Category: Fitness

The New Plan Has More Gym Time

“At your age you need to be careful to focus on that shoulder,” was the comment from Big John a Level 4 USA NTS Archery coach.  He was right and I knew it. I’d been somewhat aware of the error I’d been making.

The mistake was laziness.  It was easier to shoot having a weaker form.  Doing it right, well I admit, hurt.

I’d slipped into the poor form not from a lack of practice but from an overuse injuries.  I’d strained both my shoulders.  I compensated and shot weakly.

It was clear both shoulders needed rehab.  The joints needed to be strengthened.  I’d been there in the past having more than once injured shoulders in other sports.  This was a first in archery, but an old problem with a familiar ache.

The first step was rest.  Then, slowly followed by more time in the gym.  Eventually the gym time with specific exercises to improve both shoulders was doubled.

As we age we all run the risk of diminished muscle mass.  That can lead to an increase chance of joint problems.  In my 2020 plan there is double the amount of gym time compared to 2019.  Gym training is my least favorite routine but a practice that has on more than one occasion paid dividends.

Run Around and Run Around

Athletes run.

I’m a pretty good archer.  I’m a better cyclist and better runner.  Since beginning archery cycling and running have been adjuncts to archery training. Since beginning archery I’ve better at archery and less good running and cycling.

Certainly, I do not log the miles running and cycling I did before shooting arrows. Nevertheless, I run almost every day and ride up to 6 times a week.  But, I do both to stay fit for archery.

Now, you may be 25 years old and don’t yet see the reason to do either in order to shoot a bow well.  Hear me now and believe me later, your youthful fitness will not last unless  you work to keep it. If you don’t use it you lose it.

If I am going to miss one of the two, running or cycling, during a day it will be cycling.  Running is a demand by River, my lab.  She will herd me out the door.

Nice way to begin a morning – trail running
On a trail with River whose spotted something to chase

River is 9 years old and runs as well as she did at 2.  We run trails, which avoid traffic.  We both enjoy it.

Running can pay back in archery tournaments.  Those long hours standing on a range are rough.  There are times I’d rather have been running rather than standing and slowly walking for three and a half to four hours.

If you head out early enough you can catch some nice views

Archery over long periods of time takes a mental toll.  As you fatigue from a lack of fitness mental mistakes are more prone to appear.  Running can improve your fitness and may reduce the possibly of an error that is associated with being physically drained.

Recovery Time: What Everyone Knows That I Don’t Understand

Chris McCormick is a world champion triathlete.  He wrote a book about his experiences as an athlete.  In that book he described a younger triathlete who McCormick felt could become great.  A problem McCormick noticed with the younger athlete was that the fellow was working too hard.

McCormick talked to him suggesting he might add some recovery time to his training.  McCormick at the time of their meeting and training together was mature for a professional triathlete being in his 30s. The younger man was in his early 20s.  McCormick warned him to ease up on occasion to allow for adequate recover without which could lead to burn out or injury.  The twenty year old ignored the advice and not too long after was injured and a bit burnt.

In a post here not too long ago I wrote about recovery.  In that post I described my training. I pointed out that I don’t maintain a level of cardio training today as an archer that I did in my youth.  Still, I do train at what I consider an age appropriate level.

Cardio training is a method to help prolong health and give me a longer runway for archery.  Archery satisfies my need to remain competitive.  Certainly, achieving competitive goals remains possible as an age grouper in other sports.

I have a friend that is 69 and runs ultra marathons.  He’s an amazing athlete.  I know a woman in her mid-80s that still does high-level triathlons.  Again, amazing.  Neither started at a early age both picking up endurance sports in their 50s.

I started endurance sports at 17 and stopped at 57.  Forty years seemed to have been a limit for me.  When I tried stopping I was very unsatisfied.  I needed to compete.  Archery is an outlet for that desire.  Of course I still run and ride but the primary goal is to maintain fitness and prolong my experience in archery.

Along with that sport experience comes decades of understanding recovery. I understand it but do not always follow my own advice or knowledge.  I am prone to over training.

