aging. . How long can you keep up chasing Strava segments, climbing mountains, or doing high-intensity training sessions? When and why does your cycling performance start to decline? How can I slow the inevitable decline in performance? My quest to discover the truth requires the expertise of an exercise physiologist and an elite rider still competing in his late 40s.
maximum coefficient
outstanding statistics
4.3 ml/kg/min: average decline in VO2 max per decade over age
30 54%: Percentage of competitive male cyclists whose studies show they have low bone density for their age.
3-8%: Muscle mass decreases every 10 years after age 30 (significantly more in people who strength train).
8: Former Tour de France athletes (competed from the 1930s to the 1960s) had an average lifespan many years longer than their genetics.
As a barometer of endurance fitness and performance, VO2 max is widely regarded as the gold standard. VO2 max, defined as the maximum oxygen uptake of the cardiovascular system (the heart and lungs that supply energy to the muscles) during exercise, is genetically determined to some extent, can be improved by 10-20% with training, and increases with age. decreases. For well-trained cyclists, this decline tends to be gradual (and non-linear), less than 5ml/kg/min per decade from age 30, but from around age 35 the decline is inexorable. It will be.
“VO2 max is primarily determined by cardiac output, so how much oxygen the left ventricle pumps out per heart beat,” explains Jamie Pringle, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham. “So when you’re dealing with aging, you’re also dealing with a decline in cardiovascular function, a loss of functional size and mass in the left ventricle.” At what point does the heart start to atrophy and lose power? “If you plot VO2 max against age in a population of 20,000 people, you will see a significant decrease after the age of 35-40, but this is a population average and does not apply to trained athletes or regular “I’m not someone who exercises regularly,” Pringle says. Practice endurance. ”
For us cyclists, it’s comforting to know that if we continue to train consistently, our VO2 max will decline slowly. Personally, I haven’t noticed any performance drop yet. If your power numbers are down, I think it’s because of a lack of riding and stress in your life. Being disciplined with my fitness brings back my power and ‘agility’. However, I am almost 40 years old and am aware that my VO2 max can drop significantly if I take a long break from riding.
muscles and bones
While you may be able to prevent your VO2 max from dropping too quickly, there are other physical factors that can cause it to begin to decline as you age. Loss of muscle mass (or sarcopenia to use the technical term) occurs at a rate of 3-5% per decade starting at about age 30. “You lose muscle mass and muscle function,” Pringle asserts. If you start at a high level with enough muscle mass, you will need to drop further to get into a better position. ” This means that strength training is becoming more and more important.
(Image credit: Future)
Training your muscles can slow their decline and prevent injury. Of course, cycling itself is a form of resistance training for the legs, especially on the short, steep hills that are common in the UK. However, this is not enough because cycling is “one-dimensional” in that it only works certain muscles in one direction. “As we age, we lose weight relentlessly,” explains Stephen Harridge, professor of human and applied physiology at King’s College, London. “Strength training and resistance training become extremely important. It is the most effective way to maintain muscle function, strength, and power. If you do not supplement your endurance activities with dedicated strength training and strength training, your core and the strength of function decreases.”
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A 45-minute, twice-weekly bodyweight exercise routine that includes pull-ups, planks, and push-ups that targets a variety of muscles including your core, chest, arms, and back, and is easy to perform at home. In addition to bodyweight training, squats, lunges, and deadlifts, using weights can improve strength and power, maintain muscle mass, and improve explosive power on the bike. Professor Harridge also recommends jogging or skipping once a week. “While cycling is healthy, the fact that it’s a low-impact activity means it’s not good for maintaining bone density,” he warns. “Activities that place high impact loads, such as running, jumping, and resistance exercise, are necessary to prevent bone weakening.”
Economy and efficiency
One of the benefits of an aging population is the potential for greater economy and efficiency. Although our strength and performance may decline, our bodies continue to become more adept at conserving energy. “Efficiency refers to how much energy and oxygen your muscles require to do a given amount of work,” explains Jamie Pringle. “Engine size may be reduced, but miles per gallon may be improved. For endurance athletes, this increase compensates for some of the loss. Case studies show that well-trained and Older runners have been shown to be more efficient than younger runners, and this is related not only to age but also to training history.
This feeds into the idea that while explosive power may decline, having basic fitness will help you maintain higher power numbers for longer, even as you age. This makes time trials a great option for older riders who want to stay competitive.
