By now you’ve probably heard about the amazing performance of US Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres. She set a new Women’s 50-meter freestyle record at the Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska where she also qualified for 2 individual Olympic events in swimming. What has everyone so in awe is that Dara Torres is 41 years old and the mother of a 2 year old daughter.

That’s nothing short of absolutely amazing!

I mean, really think about it for a moment.

If anything, competitive swimming is a young person’s sport. Most swimmers are at their peak in their late teens and early twenties. Swimming phenom, Michael Phelps is 23,.

As an aging “weekend warrior”, I really wanted to find out more about how Dara Torres manages to maintain an edge over competitors half her edge. Now, I’m sure a very large part of it has to do with incredible genetics, but great genetics alone can’t carry you to the Olympics in swimming at 41.

There has to be more to it and that’s where I felt we all could gain some real insider secrets.

Sure enough, in this ABC News article, Dara reveals her typical day and how she manages to both train and spend quality time with her daughter Tessa.

The first thing that jumped out at me about Dara Torres is that she has an incredible amount of discipline. Of course this should be pretty obvious for any successful athlete. She has a very precise schedule that her day is structured around. There’s definitely no hitting the snooze button when her alarm clock goes off at 6am!

The other thing about Dara’s training that’s very important to note, is that she has a support team in place to assist her in her goals. She admits that some days she feels her age, however she also says she has days when she feels like she’s 20 again and is flying through the water.

Dara has a strength coach who has developed a personalized workout routine. She has built up her muscles and also shed some excess pounds so she’s extremely fit and lean, which are both assets to a competitive simmer. It’s my firm belief that resistance training is vital for everyone, young and not so young alike, in order to stay looking and feeling young.

Dara claims her “secret weapon” is two full-time personal stretchers who work with her for 2 hours every day after lunch. Flexibility, along with strength, is a winning combination for most athletes, especially swimmers.

To round things out, Dara Torres also gets a massage 3 times a week and sees a chiropractor regularly. Dara stresses how important it is at her age to keep her body feeling young. She admits that she cant’ swim hard in the morning and then bounce right back to hit the pool again in the afternoon like the teenagers can.

In order to get this edge, Dara Torres invests $100,000 a year in her support team. I’d say that’s money well-spent, especially if you can extend your dream well beyond what most people would think is possible.

I’m thinking about taking a page or two out of Dara’s book and spend more time working on my flexibility. I’ve never been all that flexible, but these days I’m no where near pliable. It may be time to spend as much time working on flexibility movements as I do with weight training.

I’m also really tempted to try out some professional massage therapy.

I think the real lesson to be had from Dara’s story is that it’s possible to maintain peak physical conditioning in middle age and beyond. It just takes a bit more effort and attention, acknowledging your weaknesses, and giving yourself every possible edge.