In the prior article about recovery I pointed out that as we age recovery times are often required to be more often and longer.  A reader somehow got another message.

He sent me a note pointing out that everyone understands recovery.  That was news to me.  I am still trying to find the right balance.  He somehow believed I am still in my 50s.  He further suggested my training along with the aches and pains associated were typical for a 50 year old, with the luxury of time, however not realistic for someone approaching 70 as he is approaching 70.

I took that comment as a compliment. The older critic, approaching 70, is pretty close to my age as I approach 70.  He is older by a few years but within my age group. He seems to be fairly fit results of his foundation of years of hard work.  He suggested my life of luxury has afforded me at 50 to be able to train the way I train.

That’s not true.  I’ve been able to train the way I train because I have had great coaches that ensured I had adequate recover whether I wanted it or not.  The result was minimal injury and little burn out.  Sure it is unlikely I’ll do too much racing in the future but not entirely out of the picture.  It isn’t that I burnt out on it after four decades, it became too expensive.

Archery is a lot less expensive than triathletes, easier to find events compared to cycling, and a sport that is much less age dependent.  So long as I maintain the best level of activity and recovery I should last a pretty long time shooting arrows.

Here’s the thing, finding the best point where recovery is needed and just plain soreness needing to be worked through is a tough balancing act.  As the 60+ critic pointed out everyone understands recovery and aging.  So, everyone, of you have sound advice I’m listening.

Give Me A Break Facebook Hero

She is very proud.  So, proud she’s posted on Facebook, “Why are the doctors and nurses so surprised when I tell them my resting heart rate is 38?”  Here’s why, they don’t believe you and neither do I.

Certainly, the writer of the post is fit.  Being fit is good.  She’s fit at an age when most of her friends are waiting to be called Grandmother. Not that she’s singular in her Masters level fitness.  There are a lot of Grandmothers that can smoke me in a marathon.  I know, it has happened. However, this athlete, to be polite as possible, is over 50 years old and she’s full of crap.

A disclaimer here: some people have a resting heart rate that is between 30 and 40 beats per minute.  I just don’t believe the person I’m writing about is in that group. There’s a simple reason, she’s been exercising for years – seems counterintuitive. You’d expect an athlete with decades of training to have a low resting heart rate. She probably does compared to non-athletes, just it isn’t 38 bpm (beats per minute).

“While the normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, conditioned athletes and other highly fit individuals might have normal resting heart rates of 40 to 60 beats per minute.”(1)

Why is it that every time I see a post by some athlete bragging about their low heart rate it is 38?  That’s because their heart rate isn’t 38.

It is like when I read in medical records containing a patient’s respiratory rate. It was almost always 16 breaths per minute as recorded by some caregiver.  No one’s respiratory rate is always 16.  That is especially true when the patient is in the back of an ambulance, in the emergency room, or asleep at night –for examples. Another common respiratory rate is written as 12.  In those cases, the patient was alive, so they were breathing (the two go together), and the person recording the number simple wrote done what seemed likely. I promise, they didn’t take the time to count respiratory rate.

Let’s look at 38 for a heart rate. Take your heart rate right now – I’ll wait.  What did you do?  Did you count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiple by 4? If you did you couldn’t get 38.  You could have counted your pulse for 30 seconds or a minute and gotten 38, but your heart rate wasn’t 38 unless you are one of those younger elite athletes or on a drug to lower your heart rate or have an bradycardia and living with a pacemaker.

If you’re an athlete, an older one, say over 50, and you have a heart rate that runs around 38 you might end up with a pacemaker. (2) “New research suggests that athletes with low resting heart rates may experience irregular heart patterns later in life.” (2,3) A number of my friends, all elite athletes ended up with heart problems.

These friends with heart conditions later in life included: One Olympian, two National Champions, and one winner of the Comrades Race in South Africa. (4) The Comrades athlete also held a World Record in endurance cycling. All are very close friends or were, one recently died from his heart problem.

