Yesterday I went to the Y; my first time in a gym since the start of the pandemic. Argh. Despite working out in my home gym I’ve lost strength.
I’m reminded of the saying, “He who represents himself in court has a client for a fool.” He who coaches himself …
I’ve invested in a multiple dumbbells and a bench I can adjust from flat to two different inclines. I have multiple different full body exercises and depending on the day I do different ones. What happened? Why have I lost strength?
I’ve made a set of life choices. Not bad choices but they were the priorities for my time.
In the fall of 2019 we sold the big house near Boulder, CO, downsized and bought one in Tabernash, CO with great mountain biking, hiking, downhill and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. But we only have three paved roads: US 40 and two county roads so I mostly ride trails and gravel.
Several months later we were in social isolation. With great outdoor activities here, our cardio actually improved. We also had lots of projects in the new house, which was about 90% finished. I have a full set of hand and power tools and like doing projects. I did lots of fire mitigation, which I described in this column:
Anti-Aging: The Full Body Workout
And of course, I chopped firewood and shoveled snow. But I wasn’t working out as regularly in the gym.
After I got home from the Y, I started thinking. I couldn’t lift as heavy weights as before, but I’m still fit for activities of daily living like those above.
My wife and I bought a tandem kayak the summer after moving here and paddle several days a week. We enjoy watching the osprey, raptors who eat fish. They arrive in the spring to their nests high in the trees on the islands. Then the chicks appear, peaking over the edge of the nests. And learn to fly and dive to catch fish. We enjoy our peaceful new activity together. We go on camping trips with friends to state parks with lakes. By kayaking I built upper body endurance, but not strength.
Then I got the eBike, which I love. I can ride harder trails, still working hard but not suffering quite as much. And I can ride the hilly dirt roads for several hours. But I don’t ride for as much time or as many miles as I rode regularly on my Merlin road bike around Boulder. Historically I’ve climbed passes over 11,000 feet on my Merlin. This year no passes.
I’m also engaging in volunteer activities:
We’ve joined the Grand County Wilderness Group, whose mission is to help people to enjoy the wilderness responsibly. We’re at trailheads on weekends to answer visitors’ questions and advise how to hike and camp in ways that don’t disturb the environment. This past year the group helped 21,000 visitors at Monarch Lake alone. I’m on the Board and we’re working on a strategic plan for the group — important but time consuming.
I lead discussion groups on foreign policy at the library. Next month we’ll discuss the Ukraine — I’m reading the background book now. I enjoy the intellectual discussions and they help keep my brain sharp.
I participate in the Grand County Community of Writers. I’ve been writing and editing non-fiction since the 1980s. These authors bring short stories and progressive chapters of novels. I’m learning about character development and pacing. Fascinating.
These volunteer activities bring richness to my life but take time away from exercise.
How to reconcile all of this?
Am I a dilettante, dabbling in different activities? I prefer to think of myself as a Renaissance man.
Reflecting on the last four years since we moved to the mountains, I don’t regret any of the choices I’ve made. I was an excellent ultracycling racer. I liked training 10, 15 and even 20 hours a week. I enjoyed the multi-day events. But all the training started to feel like a job and I’d peaked as an ultra-racer.
Now I’m a pretty good mountain biker and cross-country skier with loads of room to improve in both sports. I feel challenged in ways I didn’t toward the end of my ultra career.
I’m working on specific weaknesses:
A truck hit me in 1989 on a training ride for the Race Across AMerica. Among other injuries, my right rotator cuff was irreparably torn. It hurt paddling the kayak. A PT taught me exercises with stretchy cords and this past summer I could kayak pain-free.
We had great snow last winter and I cross-country skied 93 days. And developed an overuse injury: I strained my left glute. The PT gave me a set of exercises this summer and I’ve strengthened both of my glutes and the muscles they connect to.
Cross-county skiing involves putting most of my weight on one foot, pushing down and back with that foot against the snow and quickly shifting my weight to the other ski and gliding forward. The more I can transfer my weight from side to side the better I ski, which requires balance. I bought a balance board and I can easily balance four and five minutes. I even stand on it while washing the dishes. Four years ago I thought two minutes was great.
I am improving in ways that are important to me. I don’t have as much pure strength as four years ago but I have better functional strength for the activities I enjoy.
This quote by Hunter S. Thompson sums up my attitude, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’” ― The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955 – 1967
The temp is up to 20F. Time to put on my woolie long underwear and ski clothes. If I get going very fast descending on my skinny skis, I get scared, sit down and use my butt as a brake. Today I’ll do descending drills and then ski an easy course to build my endurance.
Thanks for reading.
My eBook Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process incorporates the latest research and most of it is new material not published in my previous eBooks on cycling past 50, 60 and beyond.
The book explains how to get the most benefit from your endurance rides. I provide sample training plans to increase your annual riding miles and to build up to 25-, 50-, 100- and 200-mile rides. I explain why intensity training is important and the pros and cons of gauging intensity using rate of perceived exertion, heart rate and power. I include how to do intensity exercise and different intensity workouts. I integrate endurance and intensity training into an annual plan for optimal results.
