At what age do you think you'll peak?

[bodhitree]

I'm 26 and feel pretty good, maybe close to the best shape of my life? What age did you peak if you already have?

Of course talking about physically!

I read that women can develop speed/power later in life than men, the best female sprinters are in their 30's where men it's generally 20's.


Thoughts?

[GreenCloudCLF]

All I can think of is that scene in Rocky Balboa..."What, you ain't peaked yet?"

I will never peak. I will plateau...but never peak..

[sanjuro_ronin]

Its funny, it seems that with every generation, the "peak age' gets older ( 40 being the new 30 and all that).

Physically speaking, performance wise, one peaks at different times for different things.

They say that speed peaks in the mid 20's, strength in the mid 30's and endurance can truly be "all over the place".

MA wise, I would suspect that the "mileage on the engine" is more important than the year of the car.

[TaichiMantis]

I'm 26 and feel pretty good, maybe close to the best shape of my life? What age did you peak if you already have?

Of course talking about physically!

I read that women can develop speed/power later in life than men, the best female sprinters are in their 30's where men it's generally 20's.


Thoughts?

My peak year for any sport was age 26. I was playing soccer 3 times a week and beach volleyball 3 times a week. I had 17% body fat...ah the good ole days.:cool:

[GreenCloudCLF]

My peak year for any sport was age 26. I was playing soccer 3 times a week and beach volleyball 3 times a week. I had 17% body fat...ah the good ole days.:cool:

If you did that again, do you think you would have that back?

[David Jamieson]

there are stages to physical development. they've been mapped for a few years now.

peaking and refining are different but essentially and in a nutshell:

1-18 = bone and tissue development along with internal organs and bowels. everything is growing and tere are massive hormonal fluxes and chemical changes occuring. bone is generally soft and tissue is loose and not dense.

18-30 = bone has sealed at the joint and cartillligenous parts are now ossifying, tissue gets more dense and organs and bowels are now fully formed.

30-40 = best time to make muscle mass even more dense and add tensile strength, bone is about as strong as it is going to get.

40-60 maintain what you can and it will be harder

60+ degradation of the entire machine starts happening as oxygenated free radicals essentially rust you out from the inside.

somewhere between 72-84 most of us can expect to die.

is death a peak? depends on your perspective. :)

[bodhitree]

there are stages to physical development. they've been mapped for a few years now.

peaking and refining are different but essentially and in a nutshell:

1-18 = bone and tissue development along with internal organs and bowels. everything is growing and tere are massive hormonal fluxes and chemical changes occuring. bone is generally soft and tissue is loose and not dense.

18-30 = bone has sealed at the joint and cartillligenous parts are now ossifying, tissue gets more dense and organs and bowels are now fully formed.

30-40 = best time to make muscle mass even more dense and add tensile strength, bone is about as strong as it is going to get.

40-60 maintain what you can and it will be harder

60+ degradation of the entire machine starts happening as oxygenated free radicals essentially rust you out from the inside.

somewhere between 72-84 most of us can expect to die.

is death a peak? depends on your perspective. :)


Interesting analysis!

[David Jamieson]

Interesting analysis!


It's not my own, that's basically the way it is in any physiological study, with of course one or two exceptions because there are always one or two exceptions to the rule. :)

[SPJ]

I voted for 18 -26.

a lot has to do with the life style, too.

we have work/family and other social/church obligation.

there is less time to work out or practice.

mental acuity may be "exercised/maintained" well into the 70's

unless of course, we have genetic disorder such as alzheimer--


:D

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

Athletically, I peeked at about 36. Although I had a dip at 33 with the back injury.

I think though, if I had the energy to train like I used to, I could still reclaim and surpass my best...I'd like to think that anyway.....all us old ****s like to think that...

[TaichiMantis]

If you did that again, do you think you would have that back?

