What she said... AND, I wold like to know if part of the elder performance fall-off could be tied to fewer competitors within a given age group. We all know we tend to perform better if challenged by peers. Merely surviving to say 110 shouldn't suggest that that one performance finish at 110 by one swimmer represents the potential of everyone at 110, should it?
My theory is that as one's AG gets older, the many of "average or below average" swimmers drop by the wayside, leaving only good and great swimmers for competition. Like Mark, I stopped swimming early in life (after sophomore year in college) and restarted later in my early 60s. At first I was getting faster, but I'm convinced the layoff was too much and I'll never catch the great swimmers at the top of my AG. Knee surgery from skiing, femur surgery from triathlon training just before I turned 65, and now cervical spine surgery from genetics just before I turn 70, didn't help either.
Its entropy and gravity catching up with us and for whatever reason we generally lose muscle mass as we age beginning some time in our mid 50s or so. Can you reverse this process or stabilize or slow it? It seems to me that Mark's experience would indicate yes, but others on the forum have indicated not so much.
As for male/female, I think I recall reading that the beginning of naturally occurring mid-life muscle loss for males is likely to start earlier. And I would add that I think it takes a lot more work as I've gotten older to stay in some sort of decent shape.
What she said... AND, I wold like to know if part of the elder performance fall-off could be tied to fewer competitors within a given age group. We all know we tend to perform better if challenged by peers. Merely surviving to say 110 shouldn't suggest that that one performance finish at 110 by one swimmer represents the potential of everyone at 110, should it?
My theory is that as one's AG gets older, the many of "average or below average" swimmers drop by the wayside, leaving only good and great swimmers for competition. Like Mark, I stopped swimming early in life (after sophomore year in college) and restarted later in my early 60s. At first I was getting faster, but I'm convinced the layoff was too much and I'll never catch the great swimmers at the top of my AG. Knee surgery from skiing, femur surgery from triathlon training just before I turned 65, and now cervical spine surgery from genetics just before I turn 70, didn't help either.
Its entropy and gravity catching up with us and for whatever reason we generally lose muscle mass as we age beginning some time in our mid 50s or so. Can you reverse this process or stabilize or slow it? It seems to me that Mark's experience would indicate yes, but others on the forum have indicated not so much.
As for male/female, I think I recall reading that the beginning of naturally occurring mid-life muscle loss for males is likely to start earlier. And I would add that I think it takes a lot more work as I've gotten older to stay in some sort of decent shape.
