How can masters athletes compensate for cardiovascular changes related to aging?
One of the most dramatic age-correlated effects is the decline in maximal aerobic capacity (i.e., the amount of oxygen the body can transport to muscles for use during a really hard effort.) Although some decline in aerobic capacity is expected as athletes age — there is a reason why senior citizens generally don’t compete in the Olympics — you can minimize this impact with high-intensity training. Start by incorporating high-intensity intervals that last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes into your workouts once or twice a week. You can do this while running, cycling, stepping on the elliptical machine or swimming in the pool — anywhere you get your cardio exercise. Once you’re warmed up, do a set of 3 all-out sprints lasting 30 seconds each (or 45 or 60 seconds if you’re already very fit). Then recover for about twice the time of the interval (i.e., 1 minute for a 30-second interval) at about 65% of your maximum heart rate. As you become fitter, you’ll find that you need less recovery time
