Athletic performance in your 40s?

[bodywhomper]

Avoid repetitively catching covid.

Like broken ribs: usually a 6 week unintended break; might go worse.

As I sit on the sideline with a torn/reinjured MCL (actually sitting on my throne) awaiting my new PT to call back for an initial appt and watching my fitness decline (I’ve been spinning on my stationary bike, but that’s about it ), I read about the tour de giro riders dropping out due to covid. I was led to a few journal articles, one of which I skimmed. I think of acute covid as similar to the setback of a minor injury and long covid as potentially “career ending.”

Last summer, it took my middle aged athletic SIL 6 weeks post infection before she could swim across her small home pool. She uses daily lap swimming as a means for maintaining a good baseline fitness. I believe she is near to that baseline now. My wife works with an athlete that has not fully recovered in over a year. They have lingering pulmonary issues (eg, spasms of shortness of breadth) and gets sick pretty often, both are long covid symptoms. I have a coworker who had a stroke in March at age 63. He had (and now has) no personal or genetic indicators of why he stroked (he went through a lot of testing the following month after the stroke) other than having caught mild symptomatic covid a few months earlier.

Here’s a year-old article that focuses on acute mild symptomatic covid and getting back into the saddle, skin track, pool, etc.

“The resumption of physical and sporting activity should be staggered and progressive, both in terms of time and intensity of exercise. An increase of 50% in intensity at the beginning and a gradual increase of 10–30% in the subsequent weeks are recommended [111]. This should allow for a progressive adaptation of organs and systems. A rapid return can cause problems at the neuromuscular level due to insufficient control during dynamic movements being a major risk factor for injury [112], particularly in flexibility-related actions [113]. Therefore, elite athletes can reach high-intensity training while avoiding sudden increases in training load. Nevertheless, a definitive algorithm has not been established yet and more research is necessary to update the proposed framework.

Athletes that have suffered COVID-19 can return to activity once medical diagnosis indicates no pulmonary or cardiac symptoms. One to two weeks of resting is recommended, depending on the cases that were asymptomatic or mild in sportsmen/women. A negative antigen test is mandatory before returning to activity. Several tests under the supervision of a medical doctor are recommended, including [11,25,114,115]: blood test (controlling levels of cardiac markers such as troponin and creatine kinase); electrocardiography, and echocardiography (to discard myocarditis and myopericarditis); 24–48 h Holter monitoring (to discard arrhythmias); lung functional test (to check pulmonary pathology); maximal exercise test (to establish physical fitness). Finally, psychological help could be necessary for particular circumstances or sports disciplines [1].”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9102934/

[phatty]

I had Covid in early July 2020. I had hiked a local trail here the week before. Same trail 2 weeks after recovery took me 2x as long and I was stopping short of breath all the time. It took me around a year for my lungs to recover enough for me to hike/run without having to stop and catch my breath. I'm finally starting to get back to similar times almost 3yrs later. No other complications that I'm aware of.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Kick ass Rev! Momentum is powerful and it sounds like you've found the carrot pretty quickly.

Re: eat well and stay active

Its a great place to start and if you are not doing that, you should. But strength is important for both health and performance. I'm not the science guy but this seems to make a bit of sense and there is a bit of consensus surround it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN0pRAqiUJU

[bodywhomper]

For rehabbing my knee, my new PT has me doing Romanian deadlifts and Bulgarian split squats. Are there any other exercises with central or eastern euro names?

[bry]

Good mornings are also known as Russian deadlifts. Polish good mornings are single leg good mornings. And there is the Turkish get-up...

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[bodywhomper]

Thanks! What fake accent should I work on? My default is Hans and Franz.

[californiagrown]

Thanks! What fake accent should I work on? My default is Hans and Franz.

Jamaican. Work in lots and lots of Jamaican swearing.

[The Reverend Floater]

I prefer the Pakistani Drill Press, but only after a few cocktails.

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[AK47bp]

Cleveland Steamer

[BC13]

You can probably hit 85-90% of your potential working out 30 minutes a day. Something like:

Sunday - mobility / yoga
Monday - plyometrics and strength
Tuesday - cardio
Wednesday - long duration intervals
Thursday - mobility / yoga
Friday - plyometrics and strength
Saturday- cardio

Eat Whole Foods

Sleep 7-8 hours


I’ve heard a number of fitness gurus get asked, what is the most effective workout for the general population? And they respond with something akin to 60x3x50. You can do almost anything and if you do it 60 minutes a day, 3 days a week and 50 weeks a year.

