How to Set Goal Baselines for the 50+ Athlete
- Brainz Magazine
- Nov 29, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Dan's exercise Physiology/Sports Nutrition education, NSCA Strength and Conditioning background, and work with a wide variety of active older adults since 1998 make him the ideal guide to help navigate the muddy waters of optimal eating and training strategies for the over-50 athlete and fitness seeker.
Jeff is a 54-year-old who lifts weights three days a week, swims twice weekly, and plays basketball on the weekend. Does he have a solid program to maintain peak performance and minimize his risk of injury? Or is he headed for burnout, chronic illness, and a torn meniscus? Balancing training time and intensity is critically important. But establishing optimal fitness capacity baselines should be the top priority, even before planning the weekly program. For most older athletes, this first step never even makes the list.
What are fitness baselines?
Think of fitness baselines as a starting point, or, at least, a current set of measurements that, together, provide a fuller picture of how fit you are and, by extension, the upward mobility that is reasonable for you to believe is achievable. Both resting and age-determined target heart rates are useful for determining oxygen consumption (VO2 max) capacity, illuminating your endurance and sprint capacity. There are several strength metrics (expressed in terms of body weight), as well as mobility and core stability.
Why are they so important?
Without having these initial data points, it’s difficult to determine an objective starting point and, in turn, a reasonable set of goals. They can also be vitally important touchpoints for revealing joint range and strength imbalances (dominant/non-dominant sides, upper/lower body, prime mover/accessory/stabilizer muscle ratios, for instance). This is a major factor controlling (and improving) the conditions affecting your risk of injury and should be a major early-stage focus for older athletes.
How do you measure them?
The link above provides a top-level general overview of baseline interpretations for major fitness capacities for the general population. For competitive athletes, more detailed, profile-specific measurements are used to provide comprehensive evaluations and a much broader range of skills and abilities. These serve to help strength and conditioning coaches establish appropriate protocols and progression frameworks to help their athletes safely and effectively reach their peak levels of conditioning at the right time.
7 crucial fitness baselines for peak performance and injury prevention
Lower body mobility
Common lower body mobility range-of-motion (ROM) restrictions, which are often rooted in corresponding strength imbalances, include a tight hip/glute complex, weak glute muscles (relative to leg strength), improper hamstrings/quadriceps strength ratios, and very tight, limited ROM hamstrings. I have my older athletes lie on the floor in a supine (face-up) position with one leg extended on the ground, to extend the other leg vertically without bending the knee. They should be able to get that leg to 90 degrees or closer (acute hip flexion) with complete knee extension. Also from the supine position, while crossing their lower leg, just above the ankle over the opposite lower quadriceps (with the foot of the stabilized leg on the floor, knee bent to 90 degrees), then tilt the pelvis in toward the trunk, closing the distance between the crossed-over mid shin and the base of the sternum. If you cannot get that space within a few to several inches, trouble for the back or knee may be brewing. The hip is anatomically capable of a broader range of motion than either the lower back or the knee. If it’s too tight to exploit that range when force is applied, it can cause excessive stress on either or both of those joints, significantly increasing the risk of injury. These are especially concerning hotspots for older athletes.
Upper body mobility
By far, the most prevalent and limiting ROM dysfunction I’ve seen in the upper body with my older athletes is a tight upper-pectoral/anterior-deltoid/biceps chain. This is a common predisposition for shoulder injuries and can even exacerbate developing postural problems. You should be able to fully extend your arms straight above your head without a measurable elbow bend. If you can’t, there's a functional mobility shortfall to be addressed. Another checkpoint on that is how far forward you need to let your upper arms drift when your elbows are at 90 degrees, level with your mid-chest, to point your forearms directly vertically (parallel to your spine, as though you are being robbed). If it’s more than 2-3 inches, you have some ROM work to do ASAP.
Core stability
Stabilizing the position and alignment of the spine, either dynamically (moving with) or statically (holding its relative position while the adjacent body part is moving), is central to safe execution of any upper body movement, lower body movement, or, most importantly, when both upper and lower body are moving simultaneously. Often, the pursuit of ever-greater training and/or sports-related movement and force production can result in low back injury as a casualty of that chase. The lower-body ROM and strength imbalances mentioned earlier, inadequate core-stabilizing strength, and coordination build the bridge that delivers this unpleasant and sometimes debilitating outcome. No function in this article is more important to ensure robust athletic activity than this one.
