Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Health check before hard training after 40
Sudden cardiac events in sport are rare, but the risk rises after 40, and many masters athletes who later had a problem had brushed off earlier symptoms as being out of shape. A conversation with your doctor before a hard training year, covering chest symptoms, family history of early heart disease, blood pressure and medicines, turns a vague worry into a recorded decision about whether any further tests are needed.
First tasks
- Fill in a pre-exercise screening questionnaire tonight
- List any relatives who had heart problems or died suddenly before 60
- Book an appointment to talk through your training plans with your doctor
- Write down your doctor's advice and any follow-up tests the same day
Exercise warning symptoms card
Chest tightness, palpitations, fainting, or breathlessness out of all proportion to the effort are the symptoms masters athletes most often train through and later regret. Writing the ones your health service lists as urgent onto a card in your kit bag, with what to do and who to call, means the decision is made before the session rather than halfway through a rep.
First tasks
- Look up your health service's list of urgent heart symptoms during exercise
- Write the symptoms and the emergency number on a card for your kit bag
- Save the card as an emergency note on your phone
- Tell two regular training partners where the card is and who to call
- Reread the card and update your emergency contact @recurring(yearly)
Medicines checked against your training
Several medicines commonly started in midlife change how training feels or what it risks: some blood pressure tablets cap your heart rate, some cholesterol medicines are linked with muscle aches, and blood thinners change the picture for contact and fall-prone sports. One review with your pharmacist or doctor, with your sport named, tells you what to watch for and stops you mistaking a side effect for poor fitness.
First tasks
- List every prescription, over-the-counter medicine and supplement you take
- Ask your pharmacist how each one could affect hard exercise in your sport
- Note any effect on heart rate, heat, bleeding or muscle soreness in your log
- Keep the list in your wallet for the next time a medicine is prescribed
