Most athletes hit their 30s, 40s, or beyond and assume their best athletic years are behind them.

Slower. Weaker. More aches.

That’s the narrative we hear.

But here’s the truth: age doesn’t automatically mean decline.

And more importantly — you’re probably capable of becoming a better athlete now than you ever were in your teens or twenties.

I’m living proof. At 53, I’m jumping higher than I did at 23.

And here’s the real reason why (and it’s the part nobody talks about):

You didn't train perfectly when you were younger. Not even close.

Nearly all of us — myself included — wasted our “prime years” with:

• Inconsistent training

• Mediocre programming

• Not enough sleep

• No individualized training

• Eating too much junk food

So yes, your younger self had youth on their side… but you were not optimizing it.

Your older self, however?

You can train with more consistency, better methods, better resources, and better awareness. That alone is enough to outperform the younger version of you — even with the natural aging process.

That’s the foundation of this entire conversation.

Now let’s get into the advantages older athletes actually have.

1. You Have More Control of Your Time — and Your Training

When you’re young, you train around:

• Team practices

• Games

• School schedules

• Coaches dictating your workouts

As an adult, you control your entire training ecosystem.

Morning session? Great.

Lunch break? Perfect.

9pm after the kids are asleep? Works fine.

You finally get the freedom to:

• Choose your program

• Choose your training style

• Choose your intensity

• Train at times that actually work for your body

For many people, this alone leads to far more consistency than they ever had in their teens or twenties.

2. You Understand Your Body Better

Experience gives you a huge advantage younger athletes simply don’t have: body awareness.

You know your weaknesses.

You know what types of training your body responds best to.

You know when something is “off.”

You know the difference between soreness and injury.

Young athletes don’t think about any of this. You just go hard and hope for the best.

Older athletes can adjust, adapt, and self-correct in ways younger athletes cannot — and this leads to more productive training sessions and fewer setbacks.

3. You Have More Resources

When you’re young, you probably can't afford the best:

• Coaching

• Equipment

• Gym memberships

• Recovery tools

• Physical therapy

• Quality nutrition

As an adult, you likely can.

And when you combine better training with better tools (like Vert Trainer) and better guidance, you get results your younger self never could have achieved.

4. You Have Unlimited Access to Information

We didn’t grow up with:

• Google

• YouTube

• Online courses

• AI

• Dunk Camp 😀

Now you can learn almost anything instantly.

You can literally study the training methods of elite jumpers, dunkers, weightlifters, and strength coaches from your phone. You can come to Dunk Camp and learn from the best coaches and dunkers in the world!

If you don’t know what to do, it’s not because the information doesn’t exist — it’s because you haven’t looked.

This alone can completely transform your training outcomes.

5. You Have Total Control Over Your Nutrition

Teens and young adults usually eat whatever is:

• Convenient

• Cheap

• Available

• Fast

As an adult, you choose:

• What you buy

• What you cook

• When you eat

• How you fuel recovery and performance

Nutrition compounds over time, and most older athletes eat far better than they ever did as young athletes. This matters — a lot.

The Real Advantage: Older You Trains Better Than Younger You Ever Did

This is the heart of everything I’m trying to communicate.

The biggest reason you can outperform your younger self is this:

You CAN finally train “right.”

• Better programming

• More consistency

• Smarter progression

• Better nutrition

• Better recovery

• Better sleep

• Better technique

• Better understanding of your own body

• Better training tools

If I could go back in time and train the way I do now, I would’ve been a much better athlete at 23 than I am at 53.

But I didn’t train this way back then.

Most people didn’t. And that’s the point.

Your current training — done intelligently — can more than make up for the advantages youth once gave you.

Age Isn’t a Limitation — It’s an Opportunity

Growing older opens the door to:

• More consistency

• More intelligence

• More structure

• More awareness

• More resources

• More discipline

Put those together, and you absolutely can:

• Jump higher

• Get stronger

• Move better

• Feel healthier

• Perform better

…than you did in your so-called “prime.”

The best version of you might still be ahead — not behind.

Ready to start training smarter — not just harder?

One of the best tools I use (and designed) for jump training is the Vert Trainer. It gives you a consistent, adjustable target, boosts intent on every rep, and makes training more fun and measurable — especially for adult athletes who want to maximize their time.

If you want to get more out of your jump sessions, you can learn more here!