Age impacts our sporting ability and style due to its effects on our bones, joints, muscles and stamina. In every sport there is a peak age that combines the physical, technical and strategic skills to achieve an optimal performance outcome. Although we might imagine that this is always during our early 20s, age is sometimes, if not often an advantage and ultimately depends on the type of sport. Below, Dr Sarah Davies has shared her expert knowledge on the relationship between age and our sporting ability.

Research indicates that type II muscle fibres are more affected by age

Research indicates that type II muscle fibres are more affected by age

MUSCLES

Sarcopenia or loss of muscle tissue is a process that starts at around the age of 30 years and progresses throughout life in the absence of regular muscle training or exercise to counteract it. In this process, the overall amount of muscle and the number and size of muscle fibres gradually decreases. The result of sarcopenia is a loss of muscle strength and physical performance.

There are essentially two main types of muscle fibre found in our muscles - type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch). Type I muscle fibres are relatively resistant to fatigue, so are utilised more during endurance sports, such as cycling, swimming and distance running, whereas type II muscle fibres are faster to fatigue and are recruited in sports which require a high level of strength or power, such as sprinting and weightlifting.

Research indicates that type II muscle fibres are more affected by age, reducing in number and function much more readily than type I fibres. In addition, the special satellite cells that support the repair and recovery of skeletal muscle fibres also decline with sarcopenia. Hence, physical performance drops more rapidly with age in competitive sprinters and weightlifters, than it does in endurance athletes such as runners, swimmers and cyclists.

However, competitive athletes in most sports combine physical ability with technical and strategic capability to overcome their opponents. Whilst physical ability may peak at a younger age, it may take years to perfect the technical and strategic skills required for some sports, which might put an older athlete at an advantage. Nonetheless, from a purely physical perspective, the peak age for endurance athletes might be older than the athletes who take part in sports which require muscle power and strength.

RECOVERY AND STAMINA

As people age, the average recovery time after exercise and sport increases. Similarly, the ability to sustain physical effort, our ‘stamina’ tends to decrease as we age, making it harder to compete at the same level in endurance sports. However, people of any age who are less accustomed to physical exercise will tire much sooner and with less effort, limiting the duration of continuous exercise that they can endure. 

Intensity of exercise can be guided by heart rate. The target heart rate for moderate intensity exercise is about 50 to 70% of a person’s maximum heart rate (HRmax), which is determined by age. Exercise intensity can also be measured by how hard we find a particular physical activity. In general, moderate exercise feels somewhat hard, whereas vigorous exercise is particularly challenging.

Whatever the initial level of physical capability, with appropriate physical training or ‘conditioning’, people of any age can improve both their stamina or capacity for endurance sports and their time to recover.

BONES AND JOINTS

From around the age of 30 years, bone density begins to diminish in both men and women. This loss of bone density accelerates particularly rapidly in women after the menopause, due to a reduction in production of the hormone, oestrogen. As a result of this, bones become more fragile and can be more likely to break. Regular impact exercise throughout adult life increases bone density in combination with a healthy, balanced diet, rich in calcium and vitamin D.

Ageing also affects the joints at the ends of our bones, which are lined with cartilage and connective tissue and which undergo constant mechanical wear and repair. These changes can affect sport and exercise performance but again, the amount to which it has an affect can be reduced by regular strengthening through muscle resistance exercise to protect the joints.

Although there are many ways that age can lessen our sport and exercise performance, there are also many means by which we can moderate these effects. For example, regular resistance exercise to maintain and build muscle, regular cardiovascular exercise to increase stamina and regular impact exercise to maintain healthy bone density. The phrase 'Use it or lose it’ sums it up. Keeping active and strong can both counteract the effects of ageing on the body and help to maintain a good level of performance whatever your sport.