Fitness for older athletes - advice needed

[seannunn]

Regarding that last line, never forget that most people "our" age (whether that is 58, 66, or whatever) can't and don't do what we do.
Scott Tinley, a world class triathlete in the 1980's, wrote a book entitled "Chasing the Sunset." The idea behind the title of course is that if you run, cycle, etc., towards the sunset, you are going to delay it (a little bit) because you are moving to the west, where the sun will set slightly later than where you were. I think we can delay our sunset on this earth by more than a little by eating right, not smoking, exercising, etc. Of course we will all have an earthly sunset eventually, but hopefully we can delay it and enjoy the time we have.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[boudreaux]

You figured it out on your on Larry. You got a lot of great input, but you did it by using some common sense. Nice going Man! BTW, you are the Man!

[B_2]

Hi Larry,
You did get some good advice here. I am a geriatric specialist DPT, and also pushing geriatric status, and I would agree with the muscular endurance/composition focus.

As we age we all lose muscle mass and cardiovascular capacity. As we lose muscle mass, we lose mitochondrial density and the capacity to carry glycogen - so facts - daily food quality, quantity and timing is much more important as we tap out on energy stores much faster than our younger selves. Electrolyte depletion is also an important factor that I did not see mentioned here, and monitoring that closely benefits me a lot, personally. Balance and eccentric muscle strength go hand-in-hand, and another very important component to good balance is core strength. The muscle composition changes as we age also - we lose fast-twitch muscle fibers, so some plyometrics and/or agility training may benefit you as well. As an aside, and you probably already know - when you are working on growing muscle, ensuring you are eating enough protein is imperative.

It is not glamorous work, but I believe these things would benefit you more than a focus on running-based cardiovascular conditioning.
Zone 2 heart rate exercise encourages mitochondrial development, so I would not want you to stop running, but I find myself in zone 2 a lot during hiking and strength training so I'm sure you're getting plenty of that.
Other than that, I'd recommend having a closer look at your most recent blood work, or be sure to get metabolic/hormone tests ordered next time you have labs done to see if you are deficient in any major energy areas such as D, iron, hormone imbalance, etc.
See you out there!

[pbakwin]

Electrolyte depletion is also an important factor that I did not see mentioned here, and monitoring that closely benefits me a lot, personally.

Wondering the mechanics of that. It's pretty easy to track hydration by weighing, but what about electrolytes? Recently I found that taking some extra potassium relives some issues for me such as cramping & restless legs. Just taking maybe an extra gram per day, so not a ton. But how do you know about sodium? I don't generally salt food, and don't eat in restaurants a lot. It just always seemed like I get enough sodium in my diet.

[LarryM]

I haven’t had a chance yet to absorb all of the good advice here yet (partly because I’ve been playing in the mountains the past couple of days), but plenty of good stuff here. But one kind of side issue I’m curious about. Regarding cardio, it’s been apparent to me from before I even started this thread that that’s my strong point, or one of them. But something odd has happened recently that I’d like to address. To be clear, it’s likely a good thing. I focused a bit on cardio earlier in the year, and recently I’ve noticed that my heart rate, for a given pace, has gotten significantly lower. My limiting factor is now is breathing* - likely a result of my asthma (well controlled but still a factor). Is this common? Or maybe something else I can work on (though clearly not as high a priority as other things discussed in this thread)? *Or sometimes my legs, but that’s what we’ve been discussing in this thread).

[nyker]

Normally if someone said their heart rate during exertion was generally lower vs., say a year earlier doing the same things, I'd chalk it up to increased aerobic fitness or materially lower weight, better fitness, etc. (unmedicated);

Since you mention you have asthma this could complicate the situation and normal causal relationships related to fitness; For example if you're on any medications one side effect could be an impact to heart rate, so frankly I'd visit your doctor and walk through your routine and symptoms specifically and see if things are ok with the asthma and any possible meds you might be on and take it from there. Do you wear a pulse oximeter while climbing/training at altitude to track HR and oxygen saturation?

