It was reported in 1980s that ages at which peak performance was observed had remained remarkably stable in the past century, although absolute levels of athletic performance increased dramatically for the same time span. The emergence of older (masters) athletes in the past few decades has changed the demographics and age-spectrum of Olympic athletes. The primary aim of the present study was to determine whether the ages at which peak performance was observed had increased in the recent decades. The data spanning 114 years from the first Olympics (1898) to the most recent Olympics (2014) were collected using the publically available data. In the present study, ages at which Olympic medals (gold, silver, and bronze) were won were used as the indicators of peak performance age. Track and field, swimming, rowing, and ice skating events were analyzed. In men, peak performance age did not change significantly in most of the sporting events (except in 100 m sprint running). In contrast, peak performance ages in women have increased significantly since 1980s and consistently in all the athletic events examined. Interestingly, as women's peak performance age increased, they became similar to men's peak ages in many events. In the last 20-30 years, ages at which peak athletic performance is observed have increased in women but not in men.
We have previously documented improvements in endothelium-dependent vasodilatation with a Bikram (hot) yoga intervention in middle-aged adults. At present, the effect of environmental temperature in hot yoga on endothelial function is unknown. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of Bikram yoga interventions performed in heated or thermoneutral conditions on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. Fifty-two sedentary but apparently healthy adults aged 40-60 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Bikram yoga practised at 40.5 • C (n = 19), Bikram yoga practised at 23 • C (n = 14) or sedentary time control (n = 19). The yoga interventions consisted of 90 min Bikram yoga classes three times a week for 12 weeks. Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation was measured non-invasively using brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Body fat percentage determined via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was significantly lower in the hot yoga group after the intervention than in the thermoneutral yoga and control conditions. Brachial artery FMD increased (P < 0.05) in the thermoneutral yoga group and tended to increase in the hot yoga group (P = 0.056). No changes occurred in the control group. There were no significant differences in FMD change scores between groups. We conclude that Bikram yoga practised in thermoneutral conditions improved endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in healthy, middle-aged adults. These new findings highlight the effectiveness of hatha yoga postures alone, in the absence of a heated practice environment, in improving vascular health and are of clinical significance given the increased propensity for heat intolerance in ageing adults.
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