Abstract
AbstractWith increasing age, it appears that masters athletes competing in anaerobic events (10–100 s) decline linearly in performance until 70 years of age, after which the rate of decline appears to accelerate. This decline in performance appears strongly related to a decreased anaerobic work capacity, which has been observed in both sedentary and well-trained older individuals. Previously, a number of factors have been suggested to influence anaerobic work capacity including gender, muscle mass, muscle fiber type, muscle fiber size, muscle architecture and strength, substrate availability, efficiency of metabolic pathways, accumulation of reaction products, aerobic energy contribution, heredity, and physical training. The effects of sedentary aging on these factors have been widely discussed within literature. Less data are available on the changes in these factors in masters athletes who have continued to train at high intensities with the aim of participating in competition. The available research has reported that these masters athletes still demonstrate age-related changes in these factors. Specifically, it appears that morphological (decreased muscle mass, type II muscle fiber atrophy), muscle contractile property (decreased rate of force development), and biochemical changes (changes in enzyme activity, decreased lactate production) may explain the decreased anaerobic performance in masters athletes. However, the reduction in anaerobic work capacity and subsequent performance may largely be the result of physiological changes that are an inevitable result of the aging process, although their effects may be minimized by continuing specific high-intensity resistance or sprint training.
Highlights
During recent decades, there has been an increase in the number of older individuals engaging in regular physical activity and exercise for the health benefits of decreasing both morbidity and all-cause mortality [118, 143]
Two recent 9- to 12-year longitudinal studies by Frontera and others [54, 57] used computerized tomography to demonstrate a significant agerelated reduction in cross-sectional area of the total anterior muscle compartment of the thigh. These data strongly suggest that the loss of muscle mass with age despite continued training contributes to the decline in anaerobic performance in aging athletes
Recent evidence from Korhonen and others [88] demonstrated that, while aging sprint runners exhibited significant declines in the cross-sectional area of type II muscle fibers, the declines were not different for type IIA (6.7%·decade−1) or type IIB (11.3%·decade−1). These recent data suggest that high intensity sprint training combined with power and strength training into older age may help reduce the decrease in type II fiber size and possibly slow the age-related decline in anaerobic performance commonly observed in masters athletes
Summary
There has been an increase in the number of older individuals engaging in regular physical activity and exercise for the health benefits of decreasing both morbidity and all-cause mortality [118, 143]. An increasing proportion of these active older individuals are becoming recreational or competitive athletes focused on sports performance. For the purposes of this paper, masters athletes are individuals who systematically train for, and compete in, organized forms of competitive sport designed for older adults [127]. The current review is the first to systematically examine anaerobic performance in masters athletes. In order to systematically inform the current review, the determinants of anaerobic performance proposed by Bouchard, Taylor, Simoneau, and Dulac [23] will be examined in turn. These investigators proposed that anaerobic performance is dependent upon a number of factors including: 1.
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