The Facebook braggadocio seemed extreme. The author is a woman in her 50s. “Gender is another factor in resting heart rate norms because women at various fitness levels tend to have higher pulse rates on average than men of comparable fitness levels. For example, the average resting heart rate of an elite 30-year-old female athlete ranges from 54 to 59 beats per minute, while the resting heart rate for men of the same age and fitness level ranges from 49 to 54..”(1)

In a peer-review article, investigators looked at athletes near 50 (all men with a mean age of 48) and found, “Resting HR was significantly lower in athletes than in controls (62·8 ± 6·7 versus 74·0 ± 10·4 beats per minute (bpm), respectively; P<0·001).” That is a resting heart rate of 62.8 in male athletes – women run slightly faster when it comes to heart rate. (5)

Furthermore, the author with the low heart rate claims to be a life-long athlete.  That actually creates the opposite of what she’s claimed. “Long-term sport practice at a world class level causes an increase in resting heart rate, diastolic and mean blood pressure, and decrease of the parasympathetic dominance and this may result from decreasing adjustment to large training load.” (6)

Being fit is great.  Making statements about fitness that are scientifically invalid are wrong. The 38 beats per minute athlete runs one of those self-employed fitness programs where she’s the head (and only) coach. Her claim, the 38 thing, was a marketing piece to share with her followers suggesting how well her program works for her and hoping perspective clients will suppose they’ll get similar results.  Her claim is false.

I contacted a friend who is an ex-college cross country runner. She’s maintained an elite level of fitness now that she’s out of college.  I asked her,”Sarah, what is your resting heart rate?” She replied, “In the 50s.”

Reference:

“You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.”

That’s about the size of it.  Dr. Suess couldn’t have said it any better had he been a spectator at an archery tournament.

Archers are not the most fit of athletes.  Oh sure, archers can stand real still.  That alone is a skill.  But, as a long tournament wears on that standing still part becomes less still. Being fit can help you sustain the still focus you need for archery.

USA Archery sent out the first edition of the Athletes Development Model.  In it the authors break down age groups.  When the model reaches the 15 – 17 year old age group the instructions includes: Training will include mental, strength, cardiovascular and coordination training.  They further suggest strength training along with nutrition training.

That remains a theme for athletes until the age of 60 where they drop the strength, cardiovascular and change it to – May include light strength and coordination training.

Here me now and believe me later, if you are over 50 and are not doing any resistance training like lifting weights you are going to lose muscle mass.  If you’re over 60 and have neglected cardiovascular training you’ll be in for a surprise should you start.

You don’t need to be a lean cardio machine to be good at archery. However, being fit at a young age and hanging onto that fitness can pay dividends as you age. 
Even if you’ve never held onto any general fitness working to improve your health through fitness training is a good thing.

Hope No One Throws Anything At Me

“I’m fixin’ to go for a ride,” I called to my wife, Brenda.  “Take your phone,” was her instruction.  She wasn’t looking at me her attention on some word game played on an iPad.  “I hope no one throws anything at me,” I added.

It has happened.  Once while riding in Maryland someone tossed a full can of Mountain Dew at me and missed.  The can landed in soft bushes and didn’t rupture.  I picked it up, took it home and drank it later.

Another time, during a hot summer ride, a lady’s bathing suit top was flung toward me.  It happened while cycling toward Savannah, Georgia on Highway 80 leading away from Tybee Island, Georgia. The lady who tossed the top was a passenger. There was no doubt it was her top. Aside from those two times spanning 36 years nothing else has flown my way aside from bugs.

“I hope no one throws anything at you either,” said Brenda still not looking.  So, I asked her, “Look at what I’m wearing.”  She looked then seriously warned, “Oh, be careful.”

Where we live is essentially Athens, Georgia.  The SEC is a near religion and the University of Georgia Bulldogs practical deities.

I am a Graduate of the University of Tennessee among other schools.  There I studied art and earned a ‘Professional Certificate’ in Cartooning – really. There is no ‘degree’ in cartooning.  Although, many degrees are jokes. (The last sentence is a gift for proofreaders.)

I drew this for a soap company.

