How To Hit Peak Fitness In Your 50s​ [CASE STUDY]

Welcome back to another case study episode where we review an athlete's improvement PB or performance in December 2022. So almost a year ago now we got a message from Frank and it read like this. My question to you guys is, would you take on an old, average but determined bloke? I did Cairns in 2011 and I'm about to turn 54 and I've not done very much since 2011. So Frank is a athlete that lives in Brisbane, the warm north part of Australia, and he wanted to improve his health and fitness. That was the main goal and he was using the Ironman as the goal to get himself fit, fit and healthy again. And he wanted a challenge that he'd done before. He'd done Cairns in 2011 and so he signed up for Cairns 2023 and his improvement over that six to seven month period and even up until now he just did use a triathlon last weekend is exceptional. So we're going to go through his case study. Dad. He was a listener of our podcast and after 10 or 15 years out of the sport, quite simply wanted to get a bit of weight off, wanted to get himself fit again and complete an Ironman again.

I love those phone calls, Jordan. It's more special when the person is just so on board and so motivated and basically saying, tell me how hard to jump and I' do it. I'll do whatever it takes to get to that finish line for my first goal. And. And he. It wasn't just about Cairns, it was about the next 20 or 30 years of his life being healthy and fit and enjoying from 50 years of age onwards rather than he could see himself really being unhealthy and, and you know, a lot of medical issues would start to appear because you're absolutely engrossed in your work, which he, he unashamedly says he is but you know, he's really determined to change that around and oh, it was a great, great phone call to have and I didn't even hesitate. It was like, yeah, absolutely love to help you.

Yeah. The question is, would you help an old, unfit but determined bloke? And the answer is a big yes. So he came to us and he did his first FTP test and he completed 213 watts for 20 minutes. And as you'll find out in his results, he's come a long way since that first test back in December last year. So talk us through. I mean he really just wanted some serious guidance and structure, getting back into it and he basically, basically said he has no confidence in what he should be doing. So what, what do you do training wise with someone here? They've got a solid six or seven months which is plenty of time to prepare for an ironman. Well, not plenty of time but it's, it's a time that we're happy with, it's efficient. So what do you focus on to start with?

Finding out what Frank had been doing in the interim, which he by his own admission was pretty much not much. And that's the starting point. We have to find where the level of fitness is. It's almost like someone coming from preseason training after the last season of sport. You know, you might have been at your peak fitness at the end of the season and now you've come back from a holiday where you've lost a little bit of fitness. Well, Frank's holiday was 10 or 11 years so he, he really had a long journey to lose any sort of form or fitness that he had from when he was a young, younger, 40 odd year old guy. And you know, he was just asking for help for. I don't know what to do, how hard to do. It just helped me with the structure and the accountability and it was really simple for me to just really find out could he run, could he actually run continuously for more than 10 or 15 minutes and he couldn't really do that very well. So running was more walking and a little bit of running. So that's kind of where we started. And I think his first 5k continuous run was around 30 odd minutes which is plus 6 minute k pace and it was a real battle and he had sore Achilles and so knee joints and everything was aching and, and so we just had to really progress him gently. Even though it's December and in June we're going to do a marathon. You know, we've got a guy who actually can't really run 5K and he's lining up six months later for a marathon. That's pretty tough ask. So, so they're the things we have to, we have to take into consideration. We want him to get to the start line. So it's got to be a slow, gradual progress and you know, everybody can sort of pick up the bike to a degree with a lot more progression almost. Whereas as a runner you can't, you just have to wait for your body to cope with the load that's going to be thrown at it from the training. So our concentration was getting him in the pool. Just get used to swimming again. There was a certain amount of anxiety about swimming because he hadn't swum for so long and he was most comfortable on the bike but he was just so unfit on the bike that anytime we put him into the hills and we're trying to get him to get some endurance into his legs and, and it was a, you know, it was really difficult. The first month of training was, was really taxing and tiring for him and you know, we just had to be gentle that that was the, the goal and, and he was on board with that and he, he was accepting and not complaining.

And once you start to get used to that adaptation phase of, of the actual consistency of training that is kind of the key focus at the start is just, it's just getting used to training again. Once you kind of get through that starting phase, which is that four to six to eight week mark sometimes, then what are the key focuses? Then what do you start to, to do to really make sure that you're, you're on track to get to an ironman.

