Hi Reader,
Last week I talked about the physical pension - the idea that every good decision about sleep, movement, nutrition and recovery is a deposit, and every poor decision is a withdrawal.
This week Debbie Potts came back on the podcast for the first time in seven years and said something that adds a dimension to that idea I haven't framed quite this way before.
She calls them the go-go years, the slow-go years, and the no-go years.
The go-go years - when you're active, capable, still doing the things you love. The slow-go years - when things are still possible but require more effort and more planning. And the no-go years - when the decisions you made, or didn't make, in the previous two stages have finally had their say.
Most of us are somewhere in the go-go years. And most of us are so focused on this season's training, this year's race, this block's numbers, that we haven't seriously asked the question sitting underneath all of it.
Is what I'm doing today helping me to be better tomorrow?
Not faster for next October. Better at 65, 70, 75. Still capable of doing the things you're planning to do with the people you love.
I shared something in this conversation that I don't talk about often. My dad was diligent about his financial pension. Me and my brother and sister are forever grateful for that. But he didn't pay the same attention to his physical one. By the end of his life his financial pension was there, but he couldn't use it. He couldn't drive. If he’d had a surfboard he would have been strong enough to carry it, never mind take grandchildren into the sea. His physical pension was in overdraft, and no amount of money in the bank could fix that.
That's not inevitable. But it is the result of choices made, or not made, across many years.
The athletes I've watched age well - and I've been in this sport long enough to see the full arc for a lot of people - are almost never the ones who trained hardest in any single year. They're the ones who kept asking the right question. Is what I'm doing today building something that still works in 10 or 20 years?
Last week I asked you to identify the one pillar of your physical pension that needs the most attention. This week I want you taking that one step further. Ask honestly which stage you're in - go-go, slow-go, or somewhere in between - and whether your current habits are preparing you for the next one.
That's not a scary question. It's a useful one.
Train smart,
Wardy
P.S. SWAT members are getting access to a series of winter training videos this month that cover exactly this kind of long game thinking in practical detail. If that sounds like the kind of support you've been looking for, new members join at £65 a month, no minimum term. Find out more https://www.simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle
P.P.S. Debbie's full conversation this week is one of the most honest discussions I've had on this podcast about what it actually means to age well rather than just age. Worth your time.
Listen here Just Because You Exercise Doesn't Mean You're Healthy
Read the full article here. Fit on the Outside, Struggling on the Inside: What Endurance Athletes Keep Getting Wrong About Health
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Simon Ward
Performance coach for endurance athletes over 50
Helping you train smarter, race stronger, and stay in the sport for the long haul.
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