Athletic performance in your 40s?

[californiagrown]

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.

There really isnt much research to show ice bath/shower benefits. That said, within reason, do what works well for you. If you love it and see benefits, keep doing what youre doing. There certainly isnt anything bad about it... its certainly more climate/environment friendly than a hot shower. Personally, the last thing i want out of a shower is for it to stiffen/spasm my usually stiff muscles and joints or to spike my adrenaline. I much prefer a comforting experience that helps loosen me up.

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.

No that doesnt hurt. That is a great way to get in cardio efficiently. Just make sure you are getting in good nutrition pre, peri, post workout. I find the older i get the more sensitive i am to shitty nutrition (not enough) and blood sugar crashes during workouts and physical activity.

[climberevan]

Huberman & co seem pretty enamored of cold immersion as well as heat(sauna). But they are doing it for macro health reasons as opposed to for muscle soreness/recovery.

There are some things I'll do for my health (like nearly eliminating alcohol in the last year), but getting into cold water is a bridge too far.

[Dantheman]

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.

Have you seen Wim Hof lately? He looks like shit.

There really isnt much research to show ice bath/shower benefits.

There's really strong evidence that cold plunges create large and sustained increases in baseline dopamine. It does also spin up your stress response/cortisol pretty hard though, and based on how Wim currently looks I'd say it's definitely possible to overdo it. I do like a nice half hot/half cold shower, though in the summer my tap water gets up into the 60s.

I'm way too cheap to buy a fancy cold plunge tub, nor do I want to deal with the workarounds like buying bags of ice all the time or keeping a chest freezer half-full of water. I just get my temperature stress by leaning into the seasons. I ride to work in the winter in a t-shirt when it's in the 20s, ride home in the summer when it's 100+, etc.

[J. Barron DeJong]

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.

Andy Galpin’s exercise interference chart:

https://hubermanlab.com/wp-content/u...terference.pdf

From the show notes:

”

• The interference effect has recently been debated but overblown – zone 2 cardio in and of itself will not blunt strength or hypertrophy – what matters more is your calorie supply and the type of cardio you’re doing; running (constant eccentric pounding) will have a greater consequence than bike riding
• The interference effect is not something most of us need to worry about when comparing the benefit of well-roundedness for overall physiologic health”

https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-la...-huberman-lab/

[Danno]

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.

Ask around is the best method I know. Ask people you know, especially those most similar to you (ie don't necessarily ask the 75 year old obese dude, or at least weigh his recommendation differently than the 50 yo fit skier).

[climberevan]

Right on cue.

https://pca.st/episode/9435629c-aeb5...0-799bf977125e

[bennymac]

I found those 6 Galpin episodes on Huberman podcast super interesting. I was turned off by the length of the episodes until I pressed play and gave it a try - now I’m on my second lap through them.

I don’t do cold showers/baths purely because I’m a wimp. I’ll have to get those benefits elsewhere if I can.

Galpin and Huberman do briefly discuss that cold blunts the inflammatory response (makes sense) so if cold plunge is done soon after training it may blunt the response/recovery/adaptation you are trying to achieve (likely more of an issue with strength and/or hypertrophy training?)

[frorider]

Have you seen Wim Hof lately? He looks like shit.

What happened to his navel?

[alias_rice]

Andy Galpin’s exercise interference chart:

https://hubermanlab.com/wp-content/u...terference.pdf

From the show notes:

”

• The interference effect has recently been debated but overblown – zone 2 cardio in and of itself will not blunt strength or hypertrophy – what matters more is your calorie supply and the type of cardio you’re doing; running (constant eccentric pounding) will have a greater consequence than bike riding
• The interference effect is not something most of us need to worry about when comparing the benefit of well-roundedness for overall physiologic health”

https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-la...-huberman-lab/

Thank you sir. I am working my way through those podcasts but I don't think I have made it that far yet.

Also for what it's worth if you're in your 40's and you have been slowly watching your weight increase and while your fitness decreases, you should jump back into a training program of some sort. I spent most of my 20's very active and in good shape and then kids and career really slowed me down. I slowly got fatter and slower until finally this last winter it started really effecting my overall well being. My sleep was shitty, I was cranky all the time and had very low energy. As good as this ski season was, it was the first year I really avoided anything other than lift served downhill. Even short little sidesteps like Backside and Devil's Castle seemed to put me at max heartrate. After my back totally froze up on a vacation and I had to have my 11 year old just about carry me to bed I finally figured I better get my ass in shape or I'd be dead by 50. I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

[Trackhead]

I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

This is awesome, bravo.

[Supermoon]

Thank you sir. I am working my way through those podcasts but I don't think I have made it that far yet.

