Training Principles and Techniques – below are some tips to improve your fitness level, help minimise injuries and help you to have a more enjoyable time.

Incorporate Interval Work. Start by incorporating 30-second to 2-minute high-intensity intervals into workouts once or twice a week. You can do this with any mode—for example, running, cycling, elliptical training or swimming. If you are new to interval training, start with a 1:3 exercise to rest/recovery ratio. For example, perform a high-intensity, near-maximal effort for 30 seconds followed by 90 seconds of low- intensity exercise. As you adapt to the intervals, you will need less recovery time between efforts, and you can add in progressively longer intervals. The ratio can be gradually reduced to 1:2 and then 1:1. Also, begin with 3 sets of intervals and work up to 5 or more sets in a single workout, depending on length of workout time and work: rest ratio.

Add Resistance Training. Even die-hard endurance athletes will need to include resistance training as an integral part of their routine. The benefits for an older athlete are almost endless, including reducing the incidence of injury, enhancing performance and increasing daily functional abilities. However, many older athletes are still under the impression that resistance training will slow them down, bulk them up and impair their performance. Just the opposite will happen. Muscle power (the ability to generate force quickly—calculated by multiplying force by velocity) is a key aspect of many competitive events. Power is of significant concern to an aging athlete because muscle power declines earlier and more precipitously than muscle strength.

Use pneumatic cable columns, resistance tubing, aquatics, medicine balls, body weight and other tools to increase power-generating capabilities.

Take a Whole-Body Approach. Not all strength-training routines are created equal, so take a whole-body approach. Whole-body functional routines that integrate movement patterns and utilise multiple muscle groups simultaneously will be the most advantageous in enhancing performance and health and in achieving functional longevity. The combination movement will challenge the integration of all of the engaged muscles by causing them to work together in a coordinated fashion. This allows you to be much more efficient with your session time while also training in a more functional manner.

Build in Adequate Recovery Time. Rest and recovery are critical to any athlete’s success, and particularly crucial for masters athletes; ensure adequate recovery time, as aging muscles and energy systems take longer to recover from training sessions. Athletic performance and susceptibility to illness and injury are also adversely affected without adequate recovery time. While some athletes will know and allow for this through personal experience, others will feel they need to maintain the training habits (including session frequency and time between sessions) of their more youthful days.

Take the Multidisciplinary Approach. When caring for masters athletes, trainers are not alone, nor should they be. As a matter of fact, only by working in concert with physical therapists, dietitians, physicians (primary care and specialists), chiropractors, naturopaths, massage therapists and athletic trainers, can personal trainers truly be effective. Proactively communicate with other members of an athlete’s healthcare team by requesting information and consultation on issues that fall under their expertise and by referring the athlete to them for appropriate diagnosis, treatment and/or follow-up when warranted.

Further recommendations

For competing older athletes - yes, that’s you -  it is important to:

•  check any health or injury issues.  A medical clearance may be advisable for some types of activities so  check with your medical practitioner

•  include longer warm up and cool down periods

•  provide alternatives to reduce intensity of activities

•  include longer recovery periods between activities

•  listen to your bodies feedback on the intensity of training

•  be aware that while strength decreases with age, it can be improved with training

Do utilise the services provided by our Macquarie University’s Year 5 student Chiropracters to have treatment pre and post your event. The treatment includes muscle stretching, soft tissue muscle release techniques along with strapping, taping and joint mobilisations and adjustments as required before and after your event.

Tips to help you train for the GPS Gold Challenge