Probably not, my knees and back are shot...:(

[TaichiMantis]

I think if I had found CMA early in my sports career, my knees and back might have held up better...And yes, a husband, two kids, full time desk job have pretty much cramped my style. In my 20's it was just me, my job and my sports :cool:

[sean_stonehart]

About 12 years ago... :mad::(

[Lucas]

define peak.

skill set? 35+ most definately.

athleticism...not too sure. still improving. though injuries are a little harder to shrug off as i age.

mentally? 35+ most definately.

over all full package 35+

[WinterPalm]

A fellow student once asked Sifu this and he dismissed the notion. In martial arts, in terms of street survival, we should never have a peak.
All things aside, technique is our number one focus. I hope that today I am better than yesterday, and so forth and so on.
Training to peak is what you do for a sports competition, but it is not a state you can remain in constantly due to wear and tear.
Athletically we may be better as youth, but we also get much smarter as we age...hopefully!:D

I can't answer the question. Hopefully I will accomplish my goal of learning an entire kung fu system, then, once I've trained all of it for a considerable amount of time, maybe I will be able to answer that question. But I am still maturing and growing as a student and the concept of peakness isn't one I would consider for martial arts practice...unless you are talking about preperation for an event.

[Becca]

Athletically? Peaked about 3 or so years ago. Nothin comes easily any more, but it's much faster to back slide. I can still regain what I lost, but it doesn't take as long to start back sliding it's much harder to "get it back" than to just maintain it in the first place. I don't run for a few days and I feel it right away. Then spent the next 2 or more weeks working back up to that level.

But skill set wise, I'm still growing. Before, I used to find a few things that worked and just beat them to death. Now I have to use my head more. maintaining and increasing my "tool box" is no longer a punch line but a passion.

[Oso]

I think I was in my best fighting shape at 36...injuries resulting from said fighting combined with stress have taken a toll in the last 4 years.

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

Athletically? Peaked about 3 or so years ago. Nothin comes easily any more, but it's much faster to back slide. I can still regain what I lost, but it doesn't take as long to start back sliding it's much harder to "get it back" than to just maintain it in the first place

Reply]
At 39, I am finding it is much harder to move forward, than it used to be, BUT I seem to slid back much slower too!!

[GreenCloudCLF]

I will be 28 on Friday. I plan on peaking athletically around 35 or so. So today I enjoy pasta and sloth, and in a few years the real training begins.

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

No, train your ass off now, so you reach the highest peak possible by 35. Then in your 60's, you will still be outdoing the 25 year olds.

[GreenCloudCLF]

No, train your ass off now, so you reach the highest peak possible by 35. Then in your 60's, you will still be outdoing the 25 year olds.

I am a firm believer of 6 months on 2 months off...every 8 months I hit a new peak. Its good stuff.

[Becca]

At 39, I am finding it is much harder to move forward, than it used to be, BUT I seem to slid back much slower too!!
Nobody likes a bragart...:mad:

[MightyB]

This sounds a little hokey- but I'm a firm believer in that you're as old as you feel. I'm 30 something, and I feel the same as I did when I was in my early 20's. The difference is that, if I want a break, I'll blame it on age and nobody argues with me.

----

[Lucas]

I will be 28 on Friday. I plan on peaking athletically around 35 or so. So today I enjoy pasta and sloth, and in a few years the real training begins.

i turn 28 on the 5th myself. HBD in advance.

[Lucas]

Athletically? Peaked about 3 or so years ago. Nothin comes easily any more, but it's much faster to back slide. I can still regain what I lost, but it doesn't take as long to start back sliding it's much harder to "get it back" than to just maintain it in the first place

Reply]
At 39, I am finding it is much harder to move forward, than it used to be, BUT I seem to slid back much slower too!!

u know, i am no where near your level of decay, but i do notice that if i am out due to injury or what not, over the years, it has become easier and easier to "get back up to speed" so to speak.

i hope this trend continues

[Shaolin Wookie]

Nobody likes a bragart...:mad:

Or bad spelling....."Braggart"

[GreenCloudCLF]

i turn 28 on the 5th myself. HBD in advance.

