BAMLife Issue 1 | Page 5

Read more at bambooclothing.co.uk Stretching – crucial, as we get less flexible and less elastic, we need to preserve our range of movement. Recovery time – gets longer with age. My conclusion is to ‘stay in the game’ by avoiding problems. Those big sessions where I beast myself are fewer and farther between because of the problems that magically appear when I really push it. When problems become chronic at the drop of a hat, the thing is to avoid them, by accepting that recovery takes too long to do monster sessions. Little and often is the way.  The most common answer all retiring sports people give when asked what they’d do differently is ‘train less’.  Diet – my second book would be called: ELEM – ‘Eat Less, Exercise More’. All diets point to this If there’s a magic pill for health and fitness for all ages, it’s walking. essentially. Gain an understanding of how diet works and try and maintain a balance. Common sense plays a part in this – so read the packaging, buy local and free range where possible, reduce sugars (diabetes and obesity are rife), eat less meat, lots of fresh fruit and veg and avoid snacking. Also… don’t be a slave to a programme, if your body tells you stuff, listen. Finally… it can take a lot longer for the body to start really purring. A longer warm up whilst listening to your body, being prepared to walk away (the hardest, but most important thing) will serve you well, I’ve discovered!  5