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Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life Paperback – May 31, 2023
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Fast After 50 is for every endurance athlete who wants to stay fast for years to come.
For runners, cyclists, triathletes, swimmers, and cross-country skiers, getting older doesn't have to mean getting slower. Drawing from the most current research on aging and sports performance, Joe Friel--America's leading endurance sports coach--shows how athletes can race strong and stay healthy well past age 50.
In his groundbreaking book Fast After 50, Friel offers a smart approach for athletes to ward off the effects of age. Friel shows athletes how to extend their racing careers for decades--and race to win.
Fast After 50 presents guidelines for high-intensity workouts, focused strength training, recovery, cross-training, and nutrition for high performance:
- How the body's response to training changes with age, how to adapt your training plan, and how to avoid overtraining
- How to shed body fat and regain muscle density
- How to create a progressive plan for training, rest, recovery, and competition
- Workout guidelines, field tests, and intensity measurement
In Fast After 50, Joe Friel shows athletes that age is just a number--and race results are the only numbers that count.
With contributions from: Mark Allen, Gale Bernhardt, Amby Burfoot, Dr. Larry Creswell, John Howard, Dr. Tim Noakes, Ned Overend, Dr. John Post, Dr. Andrew Pruitt, and Lisa Rainsberger.
- Print length336 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMay 31, 2023
- Dimensions7 x 0.76 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101937715264
- ISBN-13978-1937715267
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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From the Publisher



Editorial Reviews
Review
“Fast After 50 is the best of this year’s batch of practical books on science and performance. A great overview of the science of endurance training for anyone, but particularly focused on how to adapt as you get older. Solid advice, clearly presented.” -- Runner’s World
“One of the most trusted coaches in triathlon.” -- LAVA magazine
“Joe Friel is one of the world’s foremost experts on endurance sports. You can, in fact, be fast after 50.” -- Outside magazine
“Read Fast After 50 to learn more about the effects of aging on athletic performance and how you can be a competitive endurance athlete as you get older.” -- Triathlete magazine
“To say that Joe Friel knows a thing or two about how to ride a bicycle and stay fast would be a severe understatement…And with his firsthand knowledge as a 50-plus athlete, he has published Fast After 50 which continues to be a boon for the many cyclists looking to stay fit as they age.” -- Road Bike Action
“For those who are accepting that growing older means slower and less, Fast After 50 might change your mindset and give you a new lease on life…The book offers a smart approach to warding off the effects of age. It contains much that will put your mind at rest and much more than will inspire you to work out with more vigor and confidence.” -- Athletics Weekly
“Athletes bent on defying the aging process will want to get their hands on Joe Friel’s Fast After 50…Friel’s book is jam-packed with sound advice that would benefit younger athletes as well…Fast After 50 is a gold mine of accessible info for all athletes and possibly the newest bible for the aging athlete.” -- Canadian Running
“Cyclists set on defying the aging process will want to get their hands on Joe Friel’s Fast After 50.” -- Canadian Cycling magazine
“The aging process is something none of us can avoid, but with the help of Joe Friel and his book Fast After 50 we might be able to fight off the degeneration or at least understand the process.” -- Pezcyclingnews.com
From the Back Cover
For every endurance athlete who wants to stay fast for years to come: cyclists, runners, swimmers, skiers, rowers, triathletes
Getting older doesn't have to mean getting slower!
Drawing from the most current research on aging and sports performance, Joe Friel--America's leading endurance sports coach--shows how athletes can race strong and stay healthy well past age 50. By training to ward off the effects of age, athletes can extend their racing careers for decades--and race to win.
Fast After 50 presents proven guidelines for high-intensity workouts, focused strength training, recovery, crosstraining, and nutrition for high performance:
- How the body's response to training changeswith age, how to adapt your training plan, and how to avoid overtraining
- How to shed body fat and regain muscle density
- How to create a progressive plan for training, rest, recovery, and competition
- Workout guidelines, field tests, and intensity measurement
Read this groundbreaking book and you'll see that with the right approach, age is just a number--and race results are the only numbers that count.
With contributions from: Mark Allen, Gale Bernhardt, Amby Burfoot, Dr. Larry Creswell, John Howard, Dr. Tim Noakes, Ned Overend, Dr. John Post, Dr. Andrew Pruitt, and Lisa Rainsberger.
Joe Friel is the best-selling author of more than a dozen books for athletes. He is also a masters multiple champion and has coached winning athletes of all ages and abilities from novice to elite, both amateur and professional.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : VeloPress; 1st edition (May 31, 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1937715264
- ISBN-13 : 978-1937715267
- Item Weight : 1.38 pounds
- Dimensions : 7 x 0.76 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #99,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Triathlons (Books)
- #128 in Running & Jogging (Books)
- #174 in Sports Training (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

"Joe Friel has a masters degree in exercise science and has trained endurance athletes since 1980. His clients include elite amateur and professional road cyclists, mountain bikers, and triathletes and duathletes. His clients have included national champions, world championship competitors, and an Olympian.
