Outrigger canoeist, 50, transforms his body so he can ‘be one of the fastest old people in Hong Kong’
- Vincente Di Clemente is part of a growing wave of middle-aged weekend warriors who are staying fit later into life
- Italian expat says key was finding a personalised plan taking into account his specific injury and mobility issues
Like many weekend warriors who play or practice the sport they love for fun, Hong Kong’s Vicente Di Clemente had hit a bit of a wall.
The avid outrigger canoeist had been competing in local competitions, but found he was unable to break through to the next level no matter how hard he tried.
“I’ve been paddling for three years now, and I always found some ceiling,” the 50-year-old, who has lived in the city for 10 years and works in the banking industry, said. “It doesn’t matter how much I improved my technique or how much time I spent in the water, there was a point beyond which my performance stalled.”
Di Clemente was on the third team at his local paddling club, however knew he would have to start performing better than at least 10 paddlers to move up teams. Clemente said he spoke to his trainer at the time, who said he needed better conditioning, so the Italian native tried everything – HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), circuit training and weightlifting – however nothing seemed to move the needle.