So we want to make sure that we're not wasting any weeks. So the first week of training we tested him as we do with everybody and found out where his power was. And there was no point in testing him for running because he actually couldn't run continuously. So there's zero point in doing that except to injure yourself. If you're going to ask someone to go and do a 5k run when they're not actually capable of continually running for 5k then that's a mistake. And the swim was fine. We found out where his swim pace was and really just making sure the sessions we gave him, he stayed in those ranges. And then in the first block of training, you know, he was getting the hang of how to stay in the power ranges. For someone who hadn't really trained. Power didn't exist in those days. Everything was new to him. Even though he had done triathlon before a long time ago, it had changed so much from when he'd done it before. It was more on feel before. So now he's got this scientific proven method to follow which is, which is a game changer for him really. And when you said earlier, you know, six months is quite a good time period for someone to do an ironman. Well that's okay if you've been doing training for, you know, for the last four or five years. But someone who hadn't actually trained for 11 years, that's actually not that much time. So it was always going to be a little bit of time poor. But we had to be quite smart in the sessions we were doing, and he'd set himself up really well. So his work and his family and his training programs were really fitting in nicely. And he was ticking every box and understanding the requirements of the session, and that was the main thing. He was on board with that and understood what was his goal power and, you know, ticking off the walk runs and making sure he wasn't missing any of the swimming session. So he was really accountable to himself on, you know, I've asked for help and I'm going to do everything I can. So. So that was the progression method we used was, you know, getting feedback about how the sessions were going midweek and how his endurance was being able to be built from literally an hour's bike to an hour 20 and progressing your way all the way through to, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna ride 180k by the end of this program. So, so we just had to keep progressing that each week by a little bit at a time that 5 or 10% each week. And there were times where he was riding in 35 degree temperatures and really high humidity, and it was a hard battle for someone whose body is just not used to that. And he, by his own admission, wanted to be a lot lighter. I'm talking he wanted to be 20 kilo lighter than he was when he started. So doing all this training requires nutrition and yet he's trying to get lighter. So there's a bit of a quandary there about getting the right amount of nutrition in without actually continuing to maintain your weight stably. So he was kind of a little bit on the edge where he was not trying to eat too much. But I'm saying to him, well, it's important that for the endurance rides that you don't not be able to get home because you've run out of fuel and you're basically having a hunger flat, or the bonk, as we call it. And so we went through all that sort of initial learning about what his body could cope with, and he adapted really well. And after the first month of training, we retested and already he'd moved up. He moved up from his 200 and whatever it was, you know, he moved up another 5 or 10%. And so we started the next block with new numbers and that's quite exciting. And, and he could string some running sessions together now that didn't have as much walking in it. So, you know, the feedback, the way we're doing it is giving you that incentive because you see progress, and I think that's really helpful. For especially someone who's just new to it, they get quite motivated and the incentive is fantastic to say, oh sure, I've actually improved quite a bit since last time. So. So you know, that was our approach and he, yeah, he embraced it. No, no issues there.

Yeah, I think it's really important to clarify that point on the timeframe that you want to give for an Ironman. Ideally 12 months is probably what we'd ask for. If someone says how long would you like to train me for? For an Ironman, we'd probably say 12 months and so it's double the six months. But I think I was in my head referring to. We just spoke about an athlete on the podcast, the latest episode of the main podcast who gave us less than 20 weeks. And so in comparison it's months is a bit better. You know it's, it was almost 28 or, or 29 weeks. So that's that clarification there. But the, the testing point is, is so valid because yeah, your starting number is your starting number and you know there's no high or low or good about it's just your starting number. But the beauty is as it just keeps going up just gives you more and more confidence as you get closer to race day. And I think that's kind of where I want to go next is that, you know, his final FTP test the week before Can's Ironman was so his first one, remember was 213 watts for 20 minutes and then the week before he did 278 watts for 20 minutes. So essentially a 65 watt increase over that six to seven month journey which just shows how much stronger he got on the bike. Plus he really did achieve his goal of shedding a fair bit of weight. You know, he really, really came off him so he did a really effective job of that. So not only has he gone up 65 watts, he's also gained massive power to watt ratio which helps your speed because combined with the wattage, so it's just a really exceptional improvement on the bike. And we talk a lot about, you know, where do you focus your areas, especially as a beginner athlete. And he said himself he's got no confidence where to start. You've got to swim, bike and lug, rent, run, leg to come. You've got a marathon to train for. You might think that, oh geez, if I'm just walk running or if I'm not getting these endurance runs in and building them up fast enough, I'm not going to be good enough on race day. But you've really highlighted here that the focus at the start was just using the bike to that advantage and doing that again. A 65 watt increase plus weight dropping just gives him such an advantage on Ironman Day to get through the bike leg while slowly progressing the run.

