…before you break your hip. From MedPageToday:
After a hip fracture or other serious fall-related injury, how much independence older adults regained depended to a large extent on how well they were doing beforehand, a study showed.
Functional trajectories were tightly linked, with rapid recovery observed only in those with no or mild disability before the fall,Thomas M. Gill, MD, of Yale University, and colleagues found.
Need a fitness program? Consider this one.
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Posted in Exercise
Tagged disability, exercise, fitness, hip fracture recovery
Men live longer if they improve or maintain their fitness level over time, according to research out of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. Part of that improved longevity stems from reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke.
Compared with men who lose fitness with aging, those who maintained their fitness had a 30% lower risk of death; those who improved their fitness had a 40% lower risk of death. Fitness was judged by performance on a maximal treadmill exercise stress test.
Body mass index over time didn’t have any effect on all-cause mortality but was linked to higher risk of cardiovascular death. The researchers, however, figured that losses in fitness were the more likely explanation for higher cardiovascular deaths. In other words, as men age, it’s more important to maintain or improve fitness than to lose excess body fat or avoid overweight.
Reference: Lee, Duck-chul, et al. Long-term effects of changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and bodly mass index on all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men. Circulation, 124 (2011): 2,483-2,490
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Posted in Exercise, Heart Disease, Longevity, Stroke
Tagged body mass index, cardiovascular disease, Cooper Clinic, fitness, heart attack, longevity, stroke
The answer varies from person to person and may be different for aerobic versus strength measures.
I’m reminded of a quote from a famous violinist: “If I don’t practice for one day, I can tell. If I don’t practice for two days, my conductor can tell. If I don’t practice for three days, the audience can tell.”
I laid off all exercise for the last three weeks, partly due to a long vacation, partly to see how much my fitness would deteriorate.
Here’s what I found:
Strength measures increased, surprisingly. Was it just a good day, or did my muscles need the time off to rest and re-build? Over-training is a real problem for some folks. At 20 minutes of weight-training twice a week, I doubt I was anywhere near what most consider over-training. I don’t fiddle-fart around during my exercise sessions, but I’m not puking either.
So I won’t feel too bad in the future if I take a couple or three weeks off from strength training periodically.
My endurance for running deteriorated significantly. Is it related to the lack of strength training, the lack of treadmill interval work, or both?
Your mileage will vary.
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Posted in Exercise, My Fitness
Tagged exercise, fitness, performance deterioration over time, rest
Not Darrin Carlson
Darrin Carlson last March shared his ideas on the minimal amount of exercise and equipment needed to achieve reasonable fitness benefits.
Public health authorities for years have recommended physical activity in the range of 150 minutes a week. That ain’t gonna happen for most folks. Darrin says “Two hours a week will work for most people….”
Jonathan Bailor, Chris Highcock, and others suggest 30-60 minutes a week may be enough. Even Darrin admits as much, for the super-dedicated.
-Steve
Posted in Exercise
Tagged Chris Highcock, Darrin Carlson, exercise, fitness, how much exercise, Jonathan Bailor
One……more……rep!
After finishing six weeks ofChris Highcock’s Hillfit earlier this year, I designed another fitness program using dumbbells and high intensity interval running on a treadmill.
I’ve preached about the benefits of baseline and periodic fitness measurements. Here are mine, before and after roughly six weeks of my fitness experiment #3:
I worked out twice weekly for a total of 70 minutes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercise at least twice a week; or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity plus muscle-strengthening activity at least twice a week.
I was a bit fitter after completing Hillfit a couple months ago.
Or I just had a bad day when I tested this time. Nevertheless, I prefer my current program to Hillfit. (Click for report on my six-week Hillfit experience.)
For strength and endurance gains, perhaps I should incorporate some Hillfit features into my current plan.
I don’t feel like I’m getting much out of Romanian deadlifts. Drop ’em? Do they add anything to squats? Try Hillfit-style wall squats while hold dumbbells?
How does my fitness compare to other 57-year-old men? I’m not sure. One of these days I’ll see how I stack up against U.S. Army fitness standards, which involve a timed two-mile run.
Is my current level of fitness good enough? Again, not sure.
My highest dumbbell weights are 40 lb (18 kg). I’m already using those for squats, deadlifts, and one-arm rows. For future strength gains, I’d have to do those exercise for longer, or more days per week, or buy some 50-lb weights. A pair of 50-lb dumbbells will cost $50 (used) or $100 (new).
I’ll put together yet another fitness program within the next few months.
I don’t like to exercise, but I want the health benefits. My general goal is to maximize health benefits while minimizing exercise time.
Notes:
Next time I do the mile run on the treadmill, start at 7.5 mph and increase to 8 mph as much as tolerated.
(*) About 10 days after this I ran a mile in 8 minutes and 30 seconds on a high school track.
Posted in Exercise, My Fitness
Tagged Chris Highcock, exercise, exercise program, fitness, fitness measurements, Hillfit
Today I started Chris Highcock’s Hillfit exercise program. It’s basically four exercises I can probably finish in 40 minutes a week, split into two sessions.
