Post by MattCollister on Jul 17, 2009 15:42:50 GMT -5
Nice article in CNN.com today about aging "elite" athletes. Bottom line: 40 is the new 30.
www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/16/athletes.comeback.endurance/index.html
As a (nearly) 38-year old, I hope this is true. And I hope in the next 12 years, 50 becomes the new 40. Then, by extension, I'll be in as good a shape as I was at 30. I hope there's never a "new 20," because I was a mess then.
A few thoughts on why its better to be a 40 year old athlete than 20 year old athlete. Purely my opinion.
-- At 40, you have a better understanding of how to bend the rules to your favor. And less guilt about doing so. Case in point. In spite of what you might think, drafting is perfectly legal on the bike. It's right there in the rules. Look at the USAT rules and PM me if you want me to explain it.
-- At 40, you probably have some combination of money, political power (in the very generic sense), networking capability. You get people to do things for you, and make them feel good about it! This is not "manipulation." That is something else altogether. It's more like leadership. This, of course, comes in handy from time to time when you need to, for instance, call in a favor. But there's a much more subtle use for this. I think its commonly referred to as "making your own luck" but I think of it as tilting the world a little bit, everyday, in your favor. Others call it emotional intelligence. It's not to say that a 20-year old can't have this (a born leader). But most people get/develop this later.
So this power manifests itself in sports in a blatant manner (e.g., "buying speed"). But there are much more subtle benefits to knowing people intimately in this fashion that will do far more for you than spending a couple grand on wheels. Trust me.
-- At 40, you no longer are trying to impress the opposite sex. Key word here is "trying." Because at 40, you either are totally confident you ARE impressing the opposite sex, or you're totally confident you're NOT. (Note: whether you are confident that you are, or confident you are not, has absolutey nothing to do with whether you ACTUALLY are or are not). TRYING to impress the opposite sex is the cause of about 95% of all the stupid stuff young people do. Once you get that out of your life, you just get the job done, and relax in confidence with all those hearts set aflutter in your wake (or not).
www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/16/athletes.comeback.endurance/index.html
As a (nearly) 38-year old, I hope this is true. And I hope in the next 12 years, 50 becomes the new 40. Then, by extension, I'll be in as good a shape as I was at 30. I hope there's never a "new 20," because I was a mess then.
A few thoughts on why its better to be a 40 year old athlete than 20 year old athlete. Purely my opinion.
-- At 40, you have a better understanding of how to bend the rules to your favor. And less guilt about doing so. Case in point. In spite of what you might think, drafting is perfectly legal on the bike. It's right there in the rules. Look at the USAT rules and PM me if you want me to explain it.
-- At 40, you probably have some combination of money, political power (in the very generic sense), networking capability. You get people to do things for you, and make them feel good about it! This is not "manipulation." That is something else altogether. It's more like leadership. This, of course, comes in handy from time to time when you need to, for instance, call in a favor. But there's a much more subtle use for this. I think its commonly referred to as "making your own luck" but I think of it as tilting the world a little bit, everyday, in your favor. Others call it emotional intelligence. It's not to say that a 20-year old can't have this (a born leader). But most people get/develop this later.
So this power manifests itself in sports in a blatant manner (e.g., "buying speed"). But there are much more subtle benefits to knowing people intimately in this fashion that will do far more for you than spending a couple grand on wheels. Trust me.
-- At 40, you no longer are trying to impress the opposite sex. Key word here is "trying." Because at 40, you either are totally confident you ARE impressing the opposite sex, or you're totally confident you're NOT. (Note: whether you are confident that you are, or confident you are not, has absolutey nothing to do with whether you ACTUALLY are or are not). TRYING to impress the opposite sex is the cause of about 95% of all the stupid stuff young people do. Once you get that out of your life, you just get the job done, and relax in confidence with all those hearts set aflutter in your wake (or not).