Yeah, and that can't be underestimated if you are struggling to get the endurance into your running. The bike will provide so much cardiovascular stimulation and you're still that load into your body and you want to get to the start line. And you know, the ideal world is that we, we do these 60k running weeks, 70k running weeks, but that's just not possible for some people. So we have to be realistic and try to get people to the start line with the minimum amount of running. And that's where the bike and the pool training can actually be quite an advantage. If you can really do a lot of training on the bike, it will transfer across to running, there's no doubt about it. And so, and the excitement for him was, you know, being a 27k an hour rider to start with and then, you know, being able to ride long distance rides at 30 to 32Ks an hour. And even that 60 minute time trial he did was something around, you know, 37Ks an hour for 60 minutes where seven months earlier he was barely doing for 60 minutes, 30Ks an hour. So it's just a huge, massive improvement. And you feel, he felt fitter, you know, and he was really happy with his whole body shape and he felt better. And you know, he was saying it was really helping him with work and structure and discipline and all those things that are, that are really just the hidden values of endurance sport can give us. Because if you're going to set a challenge that's enormous, this is enormous. Don't underestimate how hard an Ironman is and easy to talk about, yes, I'm doing an Ironman, but you know, the training and preparation and the actual event on the day is one of those things that you'll never ever forget. And so getting him as fit as we possibly could without killing him was going to be, you know, a tough ask. And he's really motivated to do as much as he could. But even him understanding his body couldn't cope at times and had to sort of make a note saying fatigue levels massive, you know, so therefore we'd have to adjust it and not progress the way we wanted to. But yeah, it was massive confidence for him, really. Improvement in his, in his demeanor about everyday activities and felt great about himself because he's an improved human being, really. He was a different version of himself.

Yeah. One big thing you said he wanted to show his family that you do it. He get that, you know, health and fitness back and set himself up for the rest of his life, which is really awesome. So how was his confidence levels going into Cairns and how was his experience?

Yeah, and right from the outset, he said that, I just want to complete the event. I just want to be in a position where I'm not able to finish. And, you know, he was that determined that he would have to crawl if he was going to, you know, falter at any point. But just having a race strategy. And I remember actually I was driving from the duathlon in Canberra up to Noosa and I was talking to him on the phone for an hour or so about his race plan for Cairns. It was, it was a really interesting conversation. And, you know, all the way through, I'm just trying to say to him, you know, here's your ranges for your swim, bike and run. If you stay in that range, you will be able to get through the event the way you want to. And. And he just was just absolutely all on board with that strategy. And, you know, none of this. Do you think I can ride faster? No, that's just. Let's just stay in our lane. This is where we're. We're capable of doing. And, you know, you probably can ride probably 10% faster than we're telling you to, but you'll end up walking the whole way because we hadn't been able to do all of the run training that we wanted. So knowing the story that starting in December and the race is in June and you're running 5K just, and now you're going to run 42K, the expectation is that you can't run 42K. So he was on board with that. And it was just moving forward, keeping the nutrition up and making sure they just focused on, you know, the next kilometer and the next kilometer and the next kilometer, and he ended up being as sore as he's ever been before, getting more injuries, you know, during the event that he could ever imagine and so beaten up afterwards. But he finished and he finished with a smile on his face and his gratitude. I remember speaking to him afterwards. The emotion we had again, it's one of those calls where you're just absolutely loving it. You know, he's right at the back of the pack. Think it's, it's just a buzz for me, for someone who's just got so excited about Completing the biggest challenge that they've done in their last decade. And you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. And we had great conversations straight after the race and the next day and, and he was just, you know, so happy. I think he was going to Bali after that to have two weeks of the biggest rest and recovery you could possibly have. And, and now he's going again for Cairns June next year and what a different position he's in now. And we were laughing about it about a month ago when he decided that he's ready to go again. And after he's just done Noosa and done a really good job at Noosa. Incredible improvement. You know, I think he, from his. He did a race at Mooloolaba where He did a 1 hour 14 on the bike and he did a 109 at, at Noosa and he ran a 10k. You know, now he's under 6 minute k for 10k. He ran 59 at Mooloolabah and he ran 53 at Noosa off the top of my head here. So, you know, five minute improvement on the bike over 40k, seven minute improvement on the run over 10k from March to November. They're stats that you just dream of. And so now he is ready to start his next campaign for his next Ironman, which is going to be the same race and you know, who knows, he could be two hours quicker.

