When you’re training with longevity in mind, there are certain things you need to do. And, accordingly, there are some things you should avoid. These are common mistakes in longevity training. Let’s dive in.
Not being consistent with your training. Each type of training has a frequency of exposure which is ideal. Of course, this is expressed in a range and it is individually variable. But regularity is very important when it comes to physical familiarity with movement patterns, maintenance of capacities (strength, speed, power, agility, endurance), tissue integrity, and overall systemic wellness. Training, in some form, should be done almost every day. Honestly, taking more than a few days off hurts a Lifetime Athlete. As you age, your body wants to stiffen, weaken, get slower, and become frail. Frequent training offsets this process. It keeps you robust, resilient, versatile, and durable. It makes you Reaper-resistant.
Failing to go hard enough on occasion. This is describing the quest for output capacity in strength, speed, or power. Doing more (reps, sets, minutes, hours, miles, etc.) isn’t usually the answer. Going harder is. The human body responds to intensity as the primary stimulus for adaptation in this context. I’m not saying to be willy-nilly-silly in this application. Just intelligently apply a little more effort where it’s indicated and appropriate. If you’re going after aerobic power and trying to raise your VO2max, push to the upper limit of Zone 4. You may need to lengthen your rest interval and that’s fine. Or when absolute strength is the target, take a heavy, low-rep set to full failure (but with good form) now and then. In these and other examples, your body will get the message and supercompensate, making the gains you’re going after. The aging body requires a very pronounced stimulus as it becomes more resistant to change with each passing year. Just keep it safe.
Recovering inadequately. You have to give yourself permission to rest. So often I’ve seen this problem as a work ethic or motivation problem. Not a lack of those qualities but perhaps an excess. Well-meaning trainees, who usually enjoy their training and thrive on checking off big sessions and rigid schedules, often inadvertently drive themselves into the ground. You must listen to your body. Sure, you need to be consistent and go hard enough occasionally as we’ve just covered, but make your dosing of output organism-specific. Remember that it’s during recovery phases when your body makes the gains. When all those “R” words are operating. Replenish. Recuperate. Rejuvenate. Refresh. Renew. And so forth. It’s not that useful to hit another hard session when you’re still tired and sore from the last one. This perpetuates a state of chronic fatigue and inflammation which isn’t good for performance or long term health. Recovery is not only the passage of time between “fitness-maker” sessions, it’s the processes we utilize such as easy training and other restorative practices. You need to recover until your readiness is high before getting after it again. Training works best when it feels right.
Doing only one thing and avoiding comprehensive training. Let’s define this a bit. By comprehensive training, we’re talking about putting together a mix of capacity-focused training that keeps all of those properties (strength, speed, power, agility, endurance) at baseline (or better) levels. That doesn’t mean you have to do equal amounts in all 5 areas. You can still mostly emphasize your primary jam. Just do enough supportive (supplementary) training in the other areas to keep your body viable over the lifespan. This actually helps sustain athletic ability in your chosen sport. I’ve seen a lot of yogis in the clinic whose singular passion pursuit left them in tears of pain because they stretched out their lumbopelvic ligaments and became hypermobile and unstable. Powerlifters who did the heavy grind exclusively until they needed a total hip replacement. Runners who went in a straight line with partial range of motion for so long that they lost multidirectional movement competency. All of this can be avoided with just a little balanced training. Do what you love, just do the other things that allow you to actually keep doing your love for a lifetime.
Making errors with exercise selection. We all need to work on movement patterns, muscle groups, and functional motions. But your body is unique. Everyone’s is with respect to the specific exercises and modifications which work best. Your congenital bone formation, joint mobility, injury history, and other factors will reveal the exercise variations which feel comfortable and effective. Live in this world. Try moves that challenge your motor learning abilities. But avoid those that give you joint discomfort. This is an area where working with a specialist such as a physical therapist can be of great benefit. You can learn which exercises aren’t great for your body and why that is the case. Then explore the many safe alternatives which exist. There’s just no substitute for skilled coaching. You can be very successful coaching yourself – learning about anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise physiology – and applying your instincts and objectivity. Or hire a professional. Just don’t do exercises that don’t work for you.
Not mastering technique. We need to pursue movement as a skill. An art form which is meant to be practiced. While the concept of “just do it” applies well in the context of overcoming decision-making fatigue and simply getting rolling with your training and exercise, it applies poorly when considering the execution of movement. “Just going through the motions” is not good advice for Lifetime Athletes. Compromised form can not only make exercise less effective, it can actually make it orthopedically risky. Poor technique increases injury risk and potentially leads to the phenomenon of you outliving your joints. No bueno. We never want to jeopardize joint health in the quest for fitness. While there may not always be an absolutely perfect form, there certainly is good. And naturally this expression involves everyone putting their unique signature on a movement, driven by anatomical differences. But “good” (or even great) should be the word that comes to mind when describing how a movement feels to you and how it appears to an onlooker. Sometimes we joke about Ugly Movement Syndrome (UMS) in a lighthearted manner. But, without practicing any self-loathing, it’s something we want to avoid.
Not believing in yourself. Positive self-talk is essential in this long term journey. We should leave the doubting and hating to the doubters and haters. The potential of the human is almost limitless. No one can tell you that what is meaningful to you is impossible to achieve. And that includes you. If you want to accomplish something and you’re willing to work at it…well, that’s a powerful combination that almost invariably, ultimately leads to success. Don’t let negativity creep into your process. Believe to achieve.
Not being patient with the process. Keep your eyes on the horizon. The journey of LIFE is just that – a journey. And a long one in most cases, especially when we’re doing the things we’re talking about…plus a little luck. Certain kinds of change, particularly those involving fitness and performance capabilities, take some time. This is generally acknowledged. Yet there’s a part of all this that few are talking about. There are the properties we train ourselves to improve and refine through most of life. Going up. But at some point, our focus turns to maintenance, and ultimately the slowing of decline. Our patience will always be rewarded when we are striving for health and fitness goals. But that same patience serves us well in an ongoing manner. Those who are patient exude calmness and confidence. Being impatient and impulsive can become a reckless practice with aging, as the consequences of such behavior are usually inferior to those of the steady warrior.
Struggling to accept reality and see opportunities. Life has its inevitable ups and downs. High points are wonderful. We seek them and want them (or should) for everyone. But many of the events we experience can be far from joyous. We will face difficulties. In the physical sense, there will be plateaus, injuries, surgeries, and losses of function. The limitless options of youth will be taken off the table, sometimes gradually but often suddenly. In the context of training for longevity, it’s fairly common for some of our sport and activity choices to become “no longer doable.” A runner may reach a point where running just no longer works for his/her body. Orthopedic issues can significantly limit abilities. Any one of us could have a stroke or a major health issue that we didn’t see coming. There’s a fine line here. We want to fight to stay active and vital. But we have to be careful about delusion, denial, and depression. Finding ways to keep going, and winning, is almost never easy. But it’s totally worth it.
The psychology of training for LIFE is indeed unique. So often we use pull methodology when we gravitate towards the positive, as in “do these things” for your success. But push methodology, when we say “stay away from this stuff,” is also fine in this context. I know you get the picture. And the picture is a beautiful one known as living your best life. That’s what Lifetime Athletes do.