He is the author of several training books and is a contributor to several magazines and websites around the world and offers clinics, seminars, and camps for athletes and coaches. He also consults with national sport federations and with businesses in the fitness industry. He is the cofounder of TrainingPeaks.com and TrainingBible Coaching.
As an age-group competitor, Joe has been a Colorado State Masters Triathlon champion, a Rocky Mountain region and Southwest region duathlon age-group champion, and a perennial USA Triathlon All-American duathlete. He also competes in bicycle races.
For information on coaching, speaking, or consulting services, contact him by email at jfriel@trainingbible.com or through his blog at www.joefrielsblog.com.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book provides good information and answers questions about aging. They find it interesting and well-written, with an engaging pace that makes it easy to read. The book offers training tips that improve performance and fitness. Readers mention feeling stronger after following the training approach.
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Customers find the book provides useful information for aging athletes. It serves as a reference and provides an overview of concerns and needs. The book provides practical advice backed by science and helps focus training.
"very well written and useful info. totally worth your time." Read more
"...Periodization of training is also discussed with the elements of training adjusted based on where one is in a racing cycle...." Read more
"...For the senior endurance athlete, this book will serve well as a reference and as the basis of an operative program for achieving one's potential...." Read more
"...I’m turning 70 and this answered all sorts of questions and makes my next 10 years in CrossFit look very exciting." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate its straightforward approach and find the early chapters interesting, highlighting the need for high-intensity training. Readers also mention that the book is useful and keeps their interest throughout.
"very well written and useful info. totally worth your time." Read more
"...as the author sticks to supporting and explaining that idea, the book is good...." Read more
"I enjoyed reading the book. It contains science-based training advice for the older athlete. If you can lift heavy, do it twice a week...." Read more
"...Worth the read I does seem to get repetitive/detailed after the first 4 chapters. BC" Read more
Customers find the book's pacing engaging and easy to understand. They say it provides useful information and is worth reading thoroughly. The content is not overly technical, but it's not written for beginners. Readers appreciate how the author builds up the information in the early chapters with promises of answers.
"very well written and useful info. totally worth your time." Read more
"...The book is structured in two parts where Part I (about 1/3 of the book) reviews the literature and describes Friel’s own experience with..." Read more
"...This book represents a tremendous amount of work; almost everything he says is backed by peer-reviewed scientific refeences...." Read more
"...This book does explain how to run the tests without these...." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for improving performance and fitness. They say it provides a training approach that delivers improved results and better fitness. The author is a successful racer and coach, providing great information on maintaining and improving cycling skills.
"...framework to allow one to understand these changes and the ramifications on performance and then offers a training approach to slow down or possibly..." Read more
"...Not only is the Author a trusted source with a great respect for real results Friel is able to keep your interest...." Read more
"...into new thought processes about what it looks like to age well, race well, live well...." Read more
"...At 68 I am going pretty strong and have made good improvements in cycling and the quality of my life." Read more
Customers find the book's strength training helpful. They say it works and they feel stronger. The book focuses on intensity and strength training, which are key to staying healthy and competitive. Readers mention the material is excellent and has changed their training, eating, and living habits.
"...-intensity workouts, methods for reduction of body fat, and heavy load strength workouts...." Read more
"...The book has the title which boils down to "How to Race Strong After 50"...." Read more
"...But other than that one chapter, the rest of the material is excellent." Read more
"...This has changed the way I train, eat and live. Cannot recommend it enough to anyone trying to reach a higher level of fitness." Read more
Reviews with images

Adapting a Masters Athlete to a World Class Training Schedule
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2024very well written and useful info. totally worth your time.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2015The author readily admits that his turning 70 and losing cycling capability are the motivators for this book. It is his claim, backed up by a good deal of evidence, that large declines in performance can be avoided with training and habits that counter physical changes in older athletes. Of the two essential elements of training, that is volume and intensity, it is intensity that must be emphasized to counter the effects of aging. And that is contrary to the advice often given that older athletes must take a long, slow approach to training.
Of all the declines in athletes, it is the reduction of VO2-Max, the ability of an athlete to process oxygen that most severely limits performance. After describing that change and others common to aging athletes, for example gaining fat and losing muscle, the author introduces a rudimentary training plan to address those issues. Key to his plan is the inclusion of aerobic-capacity and lactate-threshold intervals of varying intensity and duration. In addition there are more conventional elements like longer aerobic threshold efforts and weightlifting. His plan is tailored for those in any endurance sport. Periodization of training is also discussed with the elements of training adjusted based on where one is in a racing cycle.