The cartoon program was completed decades ago. I don’t believe the program remains in operation. It wasn’t likely to have been a moneymaker for the University. It was a fun program. There’s more money to be made teaching art and illustration pricing it out over 4 years with loads of electives and fees.  It was a simpler time when cartooning was meant to be fun.

I painted these and eventually threw them away. They hung at our place in North Carolina. There was no room for them when we moved to Georgia. They were practice pieces for a larger painting.

The ride was event free. Go Dawgs!

Give a Dog a Bone

River has a serious problem leaving me alone while I’m trying to practice archery. She’d much rather I played stick, chase, or run with her.  So, self-centered. If she is given a bone, I am entirely forgotten. Until the bone is gone.

Oh, River is gong to run
You can see the yellow signs now posted on either side of this trail

It isn’t like she’s been ignored all day.  After breakfast we run for a few miles.  We avoid busy roads running mostly over trails in the woods we own and along the easement of nearby property.  Until recently we cut through undeveloped land filled with trails. Those paths are now unavailable because a couple of guys think they’ll shoot deer on that land.

This truly sucks – but alternate paths remain available

During archery practice, River needs to stay calm.  She’s not too bad so long as I toss a stick between ends.  If I fail to comply all barking will break loose. Sticks do the trick for a bit.  A bone is better.

During practice I play music using my phone to help simulate the noise at a tournament

Running is part of my archery training.  Being in as good of condition as I can I believe helps during long tournaments.  If you compete you know you’ll be on your feet for hours. There’s a lot of walking involved.

At 50 meters and 30 meters I practice on two targets to save arrows. The orange flags are distances measured using a tape measure rather than a range finder. These are set at 5 yard increments from 20 to 100 yards.

The tournament this weekend is one where my age group will shoot: 70 meters, 60, meters, 50 meters and 30 meters.  At each distance there are 36 arrows shot in 6 arrow ends. This works out to a total of 1.75 miles of walking back and forth.  Here’s how I got that it:

Overall fitness is a bonus for archers

70 meters is @ 77 yards.  Round trip to the target is 154 yards.  There are 6 ends and 2 “Official” warm up ends.  That means 8 round trips of 154 yards or 1232 yards.  At 60 meters, or 66 yards, the total is 792 (6 ends only – no practice, same for the other two distances), 50 meters, 55 yards or 660 yards, and finally 30 meters, 33 yards, for 396 a total of 3080.  The sum of the distances in miles is 1.75.

That isn’t all  –  you’ll end up adding another 800+ yards per day walking to and from the car, to registration, visiting friends and firing off “unofficial” practice arrows.  The total walked is going to be closer to 2.66 miles.  Not far to walk unless you never walk a lot. This can be especially taxing when the temperature is expected to reach the upper 90’s while you’re walking back and forth and trying to hit a target with an arrow in between the hiking. Running can help reduce the impact of being unconditioned in such a situation. So, River and I run.

Putting 6 arrows in the center of an 80 cm target will ruin them. It has to be done in competition, at practice using multiple targets can save vanes, nocks, and arrows that are occasionally Robin Hooded
Give that dog a bone

River is a great running partner.  Afterwards, during archery practice she’s often times less than an idea spectator. Give that dog a bone.

Spend $4.99 On My Book

This website gets on average 24,220 visitors per month. You’re a visitor right now.  If you’re like most visitors you’ll read a couple of pages here before you move on.  Of the articles I write the most popular ones deal with health and fitness.

I’m retired.  Before I threw in the towel on my day job, that job had been in health and medicine; I learned a thing or two.  Over the course of a long career I published over 100 articles about health, medicine, and the science used to create better care.  Some of those works earned awards from medical congresses or science groups.  Along the way I earned a good many patents.  All that work was done in order to keep people safe and well.

What has always been an interest to me is how we age and why do some folks seem to live longer and age well?  Over years I observed 5 areas where people who seemed to be living longer and aging well exhibited common traits.

I’ve put those common life-style observations into a book.  The book is short less than 10,000 words.  I had a goal to keep it under 10,000 words.  Going over 10,000 words I felt might dilute the simplicity of those common traits.

