When planning an exercise program for elderly athletes, it is important to take in specific considerations. Elderly athletes must carefully consider their muscle weakness in the lower extremities that go along with their age category. With these certain conditions in mind, training and conditioning programs should include strengthening goals regarding the lower half of the body. It is pivotal to train selective muscle groups mainly the knee and hips. As athletes age those two areas seem to be the weakest as we get older because they are used the most throughout an individuals life. While the importance of increasing strength is recognized in the elderly, the lack of aerobic fitness in the elderly tends to be an interference in accomplishing their strengthening goals.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Elderly Athletes
The Last Great Breed
Throughout my blog I have gone on to discuss the benefits of having an active lifestyle along with the extremities that come with playing a professional sport. Now focusing on a more positive note looking at two individuals who continue to grow older yet still can’t leave the game; Bret Favre and Kurt Warner ages 40 and 38 are the last dying breed of great quarterbacks still left in the NFL. Enjoy it while you can. We’re beginning to run extremely low on our supply of truly elite quarterbacks. Kurt Warner, who set to announce his future soon and Brett Favre supposedly set to do the same not long after, as fans we are on the verge of losing two of the greatest talents the game has ever seen at the quarterback position. Both are leaning toward retirement, and can you blame them?
Now, who can really blame these gladiators if they wanted to walk away. On one side tey have their minds demanding one more Super Bowl title while on the other hand their bodies telling them that there’s nothing left. When the body can no longer go on and is saying no, the answer better be no. After all is said and done, all you have left is your body and for these two quarterbacks who take hits by younger, heavier, stronger guys in the league it will catch up with them in their later years. As much as I hate to say it, I feel these guys need to retire because they will only suffer later down the road.
Monday, April 19, 2010
P.A.S.T. Helping Ex-Athletes Return
In previous posts, I have blogged about the constant struggles retired athletes face when ending their professional careers. Doing some research on the internet, I was able to come across a program that I believe is ground breaking and should be available for all athletes when finishing their professional careers. P.A.S.T, is an organization for Retired Football Players specializing in Pain Management and Medical Resources which also provides medical services directly to individual retired players to address their various needs in the primary areas of Pain Management. These include evaluations, procedures and treatments.
PAST is a Pro Bono service, offered to retired players who are in crisis with their lives and who are simply struggling post-careers. I feel every professional sports organization should have a system like PAST to help transition these players to the next phase of their lives. So many people do not understand the hardships athletes face with their bodies and mind behaviors after they are done playing. PAST currently provides medical evaluations and a variety of medical services to retired players. This program is the first of its kind because P.A.S.T and their affiliated Pain Management, Medical, Drug Dependency facilities and physicians are opening up their doors strictly retired football athletes without having the ex-players go through a third party. It is programs such as these that really help people internally with their lives. I see this program as the new “nursing home” for athletes. It will be interesting to see how this works out because this is definitely a good start.
Retired Athletes and their Struggles
It can be difficult for professional athletes that are retiring from their sport to leave a successful sporting career behind and move on to a new life. The transition time can cause confusion and a lack of fulfillment. The retiring athlete may set new goals and establish a new career but they may still miss an important key. This key can be the difference between a successful transition or a loss of purpose and drive.
One problem athletes are consistently faced with is their ability to have their bodies hold up after they are done competing. By the time they are retired for two years, According to P.A.S.T., a pro bono organization specializing in helping retired athletes recover, 78% percent of NFL players are either bankrupt or have serious financial stress because of divorce and/or unemployment. Within five years of being retired, 60 percent of NBA players are broke. The same problem extends to baseball and hockey players. Retired athletes definitely suffer later in life in terms of their bodies and functioning properly. Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, retired athletes usually are the ones who are found getting the knee, hip and other body replacements later down the road. A veteran may be praised in their sport but in the long run, they will be the ones whom will not be able to walk by they time they are 60, 70 years old. I know from experience that playing football is fun and it is very hard to walk away from the sport but in 4 years of playing college football I have had two surgeries down on my shoulders and still find them dislocating at unexpected times. I look at my problems and wonder how a lot of these athletes live when they have played 10 years plus professionally.
Monday, March 22, 2010
NFL Athletes: Is it worth the stay?
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Athletes and their Brain Behaviors
Doctors today do not know really how to treat or diagnose CTE. That means many of these athletes cases of CTE are never diagnosed. And that is important, because it means that patients are never treated properly, and that potential new drugs to combat or hinder the dementia-related symptoms of CTE are never developed. This ultimately leads to athletes not being able to take care of themselves and in fact possibly becoming dangerous human beings and their families could be at risk. CTE is thought to initially impair normal brain functioning and eventually kills brain cells. CTE sufferers may display clinical symptoms such as memory impairment, emotional instability, erratic behavior, depression and problems with impulse control. A perfect and sad example was once professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who took not only his life but his wife and sons 3 years ago. Doctors determined he had high amounts of testosterone in his body and did not have proper brain functioning.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Slowing the Aging Process with Activity
Our bones age and in that process they lose density same with our heart, lungs and other internal organs. They don't have the strength and stamina that they once had as an individual gets older, but exercise is still essential for aging well and staying active. Endurance is crucial for the body in terms of staying young and healthy. Endurance is measured by the body’s ability to get oxygen to all the working muscles of the body.