Athletic Training and Psychology for Senior Athletes Considered

 By Lance Winslow

Just because you are getting older doesn't mean you can't compete. Just because you've traveled around the Sun more times than your younger competitors doesn't mean they can necessarily beat you. In fact, some older athletes have quite a bit more stamina than the younger folks, and a higher threshold for pain tolerance. Having more life experience to draw from also helps, simply because adversity builds character. Today, I am 50+ but like many my age I don't feel it, and even if I can legally get my American Assoc. of Retired Person's card in a few years, I feel 35. Feeling Young is half the part when it comes to competing in senior athletic events. 

Not long ago, I talked with a sports psychologist about this. She told me; "Maybe this will help: I operate under this basic principle for helping athletes and competitors... Performance = Potential - Interference. There are many different mental/emotional interference patterns that act like an anchor dragging behind a boat traveling across the ocean. It slows or stops the person from getting their goal. A writer's block is certainly one type of interference for a writer with a goal to write a book. Can you see that "The Flow" is, in simple terms, playing to your ability - effortlessly. Clear the interference and the flow happens more often. Everyone has interference, most commonly, some sort of Fear-based subconscious beliefs or belief programs. I am just about to come out with a new program called: "Advanced Mental Toughness" for the adult competitor that is designed to clear all that junk out of the subconscious." 

Wow, I think that is a great program. Reason being; my brother 43 just ran a 100-mile Los Padres National Forest run, and he had a hamstring pull, but there was a lot of external interference + probably some inner too. Now then, I am 50-years old and I do have one problem, I believe that it might not be possible for me to ever run a 4-minute mile again, even if my body now feels like I am in my early 30s most all the time. BTW - the record is 4:25.04 for a 50-year old - it is both a World and American Record. 

There is a whole generation of Baby Boomers out there that are happily surprised that they are living healthier well into their 70's I have a friend 77 who rode his bicycle across the US and is in top shape, better than 85% of the 40-year olds out there now. I think that WE need your new program to reach a high level of satisfaction. It sounds promising. The reality is that seniors in age, doesn't mean senior in mind or body. Think on this. 

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