If you’ve read much at this site you know I’m not a writer in the ballpark with Hemingway or Grisham. But, like this website, the ideas I’m trying to share do reach the reader. The book I’ve written is easy to read and gets the points across.

My book, Simple Ways to Add To Your Life, is available in Kindle format or paperback.  It is also inexpensive at $4.99.  You can purchase it on Amazon.  Here a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Ways-Add-Your-Life-ebook/dp/B07D9W7YDN/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=David+Lain&qid=1566320088&s=books&sr=1-1

Go Amazon and spend a few bucks on my book.  The ways to living longer and aging well aren’t too difficult. Who knows spending $4.99 and reading the book might add some more time to your visit on Earth.  If it does, it will be money well spent.

VO2 Max and Your Health

“VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during incremental exercise; that is, exercise of increasing intensity.[1][2] The name is derived from three abbreviations: “V” for volume, “O2” for oxygen, and “max” for maximum. Maximal oxygen consumption reflects cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance capacity in exercise performance.” (1)

We bought an indirect calorimeter for our Department of Cardiopulmonary and Neurological Science where I once worked as the Associate Director.  I’d been racing bikes and had hoped to be on the 1980 Olympic Team.  That didn’t work out.  I still continued to train.  For fun, and to learn how to use the gizmo, my science buddies decided I’d be the perfect test subject.  The measured result was 86. That’s high.  I didn’t now it at the time.  I’d paid very little attention to sports physiology being more interested in clinical physiology and disease management.

Testing a cyclist using indirect calorimeter (2)

No, I have no idea what my current VO2 max is exactly.  There is a calculation that estimates the VO2 max.  Using that equation my VO2 max is 68.85. By the time a man reaches 65 there is an estimate drop in VO2 max by 30% compared to when he was in his 20s. That would give me a VO2 max of 58.

Calculated for me to be 68.85 compared to the general population calculated score of 58 for my age isn’t really out of the ballpark. The two scores are both high, which is what I’d expect.  I still train a lot and do a lot of cardio work.  Admittedly, I’m not doing the same quantity I did when I was training for triathlons.  I feel it, the degraded  level of fitness and it shows in my content of body weight.

Aside from weight I check my body fat content.  When I competed in cycling and triathlons my percentage of body fat ran from 3.4% to 6.2%. These days it hovers around 9%.  This percentage is in the range of athletes.  My archery training program includes: stretching, running, archery, cycling, and weight lifting and is rather stringent.  It also takes between 38 and 42 hours a week to complete (28 hours a week shooting).  It is a pretty tight schedule and without a day off is would wear me down. But, all that work does help to keep me fit.

Today, aside from testing athletes, VO2 max is an indicator of health.  Archers typically aren’t the subjects of indirect calorimetry to determine VO2 max. Most people, including archers, probably don’t care.  It isn’t as if archers are running anywhere.

When I searched for VO2 max testing in archers on Pubmed I found 0 articles.  Heck, you can look around at any archery tournament and recognize those athletes aren’t likely to be endurance running machines. (3)

However, VO2 max is an indicator of your health.  A low VO2 max has been associated with poor fitness and health. Here’s a simple equation to estimate VO2 Max:

VO22 max = 15 x [HRmax(max)/HR(resting)]

Where, VO2 max is the maximal oxygen consumption

HR(max) is maximum heart rate (during exercise)

HR(rest) is your resting heart rate.

This is the equation I used to calculate my estimated VO2 max. (4) However, I exercised and used my actual heart rate rather than estimate the HR max.  Then, the next morning before I got out of bed I recorded my resting heart rate.  I think this is a better way to get the numbers. Those numbers were applied to the equation.  There is an equation to get an estimated max heart rate.  That equation never worked for me.

Take a look at your overall health.  You may be an excellent archer and not be the most fit athlete.  Being fit can help you in archery. You might be surprised to learn how many calories you burn during a tournament. (5) Staying fit can only help your shooting.