Resilience and resilience
Another physiological factor that changes with age is recovery. At any age, the stimulation of training puts stress on the body, which requires time to recover and adapt. Changes that occur at the cellular level as we age require more time to recover between sessions and races in order to prepare for the next ride or race. Levels of recovery-promoting hormones such as testosterone and human growth hormone also decrease.
(Image credit: Future)
Does a longer recovery time mean a higher chance of injury? “As you get older, it’s not just that you’re more likely to get injured, it may be that you’re less likely to recover quickly from an injury,” Pringle says. “You can’t get back on your feet as quickly. Conversely, if your reaction speed, balance, etc. deteriorate, you may be more prone to crashes. And of course, the loss of muscle mass and associated strength loss means that it takes longer to recover from an injury. It may take a while.
Regardless of your age, the key principles for maximizing your recovery are getting enough quality sleep (ideally 6-8 hours each night) and eating a healthy, balanced diet. . These are principles all cyclists should follow, but they become even more important as our bodies become less resilient as we age.
accept your age
An important message emerged from our conversations with experts. That means that although we may decline physically with age, as cyclists we are still the healthiest members of society. It doesn’t matter that I’m a little slower than I was 10 years ago or that I can no longer beat much younger riders on the climbs. As you get older, your performance should be judged in relation to your age group. “Many athletes have a hard time accepting and fighting this situation,” Harridge says. It’s not a crime, you haven’t done anything wrong, it’s just the way it is. ”
All of us, including Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert, eventually slow down, lose explosive power and require more recovery time between hard rides. But the health benefits of cycling are huge, and while it doesn’t guarantee you’ll live longer than someone who doesn’t exercise, it can make you healthier and have a better quality of life. “Exercise, fitness, and its health benefits give us greater strength, power, and functional reserves,” Harridge concludes. “This makes us more independent and improves our quality of life. It’s not longevity that counts, it’s healthspan. Who wants to live for years in poor health? The real question is: It’s about how long you can stay healthy, functional, independent, active, and enjoy life.”
(Almost) 50 but still fast
At 49 years old, Chris isn’t slowing down yet.
(Image credit: Brian Jones, KIMROY PHOTOGRAPHY)
At 49 years old, Chris McNamara is still an elite-level racer, lighting up national B road races and beating riders 20 years his junior. The Sigma Sports Cannondale RT rider is also an experienced coach who works with EF Education Easy Post rider James Shaw and others.
What differences have you noticed in your race performance as you get older?
I’ve lost a little bit of my explosiveness, so I race in a different way. Now I try to escape and get a gap before climbing. Learn to use your strengths in different ways. With consistent training, you can improve your sustainable power, FTP, and repeatability year after year. In the third hour of a race, repeatability and fatigue resistance are critical.
How has your recovery progressed?
It’s definitely slowing down. Nowadays, if I race hard on Sunday, that feeling lingers on Monday and Tuesday, and I probably won’t do a hard session until Wednesday. When I was younger, I would do a quick recovery spin on Monday and be ready to race again by Tuesday. I bounced back faster. As you get older, you can still get the same high volume of exercise, but you can also replace one or two hard sessions with longer endurance rides.
Have you noticed a similar trend in coached riders?
Yes, my young rider bounces back much faster. Riders between the ages of 35 and 40 take time to rebuild their fitness after a break. Then again, riders my age probably don’t have as busy a social life as younger riders. In the past, I would often go out and have a drink after a race. Now that I don’t do that as much, recovery is easier. Sleep is also very important for your health and energy levels.
Do you also work at the gym?
I have osteoporosis, so I try to do that. I have lower back pain, so during the winter I try to do three sessions a week of free weights, squats, and walking in a weighted jacket.
How does your current VO2 max compare to when you were younger?
In my case it remains high, so I think I’m an outlier. It’s still the mid 70’s though [ml/kg/min] – Hardly lower than the mid-90s. I’m sure it will decrease eventually, but it hasn’t decreased yet.
Are you worried about your physical strength declining?
yes i will! Maybe that’s why I train with more discipline than I did when I was younger. I really enjoy training and racing, but I know I can’t do it forever. It’s great to be aggressive during the break and I hope it lasts as long as possible.
Any advice for older riders?
Consistency. As you get older, it becomes harder to come back from a break. Keep up your hard explosive workouts, VO2 intervals, and anaerobic exercise along with long endurance runs. If you stop doing them for a season or two, it’s hard to get back to your previous level. When I coach older riders, I tend to give them shorter breaks after the season. Before we reopen, we will be in a phase of gradual maintenance. For riders in their 40s or 50s, it can take three to four months to return to normal fitness after a two-month break.