One comment to the people who are afraid they will get hurt when lifting heavy, lifting heavy doesn’t mean going into the gym and lifting as much as possible. It should mean going in and doing a number of good reps, then very gradually, increasing the weight. Maybe 10lbs a week max, more commonly 5, even 5 lbs a week for 50 weeks means you’d increase a lift by 250 lbs in a year.

I was a religious gym goer from 21 - 35. Due to lower back issues and fear of re-injury I always avoided full body complex movements (squats, dead lifts, cleans, etc.) Work and the arrival of kids dominated the next two decades and I developed the typical "solid" boiler and put on 40 bad pounds.

Despite efforts to get back into working out I had no drive and follow through, often feeling flat out exhausted. Recently, got diagnosed with severely low T (dammed near zero) and after a few months of treatment had enough energy to start working out.

Feeling more energetic and having a 14 yr old just getting into lifting for sports has gotten me back into lifting regularly for the first time in almost 20 years. As the literature says people in my bracket should be lifting "heavy" weights, I have slowly gotten back into it and am now super setting for 35-45 minute per session and am lifting far more weight than I expected to be lifting at this age. At 30, I was using 110 LB dumb bells for incline presses. Now, I've worked up to 90s for sets of 10. I was surprised that a lot of strength came back within 3 months. All of the traditional simple lifts have come back to roughly 80% of my previous strength and frankly, I could probably squeeze out another 10% if I really gave it my "all", but I just don't trust all of my ligaments and tendons to support "all" out effort at this point.

Bottom line is 3 months in, I feel much better, much stronger, and have much more energy. I'm not looking to lift or look like I'm 30 but I want to build muscle for the long term benefits and to help burn more calories at rest.

Make sure you get your testosterone levels checked, mine went from normal to non existent within a 3 year window and it made daily life, let alone workouts, very difficult.

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[The AD]

Make sure you get your testosterone levels checked, mine went from normal to non existent within a 3 year window and it made daily life, let alone workouts, very difficult.

If this is true then how do women workout?

[Mofro261]

If this is true then how do women workout?

you are aware that women produce testosterone as well, right?

[mcski]

you are aware that women produce testosterone as well, right?

You mean like w blowjobs ?

[The AD]

you are aware that women produce testosterone as well, right?

Yes, but far less than men. On the order of 1/10 to 1/20th of what men produce.

[zion zig zag]

If this is true then how do women workout?

This seems appropriate:

https://media.tenor.com/gRjRUZyT4ggA...k-reaction.gif

[The Reverend Floater]

I was a religious gym goer from 21 - 35. Due to lower back issues and fear of re-injury I always avoided full body complex movements (squats, dead lifts, cleans, etc.) Work and the arrival of kids dominated the next two decades and I developed the typical "solid" boiler and put on 40 bad pounds.

Despite efforts to get back into working out I had no drive and follow through, often feeling flat out exhausted. Recently, got diagnosed with severely low T (dammed near zero) and after a few months of treatment had enough energy to start working out.

Feeling more energetic and having a 14 yr old just getting into lifting for sports has gotten me back into lifting regularly for the first time in almost 20 years. As the literature says people in my bracket should be lifting "heavy" weights, I have slowly gotten back into it and am now super setting for 35-45 minute per session and am lifting far more weight than I expected to be lifting at this age. At 30, I was using 110 LB dumb bells for incline presses. Now, I've worked up to 90s for sets of 10. I was surprised that a lot of strength came back within 3 months. All of the traditional simple lifts have come back to roughly 80% of my previous strength and frankly, I could probably squeeze out another 10% if I really gave it my "all", but I just don't trust all of my ligaments and tendons to support "all" out effort at this point.

Bottom line is 3 months in, I feel much better, much stronger, and have much more energy. I'm not looking to lift or look like I'm 30 but I want to build muscle for the long term benefits and to help burn more calories at rest.

Make sure you get your testosterone levels checked, mine went from normal to non existent within a 3 year window and it made daily life, let alone workouts, very difficult.

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Right on BC13. I'm feeling the same.

After a few months of very consistent gym lifting and stationary biking, I went for my first MTB ride of the season last week. I did a 6+ mile mellow ride out my door that always took me almost exactly one hour everytime I rode it last year.

