Physical deterioration starts in our 30s. This is why elite athletes often retire from competitive sport in their fourth  decade. But for the majority of us this physical deterioration may be hardly noticeable in how we live our lives. I think this is particularly the case for those of us that take up exercise later in life. I started to take exercise seriously in my early fifties. I became stronger and faster than at any other time of my life. I had a bit of a hiccup when I required open heart surgery but I came back even stronger and faster. Even in my early 60s I remained on this upward trajectory. And where my strength is concerned I still am. But my aerobic fitness is faltering. 

Michael Easter (The Comfort Crisis, Scarcity Brain) recently posted this on Instagram:

I’m 64. A few months ago I had a VO2 max of 31.5 (according to my Apple Watch which is, allegedly, fairly accurate) but it is now below 30. It could be due to taking a few weeks off from running, burpees and wall balls after Hyrox. But it could be due to my age. Physical deterioration isn’t linear. It accelerates in your mid 60s and can fall off the proverbial cliff a decade later. But with the right training it can be slowed down.

There is a lot of research that supports the relationship between VO2 max and mortality. According to this research having a low VO2 max is more dangerous than smoking. But I’m not particularly interested in longevity, it’s health span that I strive for. To enjoy life right up to its end. What do I need to do to make that possible.

I recently heard that a friend of a friend had reluctantly given up something he really enjoyed due to his diminished physicality. A man in his 70s, on his own, who every two years would go on a cruise. He couldn’t afford to go more frequently, but planned his finances so he always had this trip to look forward to. But more recently he has had to accept that his last cruise will be his final one as he is not capable of doing all the walking that is required to enjoy the ports of call.

How sad. To have to give up something that gave so much pleasure.

It reminded me of the importance  of not just planning financially for the life we want to lead but also for the physical health required to enjoy it.

For example, as a woman, I need a VO2 max of 30-32 to climb a steep hill. If I still want to be enjoying this activity in 10 years time, bearing in mind that VO2 max declines by about 15% in this decade, I need to have a much higher V02 max now and/or slow its decline.

You may not have any inclination to climb hills but the same principle applies to any activity: golf, shopping, playing with grandchildren.

Peter Attia (Outlive) who I gushed about in a previous blog, refers to our ‘marginal decade’. The last decade of our life. Obviously we don’t know when it starts but it is a decade that ‘for many, if not most, it is a period of diminishment and limitation’. 

The bottom line is that you have to train for your marginal decade. You have to train in order to slow down the inevitable decline. And you have to train hard. Gentle won’t cut it.

Not that there isn’t a place for gentle exercise. If you are ill, injured, have a health condition where intense exercise is contraindicated, or recovering from a hard exercise session, gentle has to be the best way to go. And, of course, is often very enjoyable. I certainly embraced gentle exercise after Hyrox.

The frailty of our later years would also contraindicate intense exercise. The definition of frail is ‘weak and delicate’. This description does not apply to most people in their 60s and 70s.

But society seems to be complicit in the notion that ‘gentle ‘ is the way to go. On a community notice board outside my local newsagent there is a flyer advertising events for the over 50s: carpet bowls and chair yoga. My eyes widened in horror when I read that.

But back to me. In a previous blog I had recognised that my training for my last Hyrox had been fairly ineffectual. I’d focused on Zone 2 training at the expense of interval training. My VO2 max had started to decline. It’s now been 8 weeks since the competition. In the absence of doing any running including that in zone 2 my V02 max has has dipped even lower. It is scary how the deterioration accelerates. So it is back to the intervals.

I’ve also reconsidered my priorities where my health and fitness is concerned. I have tended to focus on what I now call ‘vanity goals’, for example, getting that 120kg deadlift. Goals that look good on Instagram. But I’m now more interested in my functional strength and improving my V02 max. I demonstrated this shift of thinking a couple of days ago. My PT asked if I would be interested in joining a session specialising in the ‘power clean’ a variation of the clean and jerk, one of the lifts in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting. I declined. Being able to do my birthday burpees in a few weeks will do for me.

Finally, a shout out for a friend of mine, also in the over 60 club, who in June, at the age of 63, is heading off to Italy and then France to ride the whole of the Tour de France. 21 days, 55,000 metres of climbing, 2,200 miles. He is raising money money for William Wates Memorial Trust.

His fundraising page can be found here.