TECHNIQUE
OLDER SWIMMERS "APART FROM WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR,
I FEEL AS YOUNG AS EVER...” This August, Roger Allsop, 70, will at empt to become the oldest person to swim the English Channel.
“I swam with my school and university teams but none of us took training too seriously in those days and I certainly wasn’t a star. Between leaving university and my early 40s, swimming fell by the wayside as I worked all hours as a surgeon. Then I heard about a Masters swimming club in Guernsey so I signed up – and found myself struggling in the slow group. “However, I improved fairly rapidly and started entering Masters’ galas, mainly short-distance stuff , and surprised myself by not coming last. I discovered open water swimming in my late 50s, and that really grabbed me. However, by this stage it was becoming increasingly hard to hang onto my speed and sadly I have lost a bit of ground there. “In 2006 I retired and swam the Channel for the fi rst time. I remember conditions were terrible – Force 5 winds at times and a massive swell – and I vomited a fair bit, but I did eventually make it in 15.5 hours. “This time I think I’m fi t er and bet er prepared. My biggest
worry is the cold, as I’ve lost weight and try as I might haven’t been able to put it back on. My determination is as strong as ever but I fear my ability to withstand the cold has declined. Other than that, apart from when I look in the mirror, I feel as young as ever.”
Allsop (with the help of Healthspan) is trying to raise £750,000 towards the purchase of equipment that will assist Professor Paul Towsend at the Southampton University Medical Facility with his research into the biomarkers of cancer.
healthspan.co.uk/liveyounger
There is evidence that endurance training is benefi cial to older bodies. Research at the Mayo Clinic in 2008 cited the positive eff ect of regular long swims on age-related cellular dysfunction. But you need to build up slowly in training – don’t exhaust yourself.
There is a school of thought that suggests not adding more than 10 percent as an increase in terms of your training over a monthly period, whether this is in volume, speed, strength training or weight. There are those superheroes that could easily add more and not suff er injury, but – having turned 40 last year – I notice I need to build monthly volumes a lit le more delicately. This rule may get ignored during training camps or periods of intense training with a coach, when there is an urge not to waste any of your time, but these times should be the exceptions. Over-training – or under-resting – is a problem for older swimmers. If your muscles don’t get enough rest then you are more likely to get injured. The fi rst thing to go for me is the tendon that sits between the two bones in the elbow. The infl ammation is rapid and the pain unpleasant, forcing me to take a step back, ice, rest and recover. When this happens I know I should have built a bigger base more slowly.
USING RESISTANCE Cross training is another aspect that is much more important in older people than in children and teenagers. As we age, loss of musculature is inevitable. This can lead to loss of balance, which is why we hear of so many falls in the elderly. The threat of fragile bones from osteoporosis is also a concern. Dr Katie Ward advises strength exercises as a way to stave off these problems in older people. “Weight-bearing exercises, like squats, are an ideal supplement to general well-being, as well as swimming. Yoga is an ideal accompaniment, too, as it aids mobility and balance, also preventing falls.”
The shoulders are a delicate area – the risk of injury is the price
you pay for such a mobile joint. If you have skipped a few years training and are making a comeback then it is a good idea to speak to a fi tness trainer or physio about some shoulder-stability work. Using stretch cords and therabands in a strength work-out can help ensure that your shoulders stay pain-free (see Pump It, page 28). Former swimmers can have bad posture, thanks to hours and hours of swimming and improper stretching, so training on dry land should be a key part of any swimmer’s training. Injury prevention is bet er than any cure, and can vastly improve your swimming. I fi nd I do almost as much dry land (injury prevention, rehab, core and strengthening) training as I do swimming these days, which is no bad thing. I supplement my swims with Bikram yoga, weights, cycling and running – a balanced approach that seems to work for me, as it avoids any particular area from being overloaded and keeps the brain engaged. Although it will take older swimmers longer to recover from
training sessions and injuries than in their younger years, there are also far bet er tools at their disposal now. Advancements in nutrition, the knowledge of how to warm up more scientifi cally and the intensities at which you should swim down have all been more thoroughly investigated. What to stretch, when and how is now a far more widely researched area.
IT WILL TAKE OLDER SWIMMERS LONGER TO RECOVER FROM TRAINING
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