Reference:

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VO2_max

(2) https://www.maastrichtinstruments.nl/2015/02/10/teic-high-performance-center-features-mis-indirect-calorimeter/

(3) https://curiosity.com/topics/why-you-need-a-healthy-vo2max-and-how-you-can-get-it-curiosity/

(4) https://m.wikihow.com/Measure-VO2-Max

(5)https://worldarchery.org/news/147916/8-health-benefits-archery

There are different meanings to exercise and sport

We were at pizza joint with a group of my wife’s friends. They’re mostly her friends from yoga. Yoga folks are pretty cool and I enjoy hanging out with them.  As a rule they are all fit and health conscious. It never fails that one or two of them quiz me on the subject of my less passionate view of yoga. I don’t do yoga, but I stretch every morning for about half an hour plus or minus a few minutes here and there.

My daily run which begins in my backyard

Mixed in with the purest yoga students there are runners who practice yoga. While I never bring up the subject of running many of them know that I run or at least have completed many somewhat difficult runs. (Brenda told them) They are all younger and will at times ask for advice. (Often the advice relates to a medical concern. Brenda also told them of me medical background.)

Sooner to later, like the yoga inquiry, I get quizzed about my running, which is only about 2 miles a day.  That’s enough for me for the moment.

Trail running in North Georgia with River

When I mention 2 miles a day jaws may pop open as if I’ve uttered a severely unacceptable comment or committed some sacrilege. One fellow asked me if I missed it referring to running longer distances.  I said no, plainly and simply I don’t miss running long solo miles.  If I keep the mileage at three or less per run River, my nearly 9-year-old lab, is happy to run along with me.  Beyond 3 miles and she gets bored. At two miles she’s happy and I have company while running.

Another inquisitor asked me if I missed triathlons. (Brenda, again)  He’s training for a triathlon.  He’s heard I have completed lots of them.  As with running, “Nope,” I answered.  When I said “Nope” the yoga runners and yoga triathletes looked at me with saddened eyes as if I had nothing to live for.

“Look,” I said to the small audience watching to see if I was going to die on the spot, “I do a lot of exercise.”  I added, “ I stretch every morning, which is a lot like your yoga.  A number of the stretches are actually yoga moves.” The audience appear unimpressed.

Then, I pointed out that indeed I run only 2 miles a day. I also ride a bike by time rather than distance or some combination of time and distance everyday for an hour to 90 minutes.  So, I pointed out I get a lot of exercise. The additional cycling seemed to satisfy many that I was doing the correct amount of physical fitness training.

Some scenery is well worth the ride

I was going to mention that those exercise intervals are warm-ups sessions only.  That the 2 to 3 hours per day doing those workouts are, in fact, not my primary sport.  Further I didn’t mention that I head to the gym once or twice per week.  All of which are secondary activities to the 2 to 5 hours per day of archery practice.  It seemed to me, that in the setting of the conversation, bringing to light the nearly 8-hour day of work to be a decent archer would have been wasted breath.

Beyond our backyard fence is where 3D practice is the current primary focus
There’s always a dark target in a hole in 3D – gotta practice this shot

Everyone around Brenda and I eating pizza was a lot younger.  The top end age, outside of Brenda and I, was probably upper 30s to at most 42 years old. The majority of those in attendance were younger than our children. They all workout several times per week at yoga and a few do train to run or work toward completing an international distance triathlon. Most of them have jobs, not all, so working out or training  much more than they’re doing takes a certain frame of mind. The question becomes what it is you want and what are you willing to give up to get it.

What I learned is that what time most of them put toward exercise and fitness max’ed out at around 14 hours per week.  That’s good and overall for most people a lot of exercise.  None of them is working toward any specific sport goal beyond a completion of some target event.

Good to practice the shot, but it sucks to break an arrow

“I’m training to do a triathlon,” or “I’m training to run a 5K,” are great goals and eventual achievements. There is, however, a difference when your goals include breaking records, winning titles and championships, or  being ranked top in the world.  This difference in the meaning for the exercise or training in no way implies one set of priorities is more important than the other.  There’s just a difference.