Jason and Greg chat to Gavin Booker, who recently took on and conquered Patagonman. The race is not for beginners. It's  a grueling triathlon that takes place in one of the most breathtaking natural settings in the world. Starting in the Aysen Fjord, athletes must swim 3.8 kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers along the famous Carretera Austral, and then run 42.2 kilometers through canyons, next to lakes and waterfalls to General Carrera Lake. Along the way, participants may encounter a variety of wildlife, including sea otters, sea lions, whales, dolphins, foxes, and even pumas.

Turns out Gavin also has an interesting back story, which leads to another inspiring story.  

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Jason and Greg are back interviewing  amazing mid life athletes. In this episode we chat to Matthew Forgham, who was part of a team of 6 men shifting 1 million kg of weight in 24 hours. The challenge was to raise awareness and funds for endometriosis, a condition that affects one in ten women, (176 million women globally). Matthew was the only mid life athlete. The challenge involved using free weights (weighted squats, deadlifts, barbell rows and bench press) to move the 1 million kg. The weight is the equivalent of lifting and moving 200 fully grown elephants!You can donate hereHaving seen the benefits of weight training first hand, this challenge has inspired Matthew to create another challenge that inspires  other mid life people & athletes to adopt weight training. This podcast is also a call out to listeners to get in touch with  ideas that Matthew and the Mid Life Athlete podcast team can turn into an annual challenge. Drop us a line at midlifeathletepodcast@gmail,com  or leave a comment below.

In this episode, Jason and Greg discuss the importance of strength training in maintaining health and athletic performance, and provide advice on how to create a structured strength training program. We talk about the need to have specific goals and how understanding the principles of specificity, overload, and progression are important in creating an effective program. We outline seven steps to consider, including conducting a needs analysis, selecting exercises, and determining training frequency.

Listeners may have heard Greg talk about his latest challenge - an attempt at the 24 hr team relay burpee world record.  Instigated by Nick Gibbins a team of 3 men and 3 women will attempt to do over 12,000 burpees in a 24 hr period to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease. Three of the team are mid life athletes and fair to say exploring the boundaries of what we think is feasible for those of us in middle age.This is the story of their attempt to break that world record over the weekend of 11-12 March 2023.If you feel like contributing to the charity then here is the Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/24hrburpeeworldrecord?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=24hrburpeeworldrecord&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=c750bb6d2bda44c8be0b4a1eedac5e7e

Anaerobic training is important for mid-life athletes to combat muscle loss, strength loss, and loss of power as they age. It involves high-intensity, intermittent bouts of exercise that require the regeneration of ATP at a much faster rate than aerobic exercise. Anaerobic training uses the phosphagen and glycolytic system, while the aerobic system is involved in the recovery of energy stores and the expulsion of metabolic wastes during rest and low-intensity exercise. The benefits of anaerobic training include increased strength, power, hypertrophy of muscles, endurance, motor skills, and coordination. The types of anaerobic training include resistance training, plyometrics, speed, agility, and interval training. Neural adaptations occur with anaerobic training, such as increased agonist muscle involvement, motor neuron firing rate, improved timing of synchronous recruitment during high-intensity exercise, and reduction in inhibitory mechanisms. Central changes occur when intent is present in the higher brain centers to produce maximal muscle force. Motor units must be activated to produce maximal force, and an increase in the firing rate results in summation of successive twitches and greater muscle force production.

Aerobic and VO2 capacity training is important for mid-life athletes as aerobic capacity decreases after the age of 40 years and VO2 max decreases gradually with age. These declines can be slowed down by aerobic exercise, done correctly. The ideal training is a mix between "zone 2" training and high-intensity workouts like interval training. "Zone 2" is moderate intensity characterized by low blood lactate, controlled ventilation, and low perceived effort. This type of training facilitates a larger overall training volume and is favourable for inducing mitochondrial adaptations in slow-twitch muscle fibers. High-intensity training is also beneficial but may have different adaptations. The study by McMaster University in Canada showed that low-intensity and sprint interval training enhances mitochondrial protein content in fast-twitch type II fibers, while slow-twitch type I fibers require low-intensity training for adaptations. Training intensity is linked to adaptations to mitochondrial respiratory function, and overall, training volume is important for building mitochondrial protein, and intensity for tuning them up.

Greg and Jason discuss the respiratory and circulatory systems and how they work together to support the body.

The circulatory system, made up of the heart and blood vessels, brings blood to and from the lungs to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the body's tissues and organs, while also removing carbon dioxide and waste products. The respiratory system, which includes the lungs, alveoli, and diaphragm, is responsible for breathing and facilitating the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the blood. The autonomic nervous system controls breathing and regulates the cardiovascular system, including heart rate and blood pressure, and prepares the body for physical activity

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In this episode, Jason and Greg tackle the basic tenants of the bodies energy systems.

Show notes

The energy systems represent the body’s ability to convert chemical energy stored in food into mechanical work. There are three main energy systems that the human body uses during exercise. The phosphagen system is the primary energy system used during short-term, high-intensity exercises such as sprinting or weightlifting. Glycolytic system uses lactate from the muscles and glucose from the blood and stored glycogen to provide energy to the muscles. The oxidative system is slower than the phosphagen and glycolytics systems, but can sustain energy production for a longer period of time. The primary players involved in maintaining blood glucose homeostasis are insulin and glucagon. Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas. When blood glucose levels get too high, insulin acts to reduce the concentration of blood glucose. Glucagon, a hormone also produced by the liver, converts glycogen in the liver to glucose, which is then released into the bloodstream.

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Before we delve into one of the main parts of the Mid Life Athlete framework - exercise - we thought we’d tackle some foundational topics, starting with muscles and how they work.

In this episode we cover:

* Three types of muscle

* Switching on the muscle

* Activation

* Recruitment patterns

* Levers

* Biomechanical factors & force

* Basic types of action

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After 2 years of interviewing mid life athletes and experts, we've learnt a heap of things and are taking a slight change in direction. During our Summer break we started drawing on that knowledge to work on a framework for mid life athletes. After a few tweaks we are ready to share our work with listeners.  This prompted us to think about changing the podcast slightly, to move away from interviews and focus more on delving into the details behind the framework.  We'll still interview people but it will be mainly in support of a topic in the framework. Listener feedback has always been asking us about the how: how do I implement what you're talking about. That's what the next phase of the podcast will be mainly about.