The main point of the book, that is the emphasis on training intensity, is noteworthy. In so far as the author sticks to supporting and explaining that idea, the book is good. However, there is some redundancy and the inclusion of bits of miscellaneous testimony from older athletes does not add much. The author also veers into general health topics of the aged such as sleep, fat, insulin, and diet. The book is a corrective to the notion that people somehow have to substantially decline in old age.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2015Ageing and the impact of ageing on the competitive athlete beyond age 50 is something that has not been written about in book form before. Friel has undertaken a substantial task and done a very good job with the subject matter. The physiologic changes that negatively affect athletic performance beyond age 50 (and to a lesser extent beyond age 40) are fairly drastic as any committed senior athlete can tell you. Friel develops a detailed framework to allow one to understand these changes and the ramifications on performance and then offers a training approach to slow down or possibly even delay the rate of decline. The current state of understanding is nicely summarized in a quote from page 108 of the book:
“This brings us back to the big three- the primary determiners of performance decline with age according to sport science. To refresh your memory, these are declining aerobic capacity, increasing body fat, and loss of muscle mass.”
Friel’s recipe for combating age-related performance decline therefore involves a primary focus on high-intensity workouts, methods for reduction of body fat, and heavy load strength workouts. It is proposed that these three areas are the keys to high performance as a senior athlete.
The book is structured in two parts where Part I (about 1/3 of the book) reviews the literature and describes Friel’s own experience with physiologic changes going on in the human body. This establishes a base-line of what we are up against. Part II describes the various ways that the changes discussed in Part I can be addressed from the perspective of a competitive athlete. Part II includes a substantial amount of guidance on training plans and suggested workouts (along with good appendices that elaborate on work outs in greater detail) as well as discussions of diet and recovery. It is quite comprehensive, if you subscribe to this style of training.
Friel has done a good job of dancing around the whole “diet” morass that is extant. Although he lauds a so-called Paleo diet (and has co-authored a book on the subject with one of the Paleo cult’s pseudo-scientific leaders) he is quick to point out that there is no one diet that works for everyone and that the task is to to determine what works for you.
Friel has written a comprehensive and detailed guide to development of athletic excellence for the senior endurance athlete. The book also provides detailed training recommendations and structures with specific work out descriptions. For the senior endurance athlete, this book will serve well as a reference and as the basis of an operative program for achieving one's potential. Highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024Great news here: The studies of fitness with aging show big declines because most of them are based on athletes that stop trying because they read that there are a big declines with age!
He covers all aspects. What is a given and how training, sleep and diet need to change as we get older. And importantly how we need more time for recovery.
I’m turning 70 and this answered all sorts of questions and makes my next 10 years in CrossFit look very exciting.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024Joe was one of the world's top cycling and triathlon coaches for decades. He provides the viewpoint of an experiences coach, a serious athlete, and a scientist. This book represents a tremendous amount of work; almost everything he says is backed by peer-reviewed scientific refeences. As an Exercise Physiologist, professional coach, and athlete myself I have read many books on training and this is as good as any I've come across.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2017Now I am over 50, in fact over 60, and still try to be a competitive endurance athlete, I have been looking for the science on aging and how to stay strong as long as possible. Joe Friel does not disappoint in his research and writing. He starts out by stating that those who read this book are outside of the normal statistics on aging and athletic decline. He shows studies that track the performance of Olympic athletes who medaled since 1940, and how different ones stayed fit well into their 80's. Next, he talks about the true nature of fitness and how it is measured. I am about half way through, but already my training has changed. In the summer, by primary sport is mountain biking, and I have change my climbing patterns from Long Slow Burn (LSB) to High Intensity Training Sprints (HITS), Within two months, by average speed on a 15 to 20 mile ride has increased from around 6.1 mph to 7.9 mph; and I am usually less worn out after a ride. Thanks for this great tome on staying fit, aging, training and motivation. I bought four copies and gave them away to several of my athlete friends.
Top reviews from other countries
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TrekkerReviewed in Brazil on October 10, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Obrigatório para quem quer manter-se saudável após os 50 anos
Joel Friel, nos traz conhecimentos importantíssimos a respeito do envelhecer com saúde, mantendo autonomia e desempenho após os 50 anos de idade. Ele mesmo, já com mais de 70 anos, analisa e explica com dados científicos o processo fisiológico do corpo humano conforme este envelhece. Oferece soluções práticas e programas de exercícios para conseguir chegar-se a uma atividade física adequada e prazerosa, com menos riscos de lesões.
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Cliente de AmazonReviewed in Mexico on May 1, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro para los ciclistas
Gran comunicación del vendedor. El libro fue para regalar y les gusto mucho
- Mr. Rick KerswillReviewed in Australia on May 25, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the read
This is a must read for athletes of any age
He provides alot of information , that is relevant and useful to those which have the necessary knowledge and ability to understand what is be discussed.
Back this up with some other reading material and you will be in a better place
- Sylvie D'Aoust - D'Aoust Training SystemsReviewed in Canada on February 5, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the 50 + FEMALE CYCLIST
I first purchased the audiobook before purchasing the actual book for reference.
This book has a TON of great information for female & male cyclists over 50.
Understanding how things are changing in our bodies impacts the way we train.
A must-read and essential training reference book for any cyclist!
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TKReviewed in Japan on February 25, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars 読むべき
しっかりした一次ソースに基づき、自分のトレーニング計画について考えらせられる。