Anti-Aging describes the importance of strength training and includes 28 exercises for lower body, upper body and core strength illustrated with photos. I provide an annual plan to integrate strength training with endurance and intensity training. It also has 14 stretches illustrated with photos.
Anti-Aging has an annual plan to put together all six of the aspects of aging well: cardiorespiratory exercise, intensity training, strength workouts, weight-bearing exercise, stretching and balance. The book concludes with a chapter on motivation.
Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process is your comprehensive guide to continuing to ride well into your 80s and even your 90s. The 106-page eBook is $15.95.
Coach John Hughes earned coaching certifications from USA Cycling and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. John’s cycling career includes course records in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200-km randonnée and the Furnace Creek 508, a Race Across AMerica (RAAM) qualifier. He has ridden solo RAAM twice and is a 5-time finisher of the 1200-km Paris-Brest-Paris. He has written over 40 eBooks and eArticles on cycling training and nutrition, available in RBR’s eBookstore at Coach John Hughes. Click to read John’s full bio.
David L says
Years ago I had left rotator cup injury and couldn’t pick 5 lbs. Dr told me I had two choices. 1 was an operation or 2 I could try exercising the deltoid muscles to strengthen the those muscles. I chose to try exercising first. I started out with yellow rubber bands. It was pretty painful in the beginning but I stayed with it and progressed to stronger bands. I then started using the lateral raise machine at the gym. At first I could only do 5 lb. a few at a time. Again painful but stayed at it and eventually worked to to were I am today. I regularly work out with 50 lbs. 3 sets 12 to 15 reps depending on how i feel. I switch weeks of doing lighter weights more reps and weeks of heavier weights less reps. I have no shoulder problems now and both rotators are equally strong. If your interested here is a link to some other shoulder exercises.
https://fitnessvolt.com/deltoid-machine-workouts-exercises/#:~:text=They%20lead%20to%20better%20muscle%20engagement%20and%20isolation.There%E2%80%99s%20less%20demand%20on%20secondary%20stabilizer%20muscles%2C%20and%20the%20isolation%20of%20cable%20machine%20exercises%20places%20greater%20demand%20on%20the%20primary%20movers%E2%80%94in%20this%20case%2C%20the%20deltoid%20muscles.
Joe S says
My brother, a XC ski racer in his early 60s and discuss this topic all the time. He trains with a neighbor who is a Big 10 sports medicine physician who supports several teams. I’ve met him on social occasions. The doc shared graphs of masters T&F and masters swimming times that were aggregates and of individuals over time. The non-shocker: we all slow down over time. The doc stress what we can do is stay very active and truly live well in to very old age, hopefully being vital one day and dead the next. My brother’s old goal from 30s-late 50s was to place in the to 10% at the American Birkebeiner. Now its to place in the top 50% and enjoy the race. At this point, in my mid 60s, my goal is to stay fit to enjoy a century ride or 2 and do the other things I love.
Lon Haldeman says
Hi John,
I enjoy reading your articles in RBR each week.
I have been working on a book about my cycling history but mainly about my Double Transcontinental Record from New York to Santa Monica and back in 1981. The story is a backdrop for a lot of other side chapters about RAAM, diet, physical training and other topics of long distance cycling. I have been working on the book for about 10 years and it is finally coming together. My daughter Rebecca has been helping format the book. I have asked a bunch of different editors to offer their comments so the text has been refined and we have the text ready. Throughout the book we have included about 15 newspaper and magazine articles from various cities along the Double Transcontinental which added daily details about the record ride.
We were wondering if you would like to review my book and maybe write a review? We would like to hear your comments since you were involved with long distance cycling in those early years. I could send you a PDF version of the book if you would have time to read it. The book is not too long and about 120 typed pages. The final version will have a bunch more photos and the newspaper articles.
Let me know if you would like to read the book. What is your email address?
Keep in touch.
Lon
Kerry Irons says
The only times I don’t feel old is when I’m on the bike and on the snow. I don’t know who that guy in the mirror is, but I do get a kick out of telling people how old I am while waiting for the ride to start of sitting on the chair lift. In the back of my head I do have some numbers to compare to, but I know they are slowly fading out of reach. I am enjoying the physical life a lot more than the vast majority of my peers, and that remains my goal.
Barbara Dahl says
I think the “renaissance man” comment is the most important thing in your article today. Functional fitness and fitness to continue doing what we’re most passionate about is paramount, but attending to the intellectual and social parts of our lives gives great meaning to our time left on this plane. I still enjoy riding in Europe on the big climbs, but mix in art museums and vineyard tours more than I used to!
Dave Minden says
I recently underwent Structural Integration and among other things it retaught me how to relax several muscles that needed it. My skiing and biking are both better than they’ve been in the last few years. I’ll turn 70 this summer and this is a new way of being me!