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 pag ..read more

This is part 1 of a 2 part chapter on anaerobic training. 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, powe ..read more

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 favorable for inducing mitochondrial adaptations in slow-twitch m ..read more

Jason and Greg 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 cardiovas ..read more

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 phosph ..read more

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 phosph ..read more

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 If you would like to access the detailed notes behind this episode then please subscribe to our paid Substack posts. The Mid Life Athlete podcasts are free and we hope our fans enjoy them. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and automatic ..read more

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 ..read more

We've mentioned many times on this podcast the benefits of exercise on health. With significant behaviour change could we rethink healthcare as more of a prevention as a service rather than sickcare which is what we've got today. Dr Ramin Rafei thinks we can.  Jason and Greg chat to Ramin about how he came to rethink healthcare and what his interesting approach is via his start-up Unleash. Ramin is a passionate supporter of changing our view on healthcare and he has some ambitious goals.  For some accompanying reading: Latest blog from Unleash: https://unleash.health/unleash-blog ..read more

Jason and Greg chat to JC Cangilla, a listener & mid life athlete who reached out with some questions following us publishing a newsletter on a draft mid life athlete framework: https://open.substack.com/pub/midlifeathlete/p/mid-life-athlete-framework?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web JC's original questions were how do you balance short term vs long term  goals coupled with balancing stuff you should do but within life's constraints.  We were convinced that many of you would have similar questions so we got JC on the show to discuss in more depth. The Mid Life Athlete podc ..read more