10,000+ steps. Did you know that the current marathon record for 70-74 year olds (held by Canadian Ed Whitlock in 2:54) is lower than the time of the winner of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 (Greek Spyridon Louis, who ran the 42.195 kilometers in 2 h 58 min)? Did you imagine that we could still improve our performance after 100 years, as demonstrated by cyclist Robert Marchand?
At a time when master athletes (aged over 40) often represent more than half of the participants in endurance events such as marathons, trails and triathlons, teacher-researcher Romuald Lepers (Inserm, University of Burgundy, Dijon) had the good idea to dedicate a well-documented book to them Master athlete, train and perform at 40, 50 and over… (Outdoor-editions, 164 p., 25 euros).
For the researcher, himself a triathlete, who has been studying for fifteen years the performance of those who were previously called veterans, it is obvious: master athletes are a model of successful aging. The decline in physical abilities begins around 35-40 years, and accelerates after 75 years, but the pursuit of regular training and practice in competition can slow it down. This is the case for maximal oxygen consumption or VO2max, the main index of performance in endurance. “From the age of 40, it decreases by about 10% every ten years, but the decrease can be limited to 7% per decade with regular training”, emphasizes Romuald Lepers. This news is all the more gratifying since VO2max also makes it possible to predict cardiovascular mortality, all causes combined.
Maintenance of VO2max and muscle mass
The observations of the French researcher and another team in elite master athletes – that is to say holders of world records – allow us to understand why these athletes remain very efficient with age. “By studying the physiological characteristics of two marathon runners, we have shown that they maintain a speed corresponding to 90-94% of their VO2max during the event, which is exceptional in terms of endurance. The younger elites are around 85%”, details Romuald Lepers. Other good news, for athletes who remain so throughout their lives, training can slow down muscle aging, limiting the loss of muscle strength to 5% per decade, compared to 8% in the general population.
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