[JChitwood]

Regarding that last line, never forget that most people "our" age (whether that is 58, 66, or whatever) can't and don't do what we do.
Scott Tinley, a world class triathlete in the 1980's, wrote a book entitled "Chasing the Sunset." The idea behind the title of course is that if you run, cycle, etc., towards the sunset, you are going to delay it (a little bit) because you are moving to the west, where the sun will set slightly later than where you were. I think we can delay our sunset on this earth by more than a little by eating right, not smoking, exercising, etc. Of course we will all have an earthly sunset eventually, but hopefully we can delay it and enjoy the time we have.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

Hey Sean…Tinley’s book is “Racing the Sunset” in case anybody wants to chase it down. I was a triathlete in the 80’s and a big Tinley fan. He was a very introspective guy for a world class athlete and it came out in his book. I’ve got a copy somewhere in the house you’ve inspired me to read it again. It came out 20 years ago when I was 46 so I’m sure it will have more meaning now.

[LarryM]

Normally if someone said their heart rate during exertion was generally lower vs., say a year earlier doing the same things, I'd chalk it up to increased aerobic fitness or materially lower weight, better fitness, etc. (unmedicated);

Since you mention you have asthma this could complicate the situation and normal causal relationships related to fitness; For example if you're on any medications one side effect could be an impact to heart rate, so frankly I'd visit your doctor and walk through your routine and symptoms specifically and see if things are ok with the asthma and any possible meds you might be on and take it from there. Do you wear a pulse oximeter while climbing/training at altitude to track HR and oxygen saturation?

Thanks. To be clear, my breathing hasn't gotten worse, if anything it's improved a bit, just not as quickly as my heart rate. Also no medication changes, so I'm not particularly worried. Just a little curious. And again, my Aerobic fitness is not my limiting factor in the mountains (it might need a little more work if I wanted to race 10Ks on the flat, but I don't). But will discuss the issue with my PCP the next time I see him.

I've been revisiting Training for the Uphill Athlete & I am going to incorporate some of the advice there. I'm thinking about getting a good HR monitor to more reliably measure HR for some of the workouts (I currently rely on my watch, which is, yes, I know, not accurate, but it's good for showing changes over time, which is one of the reasons that I know that my cardio fitness specifically has improved lately (more to the point, my pace on the flat has improved)).

One specific question - I was thinking of resuming hill repeats on a particular hill in Boulder, behind NIST - it's a dirt road, about a third of a mile, only about an 11% grade (the segment on Strava is called "Kohler Hill Repeat.") But it is popular with local mountain athletes. Yet the grade is a bit low for some of the suggested workouts in Training for the Uphill Athlete. Would sprint repeats up that hill be worthwhile, or should I focus on steeper grades, or some of both?

Basically my issue is that I'd like to dial in an efficient plan, to maximize gains in the time that I have available while also allowing for adequate recovery.

[Jorts]

We’re talking about hiking here right? I’d load up a heavy pack or a weight vest for your hill repeats.

The formula for preventing muscle loss that comes with age is different from the one for strength and efficiency.

[LarryM]

For a steep or long uphill, hiking. For a shorter / less steep uphill (such as the segment that I mentioned), running.

I guess I’m still not 100% clear on what I need to do differently for age related muscular decline versus “normal” strength / muscular endurance work. Seems to be the same sort of exercises.

[greenonion]

What a great thread this has been for us approaching dinosaurdom! Thanks to Larry for posting, and to so many fellow dinos for responding with really good stuff. Lots for me to digest and apply.

Thread HOF material if you ask me.

[Gulf_Coast_Hiker]

What a great thread this has been for us approaching dinosaurdom! Thanks to Larry for posting, and to so many fellow dinos for responding with really good stuff. Lots for me to digest and apply.

Thread HOF material if you ask me.

Totally agree. I'm 60 and live at sea level. Not only is it sea level, but it's flippin' flat as well. So I have to be creative with the workouts. I incorporate some of what has been discussed here, primarily stuff at the gym like the usual leg machines, kettle bell carries, deadlifts, and wall sits. I also ruck a lot with 20lbs. Doesn't sound like much, but add in the heat and humidity of the deep south and then it suddenly becomes a not bad workout.

I'm coming out to CO in a couple weeks to try some 14ers, so I guess we'll see where I'm at.