The Aging Athlete

Can you imagine that most athletes become just as sedentary as the rest of us because they are over programmed for performance? What can we learn from a small minority of former top athletes that is especially relevant for our health and lifestyles? Even though most athletes are essentially performance minded rather than maintenance and wellness minded, it's still a compelling revelation why 90 percent of them don't continue a program to try and retain some of their skills and conditioning. Learning from the 10 percent who do stay fit and healthy is where we can all benefit. The Aging Athlete chronicles the fitness and mindset of a group of fascinating retired and semi-retired athletes, of what's worked for them over the years since they stopped competing or serving in the armed forces. Some of the top athletes include Billy Mills - 1964 10,000m race gold medalist once considered the most famous living Native American and the second Native American to win a Gold Medal; Ken Shamrock - former UFC heavyweight champion who was named the World's Most Dangerous Man; Sam "Bam" Cunningham who starred in the famous 1970 Civil Rights Football Game; and Allen Winder, the "Blue-Eyed Soul Brother" who was called upon by Meadowlark Lemon to "break the color barrier... in reverse." "Sore, injured, and had enough ... those are some of the reasons why athletes give up physical activity when the last whistle blows. Sifu Slim started with some big questions and some very special aging athletes -- most of whom were still keeping fit -- provided some incredibly telling replies. Both athletes and non athletes will gain much by reading this book." Gary Casaccio, M.D., Psychiatrist and longtime proponent of fitness and martial arts. Wheaton, IL WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS BOOK 1. Why? Why all of the attention on athletics and aging athletes? What might it be like to be the caregiver/spouse of a 28-year-old athlete who was until recently one of the most physically powerful athletes on the planet? How old is an aging athlete? Hockey great Bobby Orr was injured, and partially hobbled, at the end of his first year as a pro--age 18. His kids have never participated in competitive skating or hockey. Why did kids used to play different sports year round, all seasons, and today it's common for young people to only take up one sport and train for it the entire year? 2. Why isn't wellness emphasized more for all and especially for performance oriented athletes? What are the payoffs of recreation vs. performance oriented sports? 3. Why don't we learn to coach ourselves? Why do high numbers of performance athletes (inc. ex military and ex ballet performers) stop maintaining fitness soon after leaving their performance time? 4. The importance of downtime. 5. How to pursue self-mastery.