No, it's an awesome story. And yeah, I was just laughing when you were describing the game plan and the race plan for the Ironman and then the post race soreness and I just thought, you know, that's the Ironman just freaking brutal and a lot of people pick up a lot of injuries from them. And that's just when you say you completed an Ironman, everyone goes oh, well done. You just, they just don't know the toll it took on you mentally or physically to cross that finish line. So I just want to finish off by kind of going through some of those results and you know, we mentioned that yeah, Cairns is the goal. But he also just did Noosa triathlon a couple of weeks ago, Olympic distance. And you know, we talk about a 65 watt increase and weight loss and what does that actually equate to, you know, what's increased? So what, what does that actually mean? And you laid it out really well. You know, he was a 28 to 32 kilometer an hour rider previously and then he's done a 60 minute time trial at 37 kilometers an hour. And so that was the wattage wasn't at 278 there. That was a 20 minute test. His wattage was I think 231 or something around that, that range, but for 60 minutes. But that is a massive increase in speed because of the weight coming off as well. So that's, that's what's happening in real life and obviously we're seeing that in the times. The times come tumbling down. And then you mentioned that, you know, his first 5K that he ran, he couldn't break 30 minutes and the weight of before Noosa, he did a 24 minute K, 24 minute 5K. So that's a 6 or 7 minute PB. He went from 604 pace to 450 and I think that's exceptional. And as you said as well, his first 5k was 604 pace. And then he's just run a 10k under six minute pace. Well under, you know, so that shows again, that progression, which is just really exciting to see. And you know, we haven't actually mentioned the swim leg specifically, but he buffed 2 minutes total of his 1k time in that whole period. So 2 minutes faster in the swim leg. So, yeah, I think, I mean, he said himself, he's expressed his gratitude. He said after Noosa that he was yelling constantly, rider coming through. Which for him he said it was just so grateful. He said, thanks for your help because he's officially moving through to the midway to the front of the pack where he's normally used to being last. So I think that just kind of summarises it. And yeah, we also just posted a photo of him from Noosa crossing the finish line. He's got this big smile on his face and if you want to check him out and who we're talking about, then you can go sit on the Instagram page. But I think that smile says it all, that he's really loving this journey and why wouldn't you when you're getting these improvements?

Yeah, and it's great, Jordan, A person like Frank, who has got such determination, I just love that person. That calibre of person is just forever grateful for the assistance. And he didn't do anything special. He just stayed true to the program and his communication was great about how he's feeling and how he's coping and more importantly, he just was determined to just make sure he didn't miss any of the sessions and, and he would be quite upset if he, you know, if there was a possibility that he wasn't going to be able to get through any of the days because of other things that got in the way. And once he was on board with it's okay, then you know, he's a much more measured athlete with his training now. And, you know, you don't have to tick off every single box. But it is important that the message we're getting across while we're doing these case studies is you don't have to do something exceptional to get this improvement. You just have to have a really good structured program where every session counts. And that doesn't mean every session's hard. When I say every session counts, I mean every session counts in its actual goal and outcome that you're trying to achieve. Whether it's a recovery session or an endurance session or a high intensity session accounts for that aspect of what purpose is. And he really understood that. Well, and he would be saying to me, well, I can't do something here. What should I be actually doing for the best bang for my buck? And I'd say, well, your endurance is what's letting you down. Let's not miss that session. Let's make sure we get the endurance, because that's the thing that you haven't done a lot of in 10 years. So, you know, so he was really knowing his numbers, being invested in himself so that he was preparing as much as I was preparing him. He was understanding what the expectation was for the session. So not doing anything exceptional, but doing it very exceptionally well. That's the thing. I was really, I can't wait to help him again. And we have a great rapport together and he's one of the all time good guys, actually. And it's great to see someone like that get really the success that he deserves. And if you put the work in, most people will deserve some success. But I always say you get what you deserve. So. And at the end of the day, he's getting a much better lifestyle because he's fit and healthy and he's enjoying himself through the process, which is brilliant.

We'll have to do another case study in eight or nine months time once he's finished Cairns for the second time and update how it all went. So that's another case study episode finished. We hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you as always, next week back on the main podcast. Cheers. Keep on, Keep on, Keep on.