The Fastest Age

Originally posted by aquageek Assuming all things being equal, how much of an advantage could an early blooming swimmer expect to see over a late bloomer DUE SOLELY to V02Max? Swamp Thing, if I may call you that, that's an excellent question and seems to be at the heart of Ion's theory. Once again, I am not an exercise physiologist. I believe that you lose a substantial amount of your VO2max when you stop training. Regaining VO2max requires hard work. An age grouper that walks away from swimming and doesn't train for twenty years will have lost the physiological adaptations to exercise that he or she worked so hard to acquire. Many of us continued to swim but not seriously or consistently, and perhaps tried to keep ourselves reasonably fit and trim. So perhaps we've maintained some of the VO2max we once had, as well as some of the muscle mass. The real difference between a former age grouper and a late starter is in my opinion superior technique. Face it, most skills (sports, music, language) are acquired more readily in childhood.

Originally posted by aquageek Assuming all things being equal, how much of an advantage could an early blooming swimmer expect to see over a late bloomer DUE SOLELY to V02Max? Swamp Thing, if I may call you that, that's an excellent question and seems to be at the heart of Ion's theory. Once again, I am not an exercise physiologist. I believe that you lose a substantial amount of your VO2max when you stop training. Regaining VO2max requires hard work. An age grouper that walks away from swimming and doesn't train for twenty years will have lost the physiological adaptations to exercise that he or she worked so hard to acquire. Many of us continued to swim but not seriously or consistently, and perhaps tried to keep ourselves reasonably fit and trim. So perhaps we've maintained some of the VO2max we once had, as well as some of the muscle mass. The real difference between a former age grouper and a late starter is in my opinion superior technique. Face it, most skills (sports, music, language) are acquired more readily in childhood.