My brother was a competitive athlete in high school and college. He is now 33, and just bested his best 1.5 mile run and max bench press this summer. He has been putting a major amount of emphasis on his diet over the past few years, and has really grinded out his training.
Heck no, it is all about how you take care of your mind and body. 40 is attainable if you take care of yourself.
Auron Heidenrach - My brother was a competitive athlete in high school and college. He is now 33, and just bested his best 1.5 mile run and max bench press this summer. He has been putting a major amount of emphasis on his diet over the past few years, and has really grinded out his training.
That can be true for non-elites. But if you get to Olympic level/pro athletes, its just very rare. Take a look at the ages of Olympic medalists in running for instance - very few have their PB (or set world records) at age 33.
Its not about the age, its about the miles and wear that the body has attained through ring and gym wars...
Wandy is 36 now and at what looks to be the end of his career. We all have heard stories and seen footage about the wars that he has been through.
As stated earlier, A. Silva is 37 and hasn't taken nearly the amount of punishment that Wandy has... he looks fresh and crisp in what would be the twilight of his career. But instead of eating punches to get to his damage range... Anderson takes a page out of the Matrix and dodges most of that damage.
WhiskyJars - 30 is def the peak . a
nyone that says it isnt is older then 30 trying not to feel like a old over the hill fuck
It's funny, when I looked at the thread title; I thought the same
...however, I'm 26 (though some days I feel about 40)
depends on the person I would say, you see people that seem to peak earlier and later all the time. Everyone's body is different 
i dont think age is the indicator... it's time spent... you only have so many years. for example...
even though guys like anderson, chuck, randy, etc,... have fought well into their 30's... a guy like Jon Jones has started so young... i doubt he lasts as long. Jones will probably retire before his 33rd birthday.
what's happening now is that guys are entering the sport at a much younger age.
trt, hgh, etc... can only do so much... the body can only handle so much. Because guys are entering at such a young age, 33 will eventually be old in MMA.
I dont think there have ever been this many elite young guys:
- micheael mcdonald (21)
- jose aldo (25)
- jon jones (25)
- barao (25)
- Gustaffson (25)
- dominick cruz (26)
- bendo (28)
- weidman (28)
- belcher (28)
- condit (28)
- benavidez (27)
etc...
Lots of old farts on this thread not wanting to deal with reality.
Broz, you think I can hit the clubs 7 nights a week, chase putannas and stuff turkeys until the sun comes up, then drink a double espress and go to work and get the job done like I did when I was 21? Nah, I can't I need at least a disco nap and the dead nights (sun, mon, tues) off.
georgejonesjr - Thirty is past peak for athletes in general - something like 5% of Olympic gold medals have been won by athletes over the age of 30
Most people want to get a real job and have kids at some point.
33-35 is when skills decline: speed quickness cardio etc.
When you need to resort to TRT it's over.
To reinforce TheDecider, athletics do not happen in a vacuum. It may very well be that there is a 'hard' cap of 30~ for something as critically important as mitochondria begin to slow down, but there are also other factors beyond the sport: are you as psychologically hungry as you were before? Do you live in a society that supports athletes throughout their careers so you do not have to worry about a 'real job' at around 30? Do you want to have kids and do other things? Has the talent pool suddenly expanded, or are your training methodologies outdated? What about diet? Marious Pudzin... Pudzilla did fuck all for his diet - yeah he was juicing by all accounts, but filling your body with shit is certainly going to affect you later when you have begun to slow down.
In general I think GJJ is correct, but there is more too it than understanding the length of your telomeres.
kyleburkle -BUFFGEO - ... oh and 25-35 years old is still the prime when it come to general athleticism
lol do you play sports or work out trust me after 30 you definetly slow down
31 here feel like a thousand
Im sorry that your 31 and feel like hammered shit. That is certainly not normal for any athletic person who takes care of himself. Im 44 now and when I was 31 I was fuckin crushing 21 year olds in every way.
FreightTrain - 30, no.
35, definitely (with a few exceptions).
This seems more logical.
There is no peak regarding age. Different fighters age differently in the ring depending on a number of factors to do with their style and game.
As a GENERAL rule I'd guesstimate that peak age for an MMA fighter is around 26-33 roughly speaking.
Of course there are exceptions (let's not get into TRT either for now).
So I'd say a general upper limit for a fighters peak years would be around 33 but of course a guy who's been in wars, lots of mileage, lots of surgeries, etc... is going to come up short sooner.
Likewise a guy with a slick, technical game who isn't a grinder and has not taken much damage in their fights will age better. Also guys who rely less on their raw physical attributes should age better too.
I dont believe their is a age but more of a shelf life. Like 10 years for mma.
When a champ leaves the UFC and takes the title with them.
If two people of identical genetics and size, but whom are 10 years apart in age, participate in the exact same training program and diet, the 31 year old is most likely going to be superior to the 21 year old.
Top ten ranked fighters 30+
| Overeem 32 Werdum 35 Cormier 33 Mir 33 Nog 36 Barnett 34 Big Foot 32 Mike Russow 35 Hendo 41 Evans 32 Shogun 30 Machida 34 Lil Nog 36 Rampage 34 A. Silva 37 Sonnen 35 Bisping 33 Boetsch 31 Munoz 34 Belfort 35 | Okami 31 Stann 31 GSP 30 Fitch 34 Kampmann 30 Koscheck 34 Shields 33 Edgar 30 Melendez 30 Maynard 32 Guida 30 Lamas 30 Siver 33 Faber 33 Bowles 32 Pickett 33 Torres 31 Urushitani 35 Yamagichi 35 Cariaso 31 |