Also for what it's worth if you're in your 40's and you have been slowly watching your weight increase and while your fitness decreases, you should jump back into a training program of some sort. I spent most of my 20's very active and in good shape and then kids and career really slowed me down. I slowly got fatter and slower until finally this last winter it started really effecting my overall well being. My sleep was shitty, I was cranky all the time and had very low energy. As good as this ski season was, it was the first year I really avoided anything other than lift served downhill. Even short little sidesteps like Backside and Devil's Castle seemed to put me at max heartrate. After my back totally froze up on a vacation and I had to have my 11 year old just about carry me to bed I finally figured I better get my ass in shape or I'd be dead by 50. I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

Hell yeah man. Nice work. What program are you doing, out of curiosity?

[The SnowShow]

Thank you sir. I am working my way through those podcasts but I don't think I have made it that far yet.

Also for what it's worth if you're in your 40's and you have been slowly watching your weight increase and while your fitness decreases, you should jump back into a training program of some sort. I spent most of my 20's very active and in good shape and then kids and career really slowed me down. I slowly got fatter and slower until finally this last winter it started really effecting my overall well being. My sleep was shitty, I was cranky all the time and had very low energy. As good as this ski season was, it was the first year I really avoided anything other than lift served downhill. Even short little sidesteps like Backside and Devil's Castle seemed to put me at max heartrate. After my back totally froze up on a vacation and I had to have my 11 year old just about carry me to bed I finally figured I better get my ass in shape or I'd be dead by 50. I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

That’s awesome! More details?

[schuss]

This is awesome, bravo.

Agreed, get it!

[gaijin]

alias_rice... your post is why we're all in this thread. We love to hear it and would like to hear more.

For my 40th birthday I gave myself a weight loss of about 40 lbs. But I was huge. All things basic for my 39th year-- diet, exercise, the simple stuff. This was after I blew my knee and I knew that turning 40 was going to be a turning point that I could enter fit our not... and either trend would likely continue.

Now I'm 47 and have gained some gut back, a few pounds that I can shrug off, but have gained muscle, too.

Now I'm on the "Fit for Fifty" plan with a buddy from Canada. When I'm 50, and people ask me how old I am and I tell them that I'm 50, I want the reply to be-- "You're fucking 50?"

Getting there, fairly fit, but I absolutely love to read/hear stories about other people in their 40s killing it. 20lbs, alias_rice, is huge at this age.

[gaijin]

Oh... and Wim... that nose looks like alcoholism.

And I suppose one could over-do the cold exposure thing in regards to stress, but I don't take it that far. Cold showers are enough. Ground temperature water is enough. It's more of a hormone balance thing than anything else. I enter the cold shower at 6am as one person, and 15 minutes later exit as a different me. The real me. The comfortable me.

And as for the shock or muscle spasms... that doesn't exist anymore. Cold is actually relaxing. That's the weird/surprising part. It's like swimming in Lake Tahoe. /fuck-I-miss-that-place.

[ironhippy]

Oh... and Wim... that nose looks like alcoholism.

I saw him on the discovery channel a long time ago (mid-2000's?), I was really interested in what they described as a super athlete that could handle any temperature.

In the video, he was running barefoot in the cold, but he kept stopping, sitting in a warm car and smoking cigarettes. I didn't even bother finishing whatever show it was, I just took him for a charlatan and never paid attention to him again.

And I suppose one could over-do the cold exposure thing in regards to stress, but I don't take it that far. Cold showers are enough. Ground temperature water is enough. It's more of a hormone balance thing than anything else. I enter the cold shower at 6am as one person, and 15 minutes later exit as a different me. The real me. The comfortable me.

This is a sane and reasonable approach. The cold exposure doesn't need to be water, water would just be the most effective.

A lot of athletes force themselves into this state at the start of winter events. "Start cold" is a useful mantra, and would provide a lot of the same benefits as cold showers/ice baths, you're literally shivering waiting for, and the first five minutes of your event.

Running is a good example, start underdressed and once you are warmed up you'll be comfortable for the rest of the run. You get the exposure to an uncomfortable amount of cold and then use your body to warm up naturally, there may even be some hormonal benefits doing it right before an athletic event.

[Dantheman]

I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

Nice work and keep it up!

I saw him on the discovery channel a long time ago (mid-2000's?), I was really interested in what they described as a super athlete that could handle any temperature.

In the video, he was running barefoot in the cold, but he kept stopping, sitting in a warm car and smoking cigarettes. I didn't even bother finishing whatever show it was, I just took him for a charlatan and never paid attention to him again.

He holds several Guinness-certified world records that I believe are well beyond what any one else has ever done and may never be repeated. Some respect is certainly deserved there.

It was actually his son that managed to monetize his lifestyle. But, as he's become more popular he's leaned pretty hard into the guru/cult leader shtick and become a bit insufferable. He also likes to say things about his breathing method that are scientifically incorrect.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Congrats to all those kicking ass! For me it was just a bit of a realization that everything I love required by health and fitness. In my mid forties I realized just doing what I do wasn't enough.

Here is what I try and do for home weight training. I'm not a weight room guy. The adjustable dumbbell sets can be had for cheap and I use an exercise ball instead of a bench.