In addition I’ll be doing twice-weekly interval training on a treadmill:
I’ll dial a 1% grade into the treadmill to simulate wind resistance I’d get if outdoors.
After six or eight weeks I’ll switch to another program, such as Jonathan Bailor’s Smarter Science of Slim, which also promises reasonable fitness with relatively little time and equipment investment.
If you hope to exercise regularly, you’ll need to be motivated. I’ve recorded my motivations. What’re yours?
Posted in Exercise, My Fitness
Tagged Chris Highcock, exercise, fitness, Hillfit, Jonathan Bailor, Smarter Science of Slim
I’ve written previously how it’s helpful to have some baseline physical fitness measurements on yourself. That post mentioned up to 14 different items you could monitor. In the comment section, I recognized that’s too much for some folks. For them, I suggested just doing the five-item functional testing: 1-mile run/walk (timed), maximum number of push-ups and pull-ups, toe touch, and vertical jump.
A week ago, I was at a training session for adult Boy Scout leaders. One of the items covered was environmental heat illness: how to avoid, recognize, and treat. One of the risk factors for heat illness is “poor fitness,” defined as taking over 16 minutes to run two miles. Inquiring minds want to know where that number came from. No reference was given.
About.com has an article on fitness requirements for U.S. army soldiers, who are tested at least twice yearly. There are only three components tested:
Fortunately, the Army doesn’t expect a 57-year-old man to perform as well as a 17-year-old. For instance, a 17-year-old has to run two miles in 19 minutes and 24 seconds or less; the 57-year-old is allowed up to 23 minutes and 24 seconds. Females and males have different performance standards: a 17-year-old woman has 22 minutes and 24 seconds to run two miles.
The simplicity of the Army’s approach appeals to me. Check out the APFT tables in the About.com article if you want to see how you compare to Army soldiers.
Posted in Exercise
Tagged APFT, Army, baseline fitness measurements, fitness, fitness benchmarks
A maximal exercise treadmill stress test is the standard way researchers measure fitness
This is boring. You should quit reading now.
A few days ago I suggested some baseline measurements to help you keep track of your fitness level, especially if you’re starting or altering an exercise routine.
I’m starting a new program soon. Here are my numbers:
Me around 2007-2008
I was in much better shape a year ago after I finished 15 weeks of Verstegen’s Core Performance. The most surprising thing about that plan was that I recovered the ability to bend over and touch my toes; I hadn’t done that since my twenties. I’m 57 now. Clearly, I’ve regressed since slacking off from Verstegen’s program.
I was in much worse shape two years ago, thanks to laziness and the resultant sedentary lifestyle.
Just before the Verstegen program, I’d also developed some bothersome aching in my left shoulder, probably supraspinatous tendinitis. I cured that with a couple months of rotator cuff strengthening exercises.
So at this point I’m at an average or moderate level of fitness for me. If my numbers above seem wimpy, remember that I’m 57-years-old. Hard to be sure, but I’m fairly confident I’m above the 50th percentile for my age group.
I’ll tell you about my new physical activity plan soon.
Update April 4, 2012: I added sit-ups today after finding out that the U.S. Army tests soldiers for sit-ups (among other things) twice yearly.
Posted in Exercise, My Fitness
Tagged baseline fitness measurements, Core Performance, exercise, fitness, fitness measurements, Verstegen
Impressive jump!
Before beginning or modifying a fitness program, it’s important to take some baseline physical measurements. Re-measure periodically. That way you’ll know whether you’re making progress, holding steady, or regressing. Seeing improvement in the numbers also helps to maintain motivation.
Not taking measurements would be like starting a weight loss plan without a baseline and subsequent weights.
Around this time last year, I finished a home-based, 15-week, six-days-a-week fitness program called Core Performance, designed by Mark Verstegen. I was pleased with the results. The only problem is that it’s very time-consuming. Perhaps fitness just has to be that way.
I regret that I didn’t take any fitness measurements before and after starting Core Performance.
For much of the last year, I modified Core Performance to a thrice weekly, then twice weekly program, until a couple months ago when I pretty much abandoned it. I miss the benefits now, but just didn’t want to put in the time to achieve them. In other words, I lost my motivation.
Who needs this much flexibility?
This new style of fitness is promoted by the likes of Dr. Doug McGuff, Chris Highcock, Skyler Tanner, Nasim Taleb, and Jonathan Bailor, among others.
The particular aspects of fitness these measure are strength and endurance in major muscle groups, cardiovascular and pulmonary endurance, a little flexibility, and a hint of body composition.
You may appreciate an assistant to help you measure some of these.
Record your numbers. Re-test some or all of these periodically. If you’re in fairly poor condition at the outset, you’ll see some improved numbers after a couple or three weeks of a good exercise program. It takes months to build significant muscle mass; you’ll see improved strength and endurance before mass.
Am I missing anything?
Update April 4, 2012: I added the sit-ups today after finding out that’s one of the measurements the U.S. Army monitors in soldiers twice yearly.
Posted in Exercise
Tagged baseline measurements, Chris Highcock, Doug McGuff, endurance, exercise, fitness, flexibiilty, Jonathan Bailor, pull-ups, push-ups, Skyler Tanner, strength, vertical jump
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