Finally, bone strength declines with age, which means the wear and tear of a lifetime of playing competitive sports takes its toll and increases the risk of injuries and fractures.
“Eventually, injuries just bring you down. No matter how you handle it, taking strategic breaks and whatnot, it takes you so long to recover that you lose. [your edge]says Olds.
This is a particularly sore spot for Nadal, who has suffered injuries nearly every year of his 20-year professional career.
With so many handicaps, it would have been easy to write off Nadal’s chances in last month’s final. Nadal’s age, however, gave him different advantages as the match progressed.
“Although we might normally think that we should fatigue faster as we get older, in fact, many changes in our body help improve our endurance,” explains Tony Blazevich, professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University and director of the Science Research Center. of Exercise and Sport.
“Athletes are likely to reach maximal endurance capacity in men in their early 30s, but peak later as event duration increases; so it’s older for ultra-distance events (late 30’s).”
The longer an event lasts, the older the best people are, agrees Olds. He notes that the age of world record holders in running increases from 23 for the 10,000m, to 26 for the half marathon and 36 for the marathon.
“What that suggests is that they learn to move more efficiently, so they can run at the same speed using less oxygen capacity,” he says.
The Australian Open men’s final lasted five hours and 24 minutes. The increased resistance may have given Nadal an advantage, says Blazevich. “Even if the 25-year-old Medvedev had a speed advantage, that advantage was probably lost as the match went on for many hours.”
Muscle strength in men also peaks later, usually in their 30s and 40s. “People tend to maintain their strength for a lot longer, so when you’re in your 40s or 45s, you’re not that much weaker than you were at your peak,” Olds says. “In terms of strength: Rafa may have had the advantage.”
Charging
Finally, the experience that comes with age can offset physical handicaps.
So while Nadal’s reaction times may not be as quick as Medvedev’s, he has a lot more experience to help him predict what’s going to happen next, as well as better pattern recognition (allowing him to anticipate the ball’s trajectory sooner) and game management, Blazevich explains.
“Endurance,” he adds, “has both physical and psychological aspects, and Rafa’s incredible mental toughness, including the knowledge that he has beaten everyone on the biggest stages, may have been key here.”
The question is, what can men do to maintain its heyday or at least slow its decline?
The direct answer is regular physical activity, which includes both strength training and aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate to improve oxygen efficiency.
Charging
“The harder you train, as long as you avoid injury, the lower the rate of decline…you start from a higher point,” Olds explains. Maintaining bone mass can be a bit more complicated, he adds: “It’s very important for young people to reach a peak in bone mass because if you start from a low peak, it’s going to drop from there… that’s why things like osteoarthritis is often described as a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences.”
Physical activity and a good diet, including enough calcium, which can be found in dairy products, almonds, broccoli, kale, canned salmon with bones, sardines, and soy products such as tofu, They are key to building bone mass. Several studies also suggest that resistance training slows bone loss as men age.
“We’re all going to decline, but it helps to decline from a much higher starting point,” Olds says, noting that if we maintain as much as possible, even as certain aspects of fitness drop, “we learn to do more with less.” .
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