Among other things, martial artists are athletes. As such we can learn from athletes in other endeavors how we can continue at the top of our game for a long, long time.Below is an excerpt from an article that appears at The Art of Manliness blog, describing the incredible sports longevity of Nolan Ryan. There are lessons to be had. The full post may be read here.
I turned 40 last December.
No, I haven’t had a midlife crisis.
But that number did cause me to self-reflect.
How did the first 20 years of adulthood go?
What can I do to make the next 20 years great?
Around that same time, I happened to watch a documentary about one of my childhood heroes: baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan.
That movie showed up in my life at the right time.
What
caught my attention in the documentary was that Nolan Ryan made his 40s
the most productive and successful part of his career.
Despite his age, or maybe because of it, from when he was 39 until he retired at 46, Ryan did his best pitching.
Between the ages of 19 and 28, he averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Between the ages of 29 and 38, he averaged 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Between the ages of 39 and 46, he averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
He even notched two of his seven record-setting no-hitters while in his 40s.
Not
only did Ryan’s professional success impress me, but his personal
success in midlife was admirable as well. His marriage to his high
school sweetheart, Ruth, continued (and continues today) to thrive, and
he raised three good, down-to-earth kids.
When
you watch clips of Nolan Ryan on the mound in his 40s, he’s got a
presence that commands respect. He looks like a man who knows the talent
he’s got and will continue to express that talent for as long as he
can. He’s got the grit.
I started calling that quiet, determined confidence that Ryan exuded in midlife “Nolan Ryan Energy.”
It’s the kind of energy I want to foster in my life during the next ten years.
So
I dug into some biographies on this legendary pitcher to find ways to
nurture my own Nolan Ryan Energy. Here’s what I uncovered. It’s helped
me as I’ve started navigating my 40s. If you’re into or approaching
midlife, maybe it will help you, too.
Train Hard and Smart
A
key to Nolan Ryan’s middle-aged success was his rigorous and innovative
training regimen developed with his trainers Gene Colman and Tom
House.
Instead of
taking it easy in his 40s, Ryan spent five hours a day, six days a week
on physical training. Before Nolan Ryan, doing marathon workouts like
this was unheard of in baseball. Players might hit a few weight
machines, perhaps do a little stretching, and call it a day. But Ryan
understood that if he wanted to continue to thrive as a pitcher in his
40s, he needed to continue to develop his strength and endurance, and
the way you develop those qualities is through hard training.
Weightlifting
played a big role in Ryan’s exercise routine. He loved squatting
because it helped him develop his lower body power which was the key to
his trademark windup and delivery.
After weights, he would run foul pole to foul pole for laps and then end his conditioning workout with five 60-yard sprints.
Ryan
stuck to this workout schedule religiously. When the Rangers traveled
to other cities to play, he made sure there was a gym he could use to
get his workouts in.
Even
though Ryan went hard with his training, he also understood that the
body of a 40-something differs from the body of a 20-something. The
stress and strain of heavy exercise could wear down his joints and
connective tissues. Moreover, muscles don’t recover as quickly as they
get older.
So besides
training hard, Ryan trained smart in his 40s. Working with Tom House, he
devised innovative training protocols for his aging body. He dedicated
considerable time to water-based exercises to minimize joint stress. He
spent a lot of time stretching. He loved riding a stationary bike after a
game while he talked to the press because it allowed him to get his
cardio in without stressing his tendons and ligaments.
Takeaway: For
many men, their 40s are a season when they let their foot off the gas.
Physical activity slides to the back burner as other things take
priority in their lives. Even if you’re not a professional athlete,
physical health is the foundation for remaining dynamic and effective
into middle age. Find a workout regimen that suits your stage in life
and do it with vigor and consistency.
Be Open to New Ideas
By
the time many men hit their 40s, they’ve developed a well-worn rut in
how they approach life. It makes sense. They’ve likely discovered
strategies and tactics that have worked for them, so why change things
up?
But sometimes
staying the course with what worked for you in the first twenty years of
manhood will only lead to stagnation in midlife.
Nolan
Ryan understood this tendency and its potential trap, so he countered
it by remaining open to new ideas. He was, as his wife Ruth put it, “a
sponge wanting more information.” He would seek mentors and coaches who
could help him continue to succeed and thrive into midlife.
Ryan’s
relationship with Tom House, his pitching coach, illustrates this
openness. House’s innovative approaches to training included utilizing
new technologies, like the Motion Analysis System. Despite his initial
skepticism, Ryan gave House the benefit of the doubt and let himself get
analyzed by the computer. This led to a revelation about a subtle flaw
in Ryan’s pitching mechanics — a tilt of the head — that was impacting
his overall performance.
When
faced with the physical demands of pitching nine-inning games and the
toll they took on his body as he aged, Ryan displayed adaptability
again. He developed new training protocols with House, incorporating
unorthodox methods like throwing footballs for warm-ups. Many pitchers
thought Ryan was a weirdo for throwing footballs before a game, but once
they tried it, they discovered what Ryan knew: it allowed a pitcher to
loosen up without putting too much stress on his arm.
Takeaway: Instead
of getting stuck in your ways in your 40s, be open to new ideas. Read
new books. Keep making new friends. Find mentors. Maybe hire a coach to
help you improve your career or physical fitness. To thrive in midlife,
keep what continues to work for you, but do some exploring too.