MID-LIFE REBOOT

Hormones wreaking havoc? Do not despair. Corey Coogan Cisek explains how to train smarter, fuel better and tackle the midlife rollercoaster without losing your mojo

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“I describe it as like a frog in boiling water. You don’t realise it’s happening, as it’s such a slow decline, but then you learn about the symptoms and realise you have them all.” That's how Mary Penta, age 46, describes perimenopause affecting her quality of life. Penta is a top age-group MTB rider from the US who has 20 years’ experience racing bikes. “The first thing I noticed was just being tired and not being able to recover from workouts,” she said. “After that, it was night sweats. Then it was sleep disruption. I never had energy for anything. I would do my workout, but I wouldn’t do things after work: cleaning, calling friends or whatever. I was just putting one foot in front of the other.”

Rob Ogren, age 76, seems to have mastered ageing gracefully. He is a four-time US national champion (mountain bike and cyclo-cross), as well as Pan Am Champion and Masters Worlds runner-up in cyclo-cross. However, even Ogren admitted that fatigue hits differently with age: “The signs of insufficient recovery are a lot stronger than they used to be. Tiredness, being cranky, sore muscles, lack of energy. Some days, getting up in the morning, I know it’s not going to be beneficial to do a hard workout.” Truth be told, age doesn’t just bring wisdom, it also brings a certain degree of physical decline - and necessitates new approaches to training.

“The challenge for anybody getting older is that we want to be 21 again,” said Dr Nicky Keay, honorary clinical lecturer at University College London and author of Hormones, Health, and Human Potential and Myths of Menopause. “Acceptance and embracing your age is the first thing. Let’s get rid of all this negative stuff about getting old. It’s an opportunity to refresh and revise what you are doing.”

Hormones and ageing