This book is about my journey as well as the stories of several other seemingly unathletic, sedentary middle-aged people who, by discovering their own Ageless Athletes inside of them, were able to learn the power of athleticism and its ability to improve how they live their lives. It is a book not only of hope and inspiring stories but also a basic and clear guide on how to discover your own Ageless Athlete, train him or her to achieve athletic goals that you set, and change your entire self-image and way of thinking about life.

In Runner as Hero, Jay Kimiecik becomes an athlete again_in his case, a masters runner_as a way to revive his life. Kimiecik explores the world of aging, training, and performing through a self-experimental, self-reflective lens_ merging science, mythology, and performance psychology. On his heroic journey, Kimiecik talks to aging experts, scientists, top-performing athletes, and the ghost of legendary Steve Prefontaine. Kimiecik's keen observations of everyday living and irreverent style take him on a journey to find the hero within. The result is a fascinating, inspiring tale about how the life as an athlete can serve as a motivational metaphor for feeling alive and achieving nearly anything.

The only marathon training guide athletes forty and older will ever need Updated with full-color exercise photography; cutting-edge training, strength, core, and flexibility programs; and specific instruction for the most popular version of the marathon, the Half-Marathon, this book starts with s simple premise: training methods for younger athletes no longer work for athletes over forty. Melanie and Don Fink present step-by-step action plans for faster times, fewer injuries, and more enjoyment for the Master’s marathoner. Including profiles of successful older athletes, this book also provides ways to avoid common training and racing mistakes, recovery methods unique to forty-plus athletes, secrets to staying injury-free, and much more.

From Simon & Schuster, The Return to Glory Days is the complete, easy-to-read guide to the treatment and prevention of sports injuries for everyone over thirty. An essential resource for active people aged 30 and older, The Return to Glory Days discusses diagnosing pain, probable causes, treatment, and rehab, as well as stretching and preventive conditioning.

Tennis is indeed a true lifetime sport--just ask any tennis player over 50! However, as you get older you may need to adjust your stroke technique and strategy to stay on top of your game. Tennis Past 50 is the only book to address mature players' specific needs with proven strategies that adjust stroke technique, positioning, injuries, and equipment. Tennis Past 50 shows you how to -modify your stroke to gain more power without sacrificing control; -play smarter with adjustments to position on the court and style of play; -improve your doubles and mixed doubles game; -choose the right equipment for your style of play, ability, and fitness level; -eat right for better performance on the court; and -avoid injury and improve your conditioning for better performance.Tennis Past 50 shares the winning insights and tips that the authors have learned from decades of coaching and playing. Tony Trabert was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 1950s and is a popular TV commentator, and Ron Witchey is a well-known biomechanist with a specialization in aging and tennis. Trabert and Witchey teach how to play smarter, so you can be successful without trying to run down every ball, learn how to use spin and adapt traditional shots to your advantage, and handle different playing styles of your opponents. Tennis Past 50 will provide winning instruction that will have you playing better than ever. This book will improve the game of any mature player--male or female, competitive or recreational.

Fast After 50 is for every endurance athlete who wants to stay fast for years to come. For runners, cyclists, triathletes, swimmers, and cross-country skiers, getting older doesn’t have to mean getting slower. Drawing from the most current research on aging and sports performance, Joe Friel--America’s leading endurance sports coach--shows how athletes can race strong and stay healthy well past age 50. In his groundbreaking book Fast After 50, Friel offers a smart approach for athletes to ward off the effects of age. Friel shows athletes how to extend their racing careers for decades--and race to win. Fast After 50 presents guidelines for high-intensity workouts, focused strength training, recovery, crosstraining, and nutrition for high performance: How the body’s response to training changes with age, how to adapt your training plan, and how to avoid overtraining How to shed body fat and regain muscle density How to create a progressive plan for training, rest, recovery, and competition Workout guidelines, field tests, and intensity measurement In Fast After 50, Joe Friel shows athletes that age is just a number--and race results are the only numbers that count. With contributions from: Mark Allen, Gale Bernhardt, Amby Burfoot, Dr. Larry Creswell, John Howard, Dr. Tim Noakes, Ned Overend, Dr. John Post, Dr. Andrew Pruitt, and Lisa Rainsberger.

Conventional wisdom says that middle-aged cyclists should slow down and expect to achieve less as they grow older. But in Cycling Past 50, author Joe Friel shows cyclists that with proper training and the right attitude, the years after 50 can be their best ever. Written for cyclists of all types-road riders, mountain bikers, track racers-this book provides an in-depth look at the full range of considerations for cycling successfully into and through middle age. Joe Friel, a writer and contributing editor to several top cycling publications and a dedicated rider himself, will inspire cyclists toward better performance and more biking enjoyment as he presents: - basic principles of training; - advanced workouts to improve endurance, climbing ability, and sprinting; - training advice for 100-mile events and multi-day tours; - planning tips and a workout program for getting into racing form; - injury prevention tips and exercises; and - body fueling advice. In addition to explaining the physical adjustments seasoned cyclists can make to keep their biking effective and satisfying, Friel discusses the mental aspects of cycling successfully into middle age. He explains the importance of developing a positive attitude, maintaining a high level of motivation, and taking pride in their accomplishments. He also reminds cyclists that, above all, biking should be a fun activity that should be shared with fellow riders, family, and friends.

What is a sacred moment? Is it a big, sudden change in the direction of your life or your physical or mental state? Or is it a moment in which you understood your fears or made a choice to let something go? We may find our lives full of fear, hurt, or pain of loss, and even though these daily experiences have not caused major earthquakes or volcanic eruptions around the world, it is in these moments of our daily lives that we must look for our answers. In Small Steps, Huge Changes: The Extraordinary Moments of an Ordinary Life, writer Phyllis Reed shows us how it is possible to discover healing and joy by choosing to take just one small, courageous step. Through reflections, remembrances, poems, and vignettes, Reed tracks her own small steps through realms as varied as love, parenthood, loneliness, fear, and connecting to places, other people, and holy presence. Each true story, told in Reeds conversational, nurturing tone, is a tribute to those who have found ways to live happily and healthily after great difficultiesto see the extraordinary in their everyday experiences. Taken as a whole, these moments of rising and falling, of joy and defeat, become our sacred lives. Our sacred moments are our greatest gifts, and the choice is ours to step forward and accept and learn from them.

Meet and learn why older men and women are passionate about fitness and athletics: Don McNelly has completed more than 150 marathons after the age of 80. Philippa Raschker has dedicated her life to track and was edged out for the Sullivan Award by swimmer Michael Phelps. Clarence Bass, in his 70s, has the polished physique of a man 50 years younger. Second Wind: The Rise of the Ageless Athlete is an absorbing account of a growing subculture of Americans who are challenging the notion of what it means to grow old. Visit the book's Web site at www.SecondWindAthlete.com. Contents Prologue: Sprinting Into Midlife 1. From Bench to Bench Press 2. The Comeback 3. Older and Faster 4. American Birkenbeiner 5. Fabulous Abs 6. I Want to Be a Winner 7. A Runner's Heart 8. Ironwoman 9. Streakers 10. Swimming Against the Tide 11. Racing Across America 12. Marathon Man Epilogue: Ageless Role Models