Right, this one's been brewing for a while. I keep getting messages from riders in the community — mid-40s, maybe early 50s — asking some version of the same question: am I cooked? The short answer is no. The longer answer is that you probably need to change how you train, not how much you train.
I've spoken to coaches like Joe Friel, Dan Lorang, and plenty of riders in the Roadman community who are putting out their best numbers well past 40. The common thread isn't some magic interval session. It's that they stopped trying to train like a 25-year-old and started respecting what their body actually needs now — which is more recovery, more protein, and consistent strength work in the gym. Two sessions a week, 20 to 30 minutes each. Compound lifts. Nothing fancy. But it has to happen every week, not just in the off-season.
The VO2 max piece matters too. You will lose aerobic capacity as you age — that's just biology. But you can slow that decline dramatically by keeping one proper high-intensity session in your week. Something like 4 to 5 times 3-minute efforts at 90 to 100 percent of your five-minute power. It's not comfortable, but it works.
Key Takeaways
- VO2 max decline is real but manageable — one hard session per week makes a massive difference in preserving your top end
- Strength training twice a week is the single best investment a masters rider can make for longevity and power
- Recovery is your limiter, not fitness — protect your rest days like you protect your interval sessions
- Bump your protein to 1.6-2.0g per kg of body weight daily — your body is less efficient at using it now, so you need more of it
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