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It's Never Too Late

Old 03-29-22, 05:35 AM
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work4bike
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It's Never Too Late

Incredible transformation and she (Joan Macdonald) started relatively late in life, only about 5-years ago and she lost 60-lbs and gained so much muscle. This is why I hold weightlifting in such high regard. I think too many people focus too much on cardio to keep us healthy, but so many cardio exercises ignore so much of our bodies. Even cycling doesn't work on leg musculature in a complete and symmetrical way.

P.S. I'm fully aware of the importance of cardio, I'm just saying it's not enough. I know old cycling guys that can still ride a bike fairly good, but get them off the bike and their age does start to show, because of their aging musculoskeletal system.


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Old 03-29-22, 09:23 AM
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I think I agree with you. I use to be of the opinion that cardio was all I needed. However the older I get the more I have weird issues on the bike that I never had before. Probably why a lot of old guys tend to want to sit more upright on their bikes. However to fight that need to sit more upright it seems to help to do exercise to strengthen my arms, middle and upper body.

Not to the point of bulking up with more muscle, but just to be able to lift multiple times at least the same amount of weight I could ten years ago when I was much more active.

I'm not much for regular exercise other than cycling, but when I do realize that parts of my body are significantly weaker than they use to be and I exercise them then the annoyances I have on the bike from them goes away. So hopefully over time I can make resistance exercising a habit. I'm pretty certain it's helped me stay comfortable and even get more aero on my bike for longer periods of time.

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Old 03-29-22, 11:38 AM
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For most of us it's really difficult to bulk up too much without a very focused weight training regimen and diet. I've also found that stretching is crucial as we age. I use this contraption at the gym, because I can twist in all kinds of positions to ensure total flexibility.

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Old 03-31-22, 08:59 AM
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Yeah. There are several components to "health" with strength and cardiovascular fitness being arguably the two most important ones. You really should exercise them all if your main goal is to stay healthy as you age.
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Old 03-31-22, 11:21 AM
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Sarcopenia is a real thing and it's inevitable. Which doesn't mean you'll inevitably get weaker, it just means that we have to fight back as we age or we will get weaker. Osteopenia/osteoporosis is another one. How many of us have even gotten baseline DEXA scans?
They've just recently figured out how bone works:
https://elifesciences.org/articles/50210
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6784298/

The good new is that we can strengthen our bones. The bad news is that walking and running are worthless or nearly so. We have to load our bones so heavily that they notice it, somewhere around 10% of breaking strength. The means heavy strength training like the ladies in the video up there. Hip fractures are what can take us down. So strengthen your bones while you're strengthening your muscles. Lumbar spine, femur, pelvis, femoral neck. Bone strain sensors sense both axial (column) loading as well as bending stress. I thought there was a chance I was hurting my back by squatting heavy. Turns out it's the other way 'round. Bones need stress and what they notice is strain.
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Old 04-03-22, 12:24 PM
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this gives me inspiration to exercise more and regularly...
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Old 04-03-22, 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
The bad news is that walking and running are worthless or nearly so.
Walking isn't useless. If the distance walked is long enough walking will provide enough weight bearing to keep the bones strong Hiking while carrying some extra weight or stair climbing is even more effective.
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Old 04-04-22, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
Sarcopenia is a real thing and it's inevitable. Which doesn't mean you'll inevitably get weaker, it just means that we have to fight back as we age or we will get weaker. Osteopenia/osteoporosis is another one. How many of us have even gotten baseline DEXA scans?
They've just recently figured out how bone works:
https://elifesciences.org/articles/50210
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6784298/

The good new is that we can strengthen our bones. The bad news is that walking and running are worthless or nearly so. We have to load our bones so heavily that they notice it, somewhere around 10% of breaking strength. The means heavy strength training like the ladies in the video up there. Hip fractures are what can take us down. So strengthen your bones while you're strengthening your muscles. Lumbar spine, femur, pelvis, femoral neck. Bone strain sensors sense both axial (column) loading as well as bending stress. I thought there was a chance I was hurting my back by squatting heavy. Turns out it's the other way 'round. Bones need stress and what they notice is strain.
Originally Posted by wolfchild
Walking isn't useless. If the distance walked is long enough walking will provide enough weight bearing to keep the bones strong Hiking while carrying some extra weight or stair climbing is even more effective.
I'm going out on a limb and agree and disagree with both of you

Walking is good for very out of shape people, just getting off the couch in an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. However, it's relatively easy to plateau at the physical activity of walking on flat ground (I'll get back to that). And plateauing is a bad thing, especially for us old people who started losing muscle mass in our 30's. Sure, as you plateau, you can simply speed up the walking and/or increase the distance, but the problem is that many already recommend we walk up to 10,000 steps per day, that's about 5 miles. Who has that kind of time for an activity that we easily plateau?

