The Aging Athlete

“The concept for this book is provocative. It is somehow counterintuitive to think of great athletes becoming unfit in old age. Of course the recent suit brought against the NFL by former players indicates that fitness and health can erode all too quickly. The aging pursuers of fitness featured in 'The Aging Athlete' are the exceptions and not the rule. We can all learn from their own stories of perseverance.”—Tom Jones, Author of “Sports Competition for Adults Over 40”What can we learn from former top athletes that is especially relevant for our health and lifestyles? Even though most athletes are essentially performance minded rather than maintenance and wellness minded, it’s still a compelling revelation why 90 percent of them don’t continue a program to try and retain some of their skills and conditioning. Learning from the 10 percent who do stay fit and healthy is where we can all benefit. The Aging Athlete chronicles the fitness and mindset of a group of retired and semi-retired athletes, of what’s worked for them over the years since they stopped competing or serving in the armed forces. Some of the top athletes include Billy Mills — 1964 10,000m race gold medalist once considered the most famous living Native American; Ken Shamrock — former UFC heavyweight champion who was named the World’s Most Dangerous Man; Sam “Bam” Cunningham who starred in the famous 1970 Civil Rights Football Game; and Allen Winder — a blue-eyed basketball player who was called upon by Meadowlark Lemon to break the color barrier … in reverse.WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS BOOK1. Why?Why all of the attention on athletics and aging athletes?What might it be like to be the caregiver/spouse of a 28-year-old athlete who was until recently one of the most physically powerful athletes on the planet?How old is an aging athlete? Hockey great Bobby Orr was injured, and partially hobbled, at the end of his first year as a pro--age 18. His kids have never participated in competitive skating or hockey.Why did kids used to play different sports year round, all seasons, and today it's common for young people to only take up one sport and train for it the entire year?2. Why isn't wellness emphasized more for all and especially for performance oriented athletes? What are the payoffs of recreation vs. performance oriented sports?3. Why don't we learn to coach ourselves? Why do high numbers of performance athletes (inc. ex military and ex ballet performers) stop maintaining fitness soon after leaving their performance time?4. The importance of downtime.5. How to pursue self-mastery.