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I sent him on his way out to Colorado. Look over your shoulder quick like a Deer does when he drops his head trying to fool you. He's there....


Cardio:

Warm-up: Elliptical 20min
Intervals: Treadmill 20min-Bike 20min

He was here briefly, said you sent him. He watched me work out for 30 minutes and then started to leave. One of the 20-somethings in the gallery asked him where he was going.

"Back to PA, the huntins' better there."

I don't know, but I do know you can't trust him. Got a text, the only thing it said was "Thanks." Just to be safe, if I was you, I would quit with the slacken.

27 mile climbing ride.

There was, shall we say, weakness leaving the body. In droves.

little over 4 miles in the snow, got into the upper 20's, but had a pretty stiff 15-ish mph wind- we don't want it too warm

You need to hit the weights. You can peddle your azz off. Peddling doesn't to much for sarcopenia.

http://fitnowtraining.com/2015/07/got-sarcopenia/


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Got Sarcopenia?
Got Sarcopenia? avatar
Posted on July 11, 2015 by Brian Koning
Age-Related Muscle Loss Doesn’t Have to Happen
Brian Koning, ACE-CPT, Pn1

older_adults_lifting_weightsAt 40, our bodies start that downhill slide from fit to frail. As we age we become slower, our bones become brittle, our skin loses elasticity, our hair turns gray, our eyes don’t focus, and our mind becomes a little foggier. But, one condition many of us develop in our early 40s is called Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass.

Muscle is what helps hold us together, keep us strong, aids our balance and coordination, and allow us to physically move. The bad news is, like death and taxes, Sarcopenia is inevitable. Or, is it?

Recent studies show that Resistance Training (RT), can help slow down and even reverse the effects of Sarcopenia. Many doctors now recommend RT over cardiovascular conditioning such as walking, biking and swimming. You need muscle to do those activities.

If you lose muscle, you can’t walk, bike, swim or even do ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) such as going up and down stairs, taking objects off of shelves, or picking up your grandchildren to give them a hug.

Unfortunately, people who are middle-aged and older usually have no clue about how to do resistance training. They don’t know enough about the proper exercises, equipment, techniques, weight loads, and nutrition needed to aid in muscle preservation and regeneration. They join commercial gyms and wonder around haphazardly trying to figure out what to do with those fancy machines.

Most older individuals greatly underestimate their own strength and ability. They go for the 2 lb. dumbbells when they can actually do biceps curls with much heavier loads. They do just a couple of reps (with bad form) and stop at the point the muscle starts to burn and never push it to failure so it can grow. And they don’t eat enough protein to repair muscle and stimulate new muscle growth.

One of my former clients was an 84-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s that stood about 5′ tall and weighed about 105 lbs. She could bench press her own weight and had no problem picking up a set of 20 lb. dumbbells for biceps curls.

This is why group fitness classes like boot camps are ideal for people even in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s. Not that boot camps are programs designed for old people; they’re not. But, good, professionally run programs are designed to allow people of any age or fitness level to work within their limits and abilities to gradually improve their strength and endurance. A good instructor will offer modifications when appropriate.

Group fitness workouts are all planned out and the instructor(s) demonstrate the exercises and equipment. Participants learn how to exercise and eat properly and are educated on other topics that can benefit their long-term health, holding Sarcopenia at bay as long as possible.

So, whether you are approaching 40 or are well past it and into your 50s, 60s, 70s or beyond and you feel like your are losing strength and muscle, it’s up to you to keep Sarcopenia from zapping your body of muscle.

You CAN do something about it. Search your area for age- and fitness-level-appropriate fitness programs or schedule a one-on-one fitness consultation and assessment with a reputable fitness professional to determine which program is right for you.

If you were me you could slack off and not worry about that guy in the rearview....

I agree on the resistance training Harry.

By the way, that photo in your avatar--what unit were you in?

strength train this evening- shoulder is still a long ways off from doing my old routine

warmup
squats 3x5
Hammer chest machine 4x10
pull ups 2x10, chin ups 2x10
overhead presses- had to reduce the weight quite a bit, but the motion surprisingly felt better than the Hammer shoulder machine 3x10
dips 3x20
incline situps 3x30
hyperextenions 3x20

Work got in the way of a workout.

Rower: 30min

Battue: agree about the goodness of some liftin'. As a plain statement of fact, the best I've felt overall in middle age was the 1.5 year period building a house solo. Things got lifted. It was awesome. The human body is meant to WORK. Disuse is what takes it down...... Or too much work, haha. I'd hate to have to build ANOTHER house.

In defense of sustained highly aerobic exercise, the benefits are very tangible, are all positive physically and mentally, and are systemic.

Nothing wrong with biking, but aerobic/cardio is best combined with resistance training, the benefits of which are multiple, especially as you get older. And especially if you're training to haul loads on your back in the mountains.

definitely both- either on their own is better than nothing certainly, but a balance of strength training AND cardio is without doubt the most beneficial

Agree on both, however a good, no fool around weight workout also will be a decent cardio. Didn't mean to skip the biking altogether.

However, I once asked an Alaskan guide who was an ex Army ranger how many hunters he has encountered that could keep up with him. He replied only a couple and one was a marathon runner.

Update on the 3x5:

It works. No big deal to the younger, bigger, stronger crowd, but a deadlift of 200 used to be a grunter. Now 210 is not that big of a deal. Only draw back is if you want to keep getting stronger you have to put on some weight. Something I don't want to do in that the knees/hips don't need or want it at this stage of the game. All in all a great program to add strength.

I remember reading that Dr. Cooper the aerobics guy recommended a shift from aerobic exercise to weight lifting for men in their 60's and beyond. Having said that I am still out on the roads running every other day and I'll be 67 in March.

Elliptical warm-up: 20min

3x5:

BP, Bent over rows, standing press, barbell curls, box step-up weighted, straight leg deadlifts.



Dumbbell squats and swings.


Bike: 25min

we broke 30 degrees and I celebrated with a long run on Helena Ridge, about 6 miles on spikes and packed snow, about 10 miles on snowshoes and elk post holed trail

Good stuff guys and thanks for the good info and advice.

MTWarden- that's hardcore.

27-mile climb ride today. Had some pop in my legs and was able to attack sections of climbs a little. Cool.

Moved a <bleep>load of heavy stuff on my prop.... bunch of old pier blocks, stumps, and about 20 big wet pine rounds (2-3 feet across). Redneck liftin' <g>!

Keep up the good work.

had today off- a rare weekday off

made the most of it and headed to the Elkhorn Mtns and got a 15 mile snowshoe loop in