HOW TO TRAIN FOR A COMEBACK AT 50 - 12/05/07
Olympic medalist Phil Mahre is training to qualify for the U. S. National Championships, where he will race against guys in their teens and early 20's. How does he work out?
Mahre, who refused a 'bye' into the Nationals because he wants to earn his slot, says he can't train as hard or as often as he did when younger---so he has to train smarter.
"I don't get paid to ski race, and I still have to earn a living," he says. So the former world champion designed an efficient, time saving workout.
"I try to do more of my workout at home, and I use stretch cords. They give you resistance and you use your own body weight. I lift weights four days a week to build strength," he says.
Mahre begins each workout with a 10-minute warmup on a stationary bike. He does most of the work on his core. One of his main exercises is the bicycle situp: "Lay on your back, push the small of your back into the floor, bring one knee to your chest and extend the other leg straight out. The key to this exercise is keeping your feet close to the floor, without touching. Raise your pelvis off the floor, then change legs. It will wear you out," he says.
This works the obliques, abs and hip flexors. Mahre also does regular situps, which work the lower abs. To work the upper abs, he does crunches while reaching for the ceiling instead of reaching forward.
To work the spinal erectors, the important and often neglected muscles beside the lower spinal column, Mahre lays on his stomach, and raises his chest until his back is arched, holding it to a count of ten.
Running is not a part of his program, because it uses different muscle groups than skiing. Instead, he does wind sprints. These are intense repeated sprints with short rests. Start with a 30-second sprint, then a minute, and work up to 10 minutes of short sprints with brief rests. "The faster you sprint, the more power you'll build," he says.
One of Mahre's most valuable leg exercises is balance squats. Start by standing in front of a chair, couch or bench, and place a foot on the surface behind you. Slowly bend your standing leg until the thigh is parallel with the floor, keeping the upper body upright. Repeat ten times, or until you can no longer do the exercise with proper form. Change legs and continue.
Most important, Mahre says, is stretching. "I do a lot of stretching, especially hamstrings. Tight hamstrings have a tendency to affect your lower back, and I stretch so that I don't allow back problems to develop," he explains.
But the biggest problem with coming back at 50---or even working out hard at 30---is recuperation. An older body takes longer to recover from the effects of workouts.
"I don't do the same routine every day, because that gets monotonous. One day I do leg stuff, the next day I do core. And I don't do everything the same day after day, I change it up a lot," he says. According to many studies, working muscles in different ways helps keep the body from overtraining. But Mahre will often skip one of his four days a week if he feels tired.
"Be aware of your body. Your body talks to you, it tells you when you need a rest. Training needs to be highly concentrated, so you can spend less time doing it and get just as much from it," Mahre explains.
As for qualifying for the Nationals, here's a hint of the future: last January, Mahre raced a slalom against 123 other racers, including his 19-year-old son, Robert. None had even been born when he won his Olympic gold medal in 1984. He was the 89th racer out of the start. He finished in 16th place. Robert finished 40th.