RandyMossIsBoss Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Very general question, but I was just thinking of Revis and his sharp drop off, and it led me down a rabbit hole of questions. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any good answers other than evidence that athletes slow down around 30 and then "age" as the reason. I understand that the aging process is to blame, but that answer doesn't satisfy me, I want the specifics. I'm curious about the science here, specifically in regards to NFL athletes, why exactly is it that around 30 skill players often decline (less testosterone?) , and what exactly is it that declines (straight line speed? lateral quickness?). Does the wear and tear of being an NFL athlete contribute to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoleINGout Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Others just "gain a step" being that they are younger and faster while the veteran player usually becomes reliant on the more cerebral aspect of the game. Injuries and wear/tear over many years dating back to youth is the breakdown overtime. Metabolism slows with age usually and more effort is exerted in order to keep up. Mental health also comes into play over time as well. Sometimes with age there is also a regression in the players passion or desire to compete the same way as when they were younger. Less inexperience and less adrenaline perhaps is a factor to a certain degree. That's why it's important to always strive for the best and improve. Always set new goal personally and try to achieve them; the chase keeps you fresh in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFinisher Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Rate of misregulation during mitosis increases as we age. Leads to decreased tissue renewal and repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibrown Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Sprinters speed peaks in their 30's but this isn't the same for NFL players. I think NFL players have an earlier peak because of the heavy workload they are under compared to sprinters. That said as above aging is real, we become less explosive and stiffer as we age. the body composition of a human male is a lot different at 20 compaed to 30. Generally the physical peak for an human male is 25 after that there is a decline in muscle mass unless you work to keep it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soko Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Tissue/muscle repair slows down. I also read a study that said your lower body muscles generally “age” or wear down faster than your upper body muscles, and that effects lots of guys’ explosiveness, running strides, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPPT1974 Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 I place that as age and also younger people that are grooming to take their place. Plus muscles and tissue indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigInBoys Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 "It's not the age, it's the mileage" - Charles Barkley These guys put a tremendous pounding on their bodies in practice/games. Someone's physically breaking down when they're getting pounded by 250 pound men at 100 miles per hour for 10 years? You don't say.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superman(DH23) Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Muscle and tissue repair slows, meaning it takes longer to recover. Testerone production decreases. Metabolism slows down ( this is a biggie, you actually have to work harder to stay in the same shape). Understand that pro athletes are rare specimens. They are the 1% of the top 1% in terms of genetic predisposition to fitness. But as the saying goes, father time is undefeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TecmoSuperJoe Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Seems like the older guys can't even slack off a little. Thinking of guys like Jerry Rice, and how he worked hard every day as he got older probably just to keep up with the young bucks. That goes for exercise, and eating. And even then, Rice was fortunate with injuries. Most guys aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancerman Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Body doesn’t recover as fast. You constantly need to break down muscles working out to maintain a high enough athleticism to play and then when you play you beat the **** out of yourself and need to recover from that as well. You have a week to do that 16 times in the season. Thats why when a Rice or TO says they could come back and play at a high level, they probably believe it. Maybe they do it for a week or two. Can’t sustain it. You end up playing with younger guys who recovered and healed their muscles and joints more than you who can push themselves hard enough to be just out of reach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltman Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 I think people's long speed stays pretty similar...but endurance and lateral/quick twitch movement declines over time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrOaktown_56 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Stem cell therapy is coming up. Not sure how legal it is for the NFL, but it will prolong guys careers, as will modern medicine... The next few years in sports science will be very intriguing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancerman Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 2 hours ago, MrOaktown_56 said: Stem cell therapy is coming up. Not sure how legal it is for the NFL, but it will prolong guys careers, as will modern medicine... The next few years in sports science will be very intriguing. It won’t be legal in sports. I don’t see anyway you can justify banning steroids and certain supplements as performance enhancers and then accept stem cell therapy which would be more controversial for obvious reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanedorf Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 10 hours ago, MrOaktown_56 said: Stem cell therapy is coming up. Not sure how legal it is for the NFL, but it will prolong guys careers, as will modern medicine... The next few years in sports science will be very intriguing. Still quite a significant gap in our knowledge of how to use them medically. What's the correct dose and dosing schedule? Where do they go, how long do they persist ? At what stage of differentiation do they provide the best therapeutic ? Lots of unanswered questions For an autologous stem cell treatment (your own cells) - the ability to regulate their use is based on the processing that happens ex vivo ( outside the body) and showing the FDA proof of efficacy & safety for the procedure. Many clinical trials in process, still a long way to go in understanding how to best use them. Note that cancer is also governed by stem cells growing out of control, so there are some very serious consequences for messing around in this arena When MDs perform Human Stem Cell transplants to treat Leukemia patients, 35 years old is the cutoff age for the donors for harvesting the highest quantity and quality of stem cells - because these cells do decline with age. Which gets back to the original question about losing a step and the comment from TheFinisher about reduced ability to repair and replace. Over the course of a brutal NFL season, these athletes need to repair and replace tissue constantly and as that ability declines, so do their skills on the field. This is part of why you'll see the "older" NFL players look fresh in September, but fade by December - January. As far as the NFL is concerned, the drug EPO stimulates stem cells to multiply and migrate into the blood stream and EPO is currently banned by the League. Healing faster seems attractive, but many of the same processes yield superior athletic performance by enriching their blood with oxygen-carrying red cells. I am not aware of a test to determine if you've had a stem cell therapy treatment, while its easy enough to test for EPO in urine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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