Five ways to improve your physical longevity.

It is universally acknowledged that we reach our physical peak in our youth. With age comes a lack of energy, ability and drive to maintain the athletic prowess we enjoyed when we were in high school. But what if we could enjoy exceptional athletic performance in later life? This thought occurred to journalist Mr Jeff Bercovici, who noticed an increase in the number of professional athletes – from Ms Serena Williams to Messrs Tom Brady and Michael Phelps – reaching their prime later than previous sports stars.

The result is his new book Play On, which examines what happens to athletes’ bodies as they age and explores whether different training methods and diets could help us reach our physical peak later in life, too. “For a long time, we thought victory in sports was a matter of ‘faster, higher, stronger’,” says Mr Bercovici. “Now we understand that, so much more often, it comes down to keeping the body healthy enough to unleash the more important advantages of the mind: experience, distinction, tactical nous, emotional stability.”

Below, we summarise five pro trips from Mr Bercovici’s book to help you train better with age.

According to Mr Bercovici, “the most successful athletes aren’t the ones who work out the hardest, but the ones who recognise the difference between beneficial and harmful training stress and adopt methods that maximise the former and minimise the latter”. While pro athletes will have specialists on hand to monitor their activities, the consideration for mere mortals should be balance and conditioning to prevent fatigue and injury. “Muscle cells come in two different types: slow-twitch and fast-twitch,” says Mr Bercovici. “The former contract slowly, but are slow to fatigue. The latter both contract and exhaust themselves more rapidly.” While our muscle composition is knitted into our DNA, we can help stimulate both types to help strengthen the body as it ages. Fast-twitch muscles are stimulated by jumps, sprints and explosive actions (plyometric training). If you’re spending a lot of time on the elliptical cross-trainer, you’ll be encouraging your muscle composition to be more slow-twitch. “In the last few years, researchers have found that applying force to cartilage in a repetitive pattern is what stimulates cells called chondrocytes to manufacture more cartilage,” says Mr Bercovici. If you’re a fan of high-intensity interval training (Hiit), it should comprise a maximum of 20 per cent of your workouts. Balance your Hiit sessions with super low-intensity sessions that require minimum or no recovery. Or if that five-a-side game is the sum of your weekly exercise, add yoga, weights sessions, swimming or cycling into the mix to keep your body guessing.

In addition to exercise, we should also be considering our diet. Mr Bercovici dismisses almost every food fad out there, from non-genetically modified regimes to paleo or alkaline diets. So, what would he recommend introducing? Bone broth and creatine powder. Bone broth contains high levels of gelatine, which has been proven to help prevent and heal a number of soft-tissue injuries, while creatine powder helps build and maintain muscle.

One of the myths debunked in the book is that you need to push yourself as hard as you can to get the best results. Mr Bercovici’s research suggests a more considered, holistic approach to training is needed. “Studies of elite older athletes have shown that one of the ways they stay competitive as they age is getting more deliberate in their training,” he says. “Focusing their limited time on the skills practice or fitness work that is most difficult for them.” When you want to push a bit harder with a workout, Mr Bercovici recommends avoiding stressing older bones by upping the weight, and instead adding a variant such as resistance bands to squats or a Bosu Ball to dumbbell lifts to add a balance element. Personal trainer Mr Tim DiFranceso, who counts former basketball player Mr Kobe Bryant among his clients, agrees. “Approach workouts with a live-to-train-another day attitude, instead of a train-until-you-puke one,” he says.

Recovery should be an integral part of your routine to maintain stamina and avoid setbacks as a result of injury. Unloading exercises such as foam rolling or meditating will help the body rest and recover. But sleep is perhaps the most important factor. “It is during deep sleep that the body’s production of growth hormone peaks,” says Mr Bercovici. Which means getting in those eight hours is essential to prevent muscle wastage.

It is not simply about setting an arbitrary goal. We should make choices based on our abilities and then be realistic and adaptable about what’s achievable. Mr Bercovici recommends setting tiered goals and teaching yourself to self-talk – to train your internal monologue – noticing what helps drive you further and using positive reinforcement to make it a habit. And, as hackneyed as it may sound, try to have fun. “Stress and anxiety manifest in excess muscle tension that can sabotage the co-ordination required for complex actions,” says Mr Bercovici. In other words, choose exercise that you enjoy so you can set easier goals and avoid burning yourself out.