It is funny how as you get older you have to adjust to how your body responds to certain situations. Those young bucks really have no idea what it is like to be older and train. They also do not understand the older guys need to prepare for a tournament differently then younger guys.
I used to coach Wrestling so I know how to train the younger guys. You push them hard, break them down, build up their cardio and then give them a day of rest (or a couple of days to recover) before the tournament. They recover quickly so they need to work up to the very end to make sure their timing is okay and that they don't lose the edge.
We have all seen it with Professional and College level athletes who have a lay off before competition and it messes up their timing and they need a few pitches, or baskets to get back on and get back to where they want to be or to where they were before the layoff.
With Old guys it is different. At least it is different for me. I find that if I train hard up to a couple of days before I compete all I end up doing is being sore and not able to really compete like I would want to. I compare this more to swimming where they work really hard but the last couple of weeks before a big Swim Meet they taper and rest. Those kids are bouncing off the walls with all the new found energy they have and if they hit their taper right swim the best times of the Season. I think Old Guys need to taper. I think it makes you fresh and ready to compete. I think being old you already have a degree of rust so it does not hurt as much because you are used to dealing with the rust (timing) issues anyway and it does not affect your grappling as much.
Anyway here's to another Tournament. May everyone be injury free and compete to the best of their ability with respect for their opponents.
No comments:
Post a Comment