During the ride I didn't feel particularly great...typical first ride of the year ass kicking, very much out of breath at the top of the climb. Upon pulling back up to my garage, I clicked my bike CPU and realized I had done it in 45 minutes. That felt great.

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[Trackhead]

I developed the typical "solid" boiler and put on 40 bad pounds.

Despite efforts to get back into working out I had no drive and follow through, often feeling flat out exhausted. Recently, got diagnosed with severely low T (dammed near zero) and after a few months of treatment had enough energy to start working out.


Make sure you get your testosterone levels checked, mine went from normal to non existent within a 3 year window and it made daily life, let alone workouts, very difficult.

FWIW, losing that 40lbs may have elimated the need for the exogenous testosterone. Excess adipose is a huge contributor to low-T. Won't get into the physiology, but it's the first step I discuss with patients who want their testosterone levels checked in primary care.

[The AD]

I'm still curious what the experts here think about the low testosterone thing. Like I said, women (usually) have far less of it then men, but are able to workout just as hard if not harder. Obviously their ability to build muscle is different, but it's not like all women are weak. So for men is the problem with low T the fact that we had more and then lost it or something else?

[EWG]

I'm still curious what the experts here think about the low testosterone thing. Like I said, women (usually) have far less of it then men, but are able to workout just as hard if not harder. Obviously their ability to build muscle is different, but it's not like all women are weak. So for men is the problem with low T the fact that we had more and then lost it or something else?

It’s a big issue for men, but there are two different scenarios as listed below. Also, keep in mind that testosterone is a signal not a nutrient. Different amounts are expected in the female body versus the male. In other words it’s like both sexes have volume knobs but Womens go to 5 and Mens to 50. But max volume is still max volume. Make sense?

Scenarios:

A. Natural decline over time
B. Something abnormal happening with your hormone balance

The first one can be a bummer but isn’t usually severe. Supplemental treatments can make a difference but it’s not usually extreme.

The second one is often incredibly severe especially for a serious athlete. And fixing the hormone problem is like coming back from the dead.

Often people find low T and just start supplementing without looking for an underlying cause. It’s worth the extra testing as there are brain issues like tumors that can be causing an issue and if corrected will fix the problem.

And if you are the second category it can and probably will be an enormous increase in your ability to recover. And to a lesser extent increase your ability to work hard. But it’s the recovery that creates all the benefits.

[The AD]

It’s a big issue for men, but there are two different scenarios as listed below. Also, keep in mind that testosterone is a signal not a nutrient. Different amounts are expected in the female body versus the male. In other words it’s like both sexes have volume knobs but Womens go to 5 and Mens to 50. But max volume is still max volume. Make sense?

It does, yes.

[BC13]

FWIW, losing that 40lbs may have elimated the need for the exogenous testosterone. Excess adipose is a huge contributor to low-T. Won't get into the physiology, but it's the first step I discuss with patients who want their testosterone levels checked in primary care.

Thanks for the input. I had that discussion with my Endocronologist and we've set up a "plan" to monitor weight and T levels and try to ween off of the T.



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[Garbowski]

How do you find a good doctor? Have not been in a while. I have a decent PT, but I'd like to have a good GP around- my current guy I chose randomly and would like to upgrade. I'm guessing there are not tons talking new patients unless you are paying cash these days.

[gaijin]

Any of you dirtbags into cold water?

I haven't had a warm shower since 2016. (Okay, I've had a few, but I hated all of them.).

Cold water is nuts. I've kind of preached it around here but I find that when I get preachy people get defensive and it turns into a discussion.

I'd rather not discuss it at length and come off as some guru. I'm not your guru. I hate it. Every morning before I turn on the water I fight myself. And then 5 seconds later when the cold water settles I'm so relieved.

"Athletic performance in your 40's."

Cold water, homies. I'm genuinely surprised at how much I like it.

[riser4]

I'm the opposite. I used to be able to do cold showers. But now I like the hottest possible. I like to melt the dirt off. And I like the steam

[alias_rice]

I have a question for you smarter people. If hypertrophy and fat loss are the main goals, does it hurt to throw in some high intensity cardio at the end of a 60 minute lifting session? For example, jumping on an assault bike and going all out for 20 seconds and then resting for 40 seconds, for a total of 10 minutes.