#166 | Don't "Act Your Age" | Matt Fitzgerald

Professional Supplements for Wise Athletes

About the guest: Matt Fitzgerald

Author of over 30 books on running & endurance

Matt Fitzgerald, a certified sports nutritionist, started running on April 19, 1983, one day after watching his father complete the Boston Marathon. This began a lifelong love affair with the sport. Having completed 50 marathons of his own, authored more than 30 books, cofounded the world’s largest online provider of endurance training resources, and coached dozens of his fellow runners to their goals, Matt lives by the motto, “Let your passion, not your ability, decide how far you go.” That’s why he created Dream Run Camp–to enable runners of all abilities who share his passion for the sport to see just how far they can go.

Episode Summary:

How do you know what you are capable of doing if you don't try? Matt Fitzgerald trains athletes of all ages, including older athletes, but he doesn't have "older athlete training plans". Matt says everyone has limiters...you have to choose to go at them or around them, or let them define you. Older athletes often self-limit themselves to play it safe but with careful attention to building up capacity, older athletes are proving themselves to be capable of more speed, more strength and more endurance than ever before.

Our talk today is about how can the older athlete avoid settling for being older...how to find compensations and motivations and expert tricks for retaining or regaining the athletic capacity of yesteryear.

Some important notes:

• Don’t let the expectations of declining athletic capacity turn. Into a self fulfilling prophecy 
• …”not every man truly lives”
• You have to push the envelope regularly or the envelope shrinks in on you
• Focus on the big rocks: training hard frequently (finding your own way that works for you), keeping the joy in it, setting and reaching for big goals )
• Everyone has limiters. They are unique to the individual and they change over time.  You have to treat the training process as an open ended experiment. You have to identify the limiters and then work towards or around them. But find out what they really are not what you think they are because you are older. 
• Keep moving. But use different forms of movement to spread the load. 
• Scale back the volume but maintain the intensity 
• Treat “niggles” with care. Incremental Retreat — backed progressively to be careful without being fearful and losing big chunks of fitness. 
• Training as treatment - ryan whited.  Motion is lotion. 
• Disadvantages AND advantages of being older:  youth is wasted on the young. 
• Compensate for losing some athletic capacity by tightening down the lifestyle that you couldn’t bother to do when younger. Diet, sleep, better training protocols. 
• Diet: eat enough of a wide range of whole foods with enough of all macros. Avoid processed foods. 
• Avoid reductionist rabbit holes. 
• Supplements: case by case. Most people can benefit from: fish oil , iron (if you need it), creatine
• Cross training: lifting weights, physical skill acquisition, balance and coordination, don’t stop playing 
• Periodization is a good practice. Weekly / monthly / seasonal cycles 

Related episodes & links:

• Stronger, Faster, Older

• Episode 91 | Successful Aging | Dr Alan Castel
• Episode 109 | Physical Intelligence for Heathy Aging | Dr Scott Grafton
• Episode 124 | Pain and Performance | Matt Fitzgerald and Ryan Whited
• Episode 148 | Adventure for Life | Brian Keane

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*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.