Appreciate it. We just had a baby on the 21st...so my celebration was triumphed by a cute little bundle of joy...but ya know, no big deal!

[Yum Cha]

Peak at what?
Athletically?
Skills?
Focus and determination?
Spirit?

And if we talk athleticlly, are we talking overall, or focused on your fighting style?

Most elite athletes call it a day around 35. That says a lot.

Overall, for regular folks, I reckon it has to be well into the 40s. You have all your foundations, and physical skills, your body is as strong as it will ever get, if not a little slower...

You've done your fitness routines for many years now - you is what you is.

And, you have the experience and techniques to capitalise on them, and perhaps even a little less hesitation to use them equitably.

Closing in on 50, sh1t begins to wear out, break down, and take a lot longer to heal. Working out is more like taking a vintage muscle car out. Couple of burnouts, bit of ratting around - ok, but you still got to baby it a bit, and avoid any silly mistakes...even if you can turn 13 second quartermiles.

[Mr Punch]

..so my celebration was triumphed by a cute little bundle of joy...but ya know, no big deal!Congrats! Sounds like you already peaked! :D


Most elite athletes call it a day around 35. That says a lot.

Overall, for regular folks, I reckon it has to be well into the 40s. You have all your foundations, and physical skills, your body is as strong as it will ever get, if not a little slower...Precisely. Most MAists, well at least TMAists never even reach their peak potential, cos they don't do anything athletic enough! :p


With me, everything's still getting better... except my healing rate.

[Yum Cha]

Yea, healing rate - gotta hate that healing rate.

[mambi]

18 TO 19. IN THE ARMY BACK IN 1970,TRAINED 6 HRS A day minimum. 300 push ups and counting ditto for situps. end the day with 3 mile runs with boots on up at any time and go again and go again.full pack speed marches 12 to 15 miles . With the 101 as trainers the end was when you litteraly passed out.Lucky and fortunate to have had the experience.Other skill later but physicaly.. no doubt form me

[GeneChing]

Stuck on Your Own Plateau (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=767) by K. Tanaka. We linked it to this thread for no other reason than it pops up when you search 'plateau'. It sort of fits. ;)

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

I peaked physically at 32, but so far as skill, I have along way to go before I hit my best.

I am 40 now.

[Becca]

Good article, thanks! I ended up asking myself many of those same questions last fall. I also ended up stopping my formal traing based on what I found out about why I was training. IF, and it's a big if, I start training formally again, I will start from scratch.

When I first started Kung Fu, it was for me, as an outlet. By the time I stopped, I had been on a plataeau for a very long time, well over a year. My perceptions of my training had become different from those over everyone I asked. Kung fu had changed from an out let to a refuge then to a place to escape from.

[Scott R. Brown]

I plan to peak the day I die, somewhere around 115!:)

[Yao Sing]

Yesterday.

[BM2]

Its funny, it seems that with every generation, the "peak age' gets older ( 40 being the new 30 and all that).

Physically speaking, performance wise, one peaks at different times for different things.

They say that speed peaks in the mid 20's, strength in the mid 30's and endurance can truly be "all over the place".

MA wise, I would suspect that the "mileage on the engine" is more important than the year of the car.

Whoa, wished I wrote that. It is how I feel too however just as it is bad to have a car that sits too long and the seals dry out. Fifty is supposed to be when its starts going faster.

The guys at work at that age have two things that they agree on,
Never trust passing gas and never waste an erection:o

[kwaichang]

Jack La lanne is 96 I dont think he has peaked yet !!!! KC

[BM2]

I was also thinking about Jack and what he did on his 50th birthday. His mind is still sharp as a tack too. He did say on his 9?th birthday that he lifts to failure and that he doesn't move as much or as many times as he used to be able to do. It seems as if he was in a car wreck that really messed him up decades ago too. Seems it was his leg and hip. The dude is really short too.