Running ahead: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE
DUE TO AGEING 1
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING
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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING 2
Contributing Factors to Decline of Sports Performance Due to Ageing
Decathlon is a host of sports events that require strength, power, speed, muscle mass, and
high cardiorespiratory endurance of the sportsmen and women to compete at the highest level.
Athletes who take part in decathlon are very active during their 20s. As they age and reach the
age of 30 and above, their performance decreases drastically. Many of them retire before they
reach 40 years because their bodies can no longer endure the games' physical; demands.
In the case of Nash Fountain, at 25, he was strong enough to compete in the game
because his body could endure the stringent physical demands required for decathlon. However,
at 55 years of age, Nash feels less power, less speed, less strength, less muscle-mass, and
declining cardiovascular endurance. At 55 years, Nash can't compete as well as he used to at 25
years because his body has changed, and he is not at the physical level he used to be at the prime
age of 25 years.
One of the reasons Nash feels his physicality is reducing is the decline of the maximal
heart rate. According to Powers and Howley (2018), maximal heart rate is the maximum rate in
beats per minute that an individual can reach when engaged in an exercise with rising endurance
intensity. Decathlon is an exercise that puts athletes in a situation where there is a rising intensity
of endurance.
The most important factor associated with the maximal heart rate is VO2max. VO2max is
the highest ability for the body to utilize oxygen uptake during exercises. VO2max is used to
predict the endurance performance of individuals depending on their age. VO2max is measured
by the volume of oxygen an individual can use per kilogram of their body weight.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING 3
The ability of the body to take oxygen to the lungs affects VO2max. Also, how well the
body transports oxygen to the blood and the muscles during an activity influences the value of
the VO2max of an individual’s body. Again, the volume of oxygen that the body muscles can
use to enhance the muscles' contraction during an exercise affects the value of VO2max (Powers
and Howley, 2018).
The value of VO2max affects the physical fitness of an individual. Fitness is crucial for
athletes like Nash Fountain in their sports activities. Athletes train so hard because regular
exercise improves VO2max. The higher the VO2max an individual has, the more aerobic fitness
this person has. According to Dunford and Doyle (2008), the VO2max value for an individual
starts falling at the rate of 10% per decade from age 30 and above.
VO2max starts declining as someone ages because of the decline of the maximal heart
rate. Regardless of the physical fitness of an individual, the maximal heart rate must decrease as
they age. It means that a highly fit athlete's maximal heart rate will reduce the same way that a
couch potato does. The difference between these two individuals is that at any given point in
time, the maximal heart rate of a physical fitness coach is higher than that of a couch potato
because of the difference in their levels of exercise.
A decrease in the maximal heart rate decreases the delivery of oxygen to the muscles and
the cardiac output (Dunford and Doyle, 2008). As a result, VO2max decreases. A decrease in
VO2max, therefore, lowers the performance of a sports individual in endurance activities. At 55
years old, Nash Fountain is at an age where his VO2max has declined. Therefore, his power,
strength, speed, and cardiorespiratory endurance have decreased because of a decrease in
maximal heart rate that, in return, decreases VO2max that is responsible for endurance in sports.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING 4
Muscle-mass decrease with age is associated with the muscular system of the body.
According to Cervelli et al. (2018), 40% of the total body mass is accounted for by the muscular
system. One of the essential muscles in the body of a human being is the skeletal muscles. These
muscles are responsible for the control of the involuntary movement of body parts like the limbs.
For every individual, the age between 20 and 30 years represents their best physical
capacity. The body's muscle mass at this age is at its best to withstand the physical demands of
physical activities. However, from the age of 30 and beyond, the muscle mass of the body
reduces gradually. Cervelli et al. (2018) say that after 30, the mass of an individual starts
decreasing at a rate of 3-8% per decade.
Reduction of muscle mass affects the involuntary movement of body parts because there
is a considerable effect on bones and joints' movement. A decrease in muscle mass leads to a
reduction in the strength and power of an athlete. A decrease in muscle mass leads to an increase
in fat in the body of individuals. An increase in fat in the body leads to changes in the
composition of an individual's body.
The effect of decline is muscle-mass is that the stiffness of joints increases, kyphosis
results (stature reduces), and bone density goes down (Cervelli et al., 2018). Aging affects the
number of cells in the body that aid skeletal muscle growth and repair. As one age, these cells
start reducing in number. Also, the production of these cells in the body declines with age. It
means that athletes who depend on these cells for movement suffer from the body's decreased
involuntary movement as they age. Without the muscles' high functionality due to reduced
muscle mass, they lose their strength and power, and speed.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING 5
Loss of muscle mass affects the type II fiber population (Also known as fast-twitch
fibers). When muscle mass decreases due to aging, the type II fibers are the most affected
because they reduce considerably (Powers and Howley, 2018). When type II fibers decline in the
body of an individual, the total strength goes down. The speed of movement also decreases. Loss
of strength affects athletes at an advanced age because they can’t exhibit the same muscular
power as they did in their younger years. Power is affected because it is a product of velocity and
force. The muscles generate the force that is a factor of power. With reduced force due to a
decline in muscle mass, the power an individual can generate reduces (Powers and Howley,
2018).
Decathlon is a sports activity that demands high physical fitness from the athletes. High
physical fitness is associated with individuals between the age of 20 and 30 years. At this age
bracket, athletes have more muscle mass, strength, power, cardiorespiratory endurance, and
speed than above 30 years of age. However, aging leads to a reduction in maximal heart rate and
muscle mass. These factors lead to loss of speed, strength, power, and cardiorespiratory
endurance.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO DECLINE OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE DUE TO
AGEING 6
References
Cervelli, M., Leonetti, A., Duranti, G., Sabatini, S., Ceci, R., & Mariottini, P. (2018). Skeletal
Muscle Pathophysiology: The Emerging Role of Spermine Oxidase and
Spermidine. Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 6(1), 14.
https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci6010014
Dunford, M., & Doyle, J. A. (2008). Nutrition for sport and exercise. Australia: Thomson
Wadsworth.
Powers, S. K., & Howley, E. T. (2018). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness
and performance.