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/wo...mbbell-workout

[BC13]

Thank you sir. I am working my way through those podcasts but I don't think I have made it that far yet.

Also for what it's worth if you're in your 40's and you have been slowly watching your weight increase and while your fitness decreases, you should jump back into a training program of some sort. I spent most of my 20's very active and in good shape and then kids and career really slowed me down. I slowly got fatter and slower until finally this last winter it started really effecting my overall well being. My sleep was shitty, I was cranky all the time and had very low energy. As good as this ski season was, it was the first year I really avoided anything other than lift served downhill. Even short little sidesteps like Backside and Devil's Castle seemed to put me at max heartrate. After my back totally froze up on a vacation and I had to have my 11 year old just about carry me to bed I finally figured I better get my ass in shape or I'd be dead by 50. I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years. It's nice to get home from work and actually want to do something other than sit on the couch.

Congrats, great job!

Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

[alias_rice]

That’s awesome! More details?

For me the biggest thing was just changing my mindset to try and find ways to be more active. I'm a baseball guy and love stats so the first thing I did is bought a fitness watch and started tracking everything. I try to get a minimum of 11,000 steps in every day and climb at least 50 flights of stairs. I used to wake up in the morning and scroll my phone while drinking my coffee. I now get up and take the dog on a 30 minute walk before coffee. I live in the foothills so I always start by heading uphill and getting the heartrate going a bit. I'll typically get 25 of the 50 flights on my morning walk. I also have a standup desk in my office and I make sure to stand for at least 1 out of every 3 hours of work. I have no clue if does anything to be honest, but I figure it can't hurt.

As for real exercise, I have logged a shit load of hours on my e-bike and when it's raining I get on the indoor bike. The ebike for me is a game changer because while being fun as hell, I can also adjust the boost to keep my heartrate right where I want it. If I want to keep it easy I can kick up the boost and if I want get into zone 5 I can turn it down. It doesn't take long to feel the pain when your pedaling a 55 pound bike up a hill with almost no boost. And then a month ago I started lifting for 60 minutes, 4 days a week.

I haven't really done a ton on my nutrition yet, but I cut out most beer, soda, fast food and fruit juice. I also just generally try eat a little lighter and a little less. I figure improvements are going to stall out here soon and I will have to take it more seriously. But it will be a tougher nut to crack. Working out was pretty easy once I got into a routine because it is always been something I enjoy. But I've never really given much thought on my nutrition.

[bennymac]

Great work! Lots of factors in play here but I’m guessing (I’m no expert) the dropping of the beer/soda/sugar/juice/fast food has played a big role in your weight loss by changing that calories in/out equation (of course all the extra calories burned via increased activity is playing their big role too)
Congrats on the progress! - now come all the other positive gains (strength/endurance/mental health etc)

[gaijin]

He holds several Guinness-certified world records that I believe are well beyond what any one else has ever done and may never be repeated. Some respect is certainly deserved there.

It was actually his son that managed to monetize his lifestyle. But, as he's become more popular he's leaned pretty hard into the guru/cult leader shtick and become a bit insufferable. He also likes to say things about his breathing method that are scientifically incorrect.

I was all in 8 years ago. Even paid for his "course". I type that with a cynical tone, but I do have to admit that it helped me change my life. His course could have been a .pdf, but it is what it is. I think the breathing meditations were simply the discipline I needed to ground myself to then build a healthier lifestyle. I went a solid 4 years breathing/meditating everyday.

But I was (am?) also mentally ill. And going hard with the breathing/meditating/cold plunges did help me reset everything. But cold water is the only thing that has stuck. I don't buy ice anymore but I do seek out cold pools... natural springs, rivers, runoff. But I was doing that in my 20's working in Tahoe painting houses. I think I just like cold water.

I've always been bummed out that Wim plays into the guru shtick. I think it's hard for those guys who are motivators to remain humble. Tony Robbins was rad until he began repeating himself to keep selling. I get it. It's like music. You write a rad song and then play it a million times.

I'm hoping Goggins keeps running and pushing. I find more inspiration from athletes that overcome challenges than listening to them preach.

Which brings me to Cody. I love the 50 project. "It's just a number." Yeah... kinda. But it's also discipline, and discipline seems like the hardest thing to stomach.

[Harry]

I'm now 10 weeks into training again and I'm down 20 lbs. and I feel overall better than I have in years.

Hell yeah. I love reading shit like this. Motivates me.


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[phatty]

Was doing a trail run today with a buddy who's North of 50 but still crushes hiking/cycling. I was mentioning that I'm not where I want to be weight/conditioning wise. He reads a ton of fitness stuff and told me all about the research he's been reading on the outsized impact sleep plays in weight loss/gain. My sleep schedule is terrible with teenagers at home and early meetings with EMEA for work. Made me realize that I need to put some focus there in addition to my workouts.

[bennymac]

not to preach from the Bible of Huberman but he has some episodes on sleep. Plus the book “Why We Sleep” is an easy read - changed my habits dramatically.