Are you a weekend warrior, or a master’s athlete? What’s the difference?
One does their sport until they are forced to stop (weekend warrior), the other enjoys their sport until they decide to stop, or they don’t stop (master’s athlete).
Many stop because their sports performance declines, and they believe that as an older adult they can’t get better, so they throw in the towel.
Truth is, you can get better at your sport, despite your age. Granted, you will have to train differently now in your 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond than how you trained for your sport as a high school or college athlete.
How is it possible that some athletes stay at the top of their game for SO long? Much longer than their competitors of the same age? How do your neighbors manage to stay so fit and have the energy to keep doing all sorts of activities and sports?
Two athletes that in my opinion are master’s athletes that come to mind right off the bat, are Roger Federer and Serina Williams. They have dominated the tennis world for over a decade. That’s over 10 years of being a top world-ranked athlete. Not an up-and-coming star, but rather a mature dominating force to be reckoned with. They continue to play at the highest levels despite being some of the oldest in their field. For this reason, I classify them as the highest level of master’s athletes. How have they managed to stay at the top of their game when virtually every predecessor could only stay ‘top dog’ for a few years?
“Success leaves clues.” -Tony Robbins
It’s true. Success doesn’t happen by accident. The easiest way we can describe it is with what we call the ‘Weekend Warrior Cycle’ vs. the ‘Master’s Athlete Performance Cycle’.
The Weekend Warrior
Debbie loves skiing. She looks forward to being on the slopes all year long. She loves skiing with her friends and children. Even though she loves it, she’s not as strong or comfortable on her skis as she used to be. At the beginning of the season, she can only do a couple of runs before her quads are absolutely on fire and need to rest. After a hot bath and a couple of days’ rest, she can sit down normally, just in time to do it all over again.
In this scenario, Debbie is a weekend warrior. While she is fictitious, she represents just about every one of our senior fitness clients when they start working with us. This applies to ANY sport, be it skiing, biking, tennis, running, hiking, you name it. They enjoy their sport but aren’t improving. [Editors note: you don’t always have to improve if that’s not your thing.] In fact, in Debbie’s case (and probably yours as well) she is getting worse! She’s having a harder time skiing and taking longer and longer to recover. She’s stuck in this downward cycle of the weekend warrior.
Does this sound or look familiar?
You do your sport/activity and then you have to do damage control, nurse some injuries, and finally, start feeling better just in time to go back at it. That’s no way to enjoy your sport.
There is a better way. It’s what professionals use. It’s what masters athletes of all levels do. You can use the same tools they use, which is the Athlete Performance Cycle.
The Master’s Athlete Performance Cycle
As you will see there are some distance differences between what the weekend warrior does, and what an athlete does.
You’ll notice there isn’t an ‘aftermath’ part of the cycle because as you retool and improve your ability to prevent injuries and recovery is enhanced. This cycle is an upward cycle towards improvement or maintaining a high level of performance while avoiding unpleasant aftermath like injuries, aches, tweaks, over soreness, and doubts if you should do your sport again so quickly.
Federer and Williams have teams of professionals to keep them in the athlete performance cycle. They have chefs, athletic trainers, physical therapists, strength coaches, skill coaches, nutritionists, etc. They have these entourages because they need to stay at the top of their game. Their sport is their livelihood and they invest in staying #1.
You don’t have to be a world-class athlete to reap the benefits of being the Athlete Performance Cycle. With some professional guidance, you can train smarter and see results.
