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Kirsten K.
Kirsten K. Sendmail

Recovery time and age

posted about 1 year ago | Report

Years and years ago I read somewhere that after an unaccustomed level of exertion a young person should give themselves a 24-hour recovery period, a middle-aged-person should allow 48 hours, and an elderly person, 72. The theory being that tissue repair takes longer the older you are. At 53 I have been reluctant to do workouts on consecutive days; this pretty much limits me to 3 days a week when ideally I'd like to up it to 5. Any thoughts, input, experiences to share?

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  • Brian W.
    Brian W. Sendmail

    @62 years young still running 6 days a week. Yes it does take longer to recover from hard work outs I use varying pace only 2 harder paced workouts each week the rest at a much easier pace. I use a heart rate monitor to help keep myself in check. I must add a big but. I have been running for 30 years

    posted about 1 year ago | edited about 1 year ago

  • Michael
    Michael Sendmail

    I wouldn't hesitate to do workouts on consecutive days as long as they both aren't too exhausting. For example, if you have a tough workout on Saturday, maybe go for a much slower/casual run on Sunday. That'll let you get your miles in and also loosen you up from the day before.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Terri C.
    Terri C. Sendmail

    @60 years old, I run, cycle, swim or do fitness training 6 days a week. Some days I do 2-3 hours of some sort of training. Do my muscles hurt? Absolutely! So I make sure I stretch a lot, roll out my muscles and get deep tissue massage 2-3 x a month. I also take extra magnesium, Vitamin C and Vitamin D and eat foods with potassium to keep my muscles a little happier.

    I also use a heart rate monitor and I do alternate impact exercise with non-impact exercise. Swimming and cycling are non-impact examples.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Kris B.
    Kris B. Sendmail

    In general those guidelines are probably pretty good. But I try to mix things up and run 4 days and workout 2 days each week, and usually feel pretty fresh. The key is not to push to your limit every run/workout, and periodically to step back some for a week, then push forward again. Listening to your body is a lot more personal than any plan you read online. Good luck!

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Jill L.
    Jill L. Sendmail

    This is such a great question. I was going to ask the same thing. I am also 53, I'm an ex-somking, drinking, porch/patio potaoe... I have been running for 1 yr and 2 months, have lost 25 lbs & am off all meds. I rest on Sundays and Fridays. I run Mon, Wed and Saturday (long) I go to spin class on Tues & Thurs but sometimes I run after spin....& I seem to run faster.....?.... I just listen to my body and I do need that potassium. Can't do without it. Never felt so good in my life! Happy Trails!

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Jog M Up
    Jog M Up Sendmail

    i started running when i was 14 years old & ran competitively for maybe 20 years? then due to nagging minor injuries, just stopped! maybe 6 years ago now, i said, "i gotta do something about this weight", and decided to start running again. (i had gained 48lbs over my old racing weight of 147). well, now, at 56 years young, and back down to a 154-158lb range, i feel better if i run every day, and YES, it takes LOTS longer to recover from intense workouts. so the key (for me), is to take a few days every week & throw in "fluff" miles, (maybe a 3 miler at a very relaxed, slow pace).
    so Kirsten, take everything you read & hear, with a grain of salt. experiment. try different & fun things that sound to you that they might work for you. we are all different, so there are NOT any formulas that will work for everyone. thru your own trial & error, find the methods that you find FUN and that enable you to ENJOY your running & exercise. & by the way, i have not missed a day of running for 124 days now!
    best of luck to you & ENJOY your runs!

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail

    yup. recovery takes longer. But the key part of what you stated was an 'unaccustomed level of exertion'. You can absolutely build up to train every single day, but probably only one or two days a week can be intense or especially long in duration.

    the other thing is that 3 days a week might be fine for general fitness when in your 20's or 30's, but in your 60's, exercise becomes more and more important. 3 days just isn't enough.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Lucija K.
    Lucija K. Sendmail

    Hi Kristen, While training for a 13.1 completed last month (my first!) I started using FLUID Recovery drink (they were a sponsor) and truly found it to help. Stretching is a MUST and bathing in epsom salts is helpful. I'm also 53.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail
    in reply to what Lucija K. said:Hi Kristen, While training for a 13.1 completed last month (my first!) I started using FLUID Recovery drink (they were a sponsor) and truly found it to help. Stretching is a MUST and bathing in epsom salts is helpful. I'm also 53.

    yeah- i think the recovery drinks do help a bit. I think I like the Fluid a bit better than the Endurox R4 that I've got a cannister of. I just use recovery stuff after the long/intense workouts. Not an every day thing.

    posted about 1 year ago

  • Revvell
    Revvell Sendmail

    Look up Zenkahuna on YouTube. 62 years old and has logged in over 2000 days straight of heavy-duty training. His training partners are, I think, in their mid-40's, both women. They're right there with him in the number of days they've trained. They're all vegan, btw.

    posted 10 months ago | edited 10 months ago

  • David R.
    David R. Sendmail

    My experiences (an testimonies of others) is that one of the benefits of being vegan is quicker recovery times (as in professional weight lifters doing 2 sessions a day - repeating same muscles). At 46, and only running consistently for somewhat over a year now, issues that bothered me when I ran as a non-vegan are non-existent. So I completely buy his capabilities.

    posted 10 months ago

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