Most of us enter the dad bod and mom bod era upon reaching our mid- to late-30s and beyond. It is the stage in our lives when physical activities and sports take a backseat, fitness suffers, waistline grows and weighing scales creak under our, well, weight. Till as recently as the early 2000s, this stereotype extended to professional sportspersons as well. However, in the post-pandemic world there are more middle-aged professional athletes than ever still playing showing the way to recreational athletes, weekend warriors and those on the fence about adopting an active lifestyle that it is possible to be fit and in good shape despite the advancing years. One of the biggest reasons for middle-aged sports professionals and recreational athletes being fit for longer periods of time is greater general awareness about exercise, nutrition and recovery. Also, sports science and medicine have advanced by leaps and bounds. “Today’s athletes (both elite and recreational) have access to better training methods, personalised nutrition, advanced recovery techniques, and injury prevention strategies, all of which help them perform at a high level for longer,” says Dhruva Sivakumar, a fitness expert at Cult Fit.
