October-November 2006 -- Question: After watching 36-year-old Andre Agassi win two incredible matches (one a four-setter and then a five-setter) at the recent U.S. Open before bowing out, I wondered how athletes, as they get older, maintain their drive and their rigorous training schedule. Can you share some thoughts?
Answer: What a great question! This is the type of question that we could create an interesting forum around at a convention. And, although there will be many opinions about this, I will try to shed some light on this subject.
I believe we have to start with the drive of the players. Exactly
why are they wanting to excel as they age? In 36-year-old Agassi’s case, he was still playing at an incredibly high level, having great amounts of fun, and truly being content in the battles he waged on the court. We can go back in history and see many similar events with “older” athletes competing in open tournaments. There are two players who come immediately to mind. First, was Ken Rosewall in 1974, when at age 39, he got to the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Then, there was Jimmy Connors in 1991, at age 39, making the semifinals of the U.S. Open. Obviously, these athletes were driven to excel or they couldn’t have maintained the “fight” during three-out-of-five-set matches. They had a purpose to compete and this purpose was based on loving the battle. But, the question still remains: How did they train their bodies?
It’s true that with every decade of life after age 25, we lose approximately 10 percent of our muscle capacity and our mental capacity. Now, before those of you over 25 go into depression, here is the good news. This is only true IF you don’t train. Studies have demonstrated that if you train properly in the respective dimensions, people in their 90s can still build muscle and brain cells can keep growing. The key, however, is that the individual still has to train and, as the aging process takes place, the work becomes harder.
Maximum oxygen volume decreases with age so the athlete must train harder aerobically to maintain his or her heart-lung capacity and thus the ability to recover in the short intervals between points. Strength and flexibility must be a big part of the individual’s training regimen as muscles become less pliable with age and the dedication to improvement in these areas has to go up. Finally, there is the entire process of recovery after the match. The bodies of these athletes will not recover as quickly following a long match so nutrition becomes incredibly important as do other mechanisms to help the body recover. This could include massage therapy (and other modalities), sleep, hydration, all the way to the preparation and warm-up for the next day’s match.
At the end of the day, however, the key in training as we age is the “why.” At this recent U.S. Open, there were several examples. The most notable was the Agassi-Baghdatis match, which Bud Collins coined as “champion versus champion-in-waiting.” In the first set, Baghdatis fell and slammed his hand/wrist onto the court. He kept fighting, in pain, but not badly injured. Agassi went up two sets to one and up 4-love in the fourth set. The next thing you knew, Baghditis was winning 5-4 and went on to win 7-5. At 4-all in the fifth, with Agassi serving, there were eight deuces. Baghdatis was cramping badly, but was fighting and clawing to win. Later, Baghdatis would say, “I would have died fighting out there.” We saw the hearts of two champions in that match.
At the end of the day, winning matters and it matters big time! But, in the heat of the moment, great performers simply love the fight they are in right now. They are not afraid to lose and they know that winning (or losing) will take care of itself, as long as they play to the best of their potential. This thinking enables them to hit a great shot on the run when down in a match. My partner, Jim Loehr, coined a phrase many years ago that I believe fits here. They learn to “Savor the moment and love the battle.” That’s what keeps them coming back to the gym for workouts, staying longer than anyone else to stretch more afterward, and going to the practice court day after day after day.
And, then, when they mature in their training and really learn what life on the tennis court is all about, they become literally profound in how they view their training. Just take a look at this quote attributed to Andre Agassi in response to his performance at the U.S. Open and why he has trained so hard:
“A strong body listens. It obeys. A weak body commands. If your body is weak it tells you what to do. If your body is strong it’ll actually listen to you when you tell it to do something. If you build it right you can overcome some of the obstacles of age and recovery.”
I believe that says it all!
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