VO2 max
Besides the obvious importance of longer-form endurance and short, high-intensity sprint/burst capacity, an elevated VO2 max is highly correlated with drastically reduced metabolic disorder and cardiovascular disease risk, as well as lower rates of all-cause mortality. Additionally, muscle strength, power, and muscle-endurance, as well as improved coordination and reflexes developed while training to increase VO2 max, all work together to create a more vital, vibrant, and functionally enhanced physical experience. Determining a starting level based on age bracket ranges is an important first step in understanding improvement opportunities that may remain for you.
Balanced strength and range of motion (ROM)
The importance of balancing each of these independently (joint and spine movement range available to exploit, strength capacity among prime movers, accessory muscles, and stabilizing muscle groups) has been mentioned. But the two working in concert (force application capacity and appropriate accessible associated joint mobility) is where the notes become a symphony. Think about dancers, gymnasts, swimmers, and rock climbers. Their athletic effectiveness relies on honing this delicate balance for, potentially, all muscle groups simultaneously. All pieces must operate at their highest level of synergy and interdependence. Unfortunately, that ideal mix is rare, although attainable with the right training approach.
Strength-to-bodyweight ratios
One final ingredient that is both dependent on and facilitates the combination of the musculoskeletal factors listed above (everything but VO2 max) is this hidden gem. The intentional training (once significant ROM, strength component balance, and mobility dysfunction have been corrected) of a relatively balanced ratio of strength for compound (moving at more than one joint simultaneously), large, functional movements as a function of ideal body weight is nothing short of magic for the over-50 athlete. Why? Because it ensures that the body can move as powerfully, smoothly, and efficiently as the sum of its parts is capable. Establishing appropriate starting points as a foundation for sports training for these four exercises is key:
Chin-ups/lat pulls
Squats
Push-ups/dumbbell bench press
Deadlifts
Baseline (and balance among large muscle groups) will be around ideal bodyweight for a one-rep max. Per the NSCA, an 8-rep max load = 80% of a one-rep max load. So, eight reps at 120 lbs. is roughly equivalent to a one-rep max of 150 lbs. While some bodybuilding/hypertrophy-focused athletes strive to lift much more, this is a better goal for most over-50 hybrid athletes who are more concerned with general fitness and integrated athletic capacity (as with swimming, martial arts, obstacle courses, and some of the sports mentioned earlier).
Sprint/recovery capacity
Closely related to VO2 max is the ability to pace rigorous, chaotically timed and spaced bursts of effort over a longer period and manage that process for the duration required. The capacity to lower post-peak heart rate (both as a physical ability and a cultivated skill of deep-breathing and relaxation) is also extremely valuable for the older athlete. There’s no structured, quantifiable measure of these more fluid capabilities, other than focusing on them and noting improvements in similar external conditions over time.
Designing a blueprint to reach optimal fitness baselines
Working toward and then achieving a set of ideal fitness baselines is an individual art based on broadly applied scientific principles. Most older athletes would benefit from the expertise and objectivity of a guide well-versed in the needs, preferences, and priorities for their profile, both for eating and training. So, if fueling for performance consistently with precision, maintaining your athleticism, and avoiding injury are priorities, choose the right mentor. The 50+ Hybrid Athlete subscription program is built around the fundamentals covered in this and my other articles in this six-part series. You can unsubscribe at any time, but you won’t want to miss the ongoing helpful guidance and the time-released, astoundingly valuable bonus products that you get as a subscriber.
Read more from Dan Taylor, MS, CSCS
Dan Taylor, MS, CSCS, 50+ Fitness and Nutrition Expert
Dan left a career in high-tech corporate finance in 1998 to pursue his mission of leading others in elevating and simplifying the art of physical aging through the best fitness and eating practices for the mature athlete (and the aspiring athlete). His online subscription program provides a clear and simple pathway to achieve peak performance while lowering disease and injury risk, adopting powerful and principled eating practices that effectively support the training framework, and developing an individualized, manageable, and adaptable template for both.