So, in that sense, I do believe walking is mostly a waste of time.


WRT to walking on Flat Ground, especially with weight, I've done that as well, except the ground was not flat, I did it in the mountains, mostly the Appalachian Trail. It really is a totally different exercise than simple walking on flat ground. I compare hiking thru the mountains with running, it's far more comparable, WRT biomechanics. And contrary to popular belief, hiking downhill is tougher on the body than hiking uphill. I believe hiking in the mountains one of the best ways to develop a kickass aerobic base.

So in that sense, I believe walking is one of the best exercises.




P.S. When I first got into running, I made this very mistake of plateauing. All my runs were simply at 5-miles. I did that for every run, never changing it up. I did plateau and soon started suffering from injuries and mental fatigue. BTW, the injuries were NOT impact related, they were from overuse. It's a total myth that running is bad for the knees, nor any other body part(s). The body needs change and to be challenged. I still run, but I mix it up with tempo runs, speed work, different distances, including long runs, etc...


...Ok, time to get back out in the garden...



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Old 04-04-22, 03:08 PM
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Well the walking thing, like the cycling thing is sort of got a lot to do with how much time you have to commit to it. Back just before I started cycling for most of my free time, me and my wife were walking 80 to 90 miles a week. We trimmed up pretty well on that alone, but had to walk at lunch time and during the evenings and weekends.

Took probably 24 hours of time each week just to walk what I can do in 5½ hours of time on a bike. Though I might add that for me, I didn't get much cardio benefit from walking, rare that my HR got over 95 bpm on those walks. My wife's HR got up to 140 with her short legs trying to keep up with my long stride.

So yes, if you don't have the time to devote to walking, you'll get more out of exercise that can give you more cardio benefit in less time. Cycling is one of the top contenders for that as is high intensity training.

Running I can't say, I'd think so, but I've never enjoyed running. But for certain, I can cover many more miles faster on a bike and get to enjoy more sights in the same amount of time.

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Old 04-05-22, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
Walking isn't useless. If the distance walked is long enough walking will provide enough weight bearing to keep the bones strong Hiking while carrying some extra weight or stair climbing is even more effective.
Sorry, wrong. All that is good for you but it won't strengthen your bones, not even backpacking in the mountains. It takes g's. Jumping is great, plyo is great, heavy squats is great. There's not enough impact in walking or running, even with a backpack. Ultrarunners get osteo just like cyclists do. Studies show that just standing still and stamping one foot down as hard as you can works. Impact. Most of us try to walk or run as smoothly as possible. I ride, I lift weights in the gym, I backpack in the mountains and hike in them frequently, been doing all this consistently for years, still got osteo. I think I haven't lifted heavy consistently enough because cycling, hiking, and backpacking all got in the way. Recovery is always a problem.

Google "osteogenic bone loading".
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Old 04-07-22, 07:56 AM
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I wish I hadn't waited so long to get control over my weight. When I turned 50, I weighed 360lbs. Over the next year and a half I lost 190 lbs. through diet and exercise only. Cycling became a game changer early on because it was the only way I could get effective cardio with my bad knees and back. I couldn't ride out of sight without getting off and walking at first ,but a year later I cycled 360 days that year, averaging over 100 miles a week. It really never is too late to do anything, especially considering you can't go back and all you have is right now. You just have to make the best of now.
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Old 04-16-22, 07:12 AM
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Good stuff!!!
The first video is a great introduction to importance of strength training; the second video is great for busting myths....






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Old 04-18-22, 08:45 AM
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I stepped away from strength/weight training for a cpl years due to covid. I'm not well motivated at home, but at the gym I get my reps in. anyway last August I started going back, gradually. been very happy about it. I like to think it helped me recover from a shoulder injury. meaning, building back some muscle before the fall & having a routine to go back to, after a period of physical therapy
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Old 04-18-22, 12:29 PM
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This guy is getting ready to celebrate his 80th birthday. Notice what he can do today, despite his joint injuries he sustained earlier in his life from doing crazy stuff, like lifting his body weight with one arm....


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Old 04-26-22, 01:42 AM
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I really admire these people
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Old 04-26-22, 06:56 AM
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I improved 3 standard deviations on my Dexa scan Z score (-2.7 to +0.3) by hiking with a loaded pack. It took almost 2 years to reverse my osteoporosis

Curious to how many have done that with weight lifting and what were before/after actual numbers.

My old family Doc used to give me crap for not exercising to his liking. I liked carrying a 30 pound golf bag walking fast on hilly ground for 6-7 miles. He busted my chops. Somewhat recently did 18.x METs on a sports Cardiologist's treadmill. Cardiologist said it was absolutely astounding, astounding for an old fart.

Worse things one can do than walk in hilly terrain with some weight on them
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Old 05-20-22, 11:08 AM
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Infreakincredible.....

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