General Cycling Discussion - Myth of Invulnerability

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the man who helped spearhead the "aerobics" craze a few decades ago, claims that some people suffer from the, "myth of invulnerability." In a nutshell, he says that some people who think the more they exercise, the healthier they are, are suffering from this myth.

What do you think?

There's a bell curve. Past a certain point, it's too much. Depends on the person, how good your diet is, etc. I know for me, in college, I was training up to 12 hours a day (dance classes, rehearsals, going to the gym). I felt good at the time, but now that I'm away from that daily structure my health is better. I can't hold my leg so high with no help from my hands that I have to look UP at my foot anymore, but I don't get sick as much! hehe...I don't know if that's a good trade off or not. Sure is fun to freak people out :D

Originally posted by Natophelia
There's a bell curve.

this is why we have to take rest (or low intensity) days to recover from riding. Although I think for the general public of the US, they could probably stand to do a bit more exercising :p

Originally posted by Pete Clark
some people suffer from the, "myth of invulnerability." In a nutshell, he says that some people who think the more they exercise, the healthier they are, are suffering from this myth.
What do you think?

Perhaps ...

... but I'll bet that it's more dangerous to suffer from the non-myth of the cheesburger-posterior.

:D

I agree with all preceding responses.

However, cardiovascular disease is WAY down my list of worry priorities.

I think diet is an important issue that hasn't as yet been mentioned. If you live on a diet of cheeseburgers and grease the way most people do, a lot of exercise probably shouldn't be attempted. As it is, I can ride around 20,000km per annum and I've only had one illness of any description in the last four years, so it's not really an issue with me.

There is no myth...I am invulnerable...Thats my storey and I am sticking to it. :)

Seriously though,

There is even a point where enthusiasts become burned out. Falls into the same category. When I was riding 30k a day 6 days a week of very technical single track I was burning out. I couldn't keep up that pace without my brain shutting down and my body doing the same.

There comes a time when everyone needs a quick break or even a week long break (I did this and came back really strong, very nice feeling)

Maelstrom, is your avatar losing weight? Must be all that cycling.

It is true a lot of people think that exercise is the end all but you need to do it with a proper diet (that is one that includes all the chocolate you can eat) and a good frame of mind (I am NOT 46 years old I am still 25, maybe thats just denial) and I also believe in a strong spiritual grounding (make that your choice of spirituality) makes for the long and happy life, but then again it is all a c**p shoot anyway.

All exercise tends to deplete the body of nutrients and carried beyond moderate levels becomes catabolic tending to tear down the body and leaving the immume system in a weakened state.For this reason proper nutrition and rest allowing for recovery as others have stated becomes critical at higher levels/intensity of exercise both before during and after the activity.Exercise/training,diet and lifestyle are all controlable factors intertwined in determinining how invincable you are.Age and genetics factor in as well of course.As you age or if you have poor genetics these factors become more critical .So if you adhere to a volume approach to exercise you better have the rest of it in order as well or you will reach a point of diminishing returns sooner rather than later.

Originally posted by MediaCreations
Maelstrom, is your avatar losing weight? Must be all that cycling.

Yeah my avatar had to start taking the roids again to put the weight back on ;)...

i honestly believe i am more healthy and less susceptible to illness and other things b/c i am active, train and eat well.

when i ruptured my spleen (playing football) and had it removed the doctors told me i'd be in bed for 6 days. i was walking day 2 and went home day 3.

i am rarely sick and have missed something like 2 days of work in 8 years from illness.

of course, you can overdue training -- if you're training all the time you are actually weaker b/c it is hard on the body and you need to recovery.

so with proper recovery and nutrition, yes, i do think you are much less vulnerable if you are fit.

of course, for me, you also have the added dangers of sports injuries, so people CAN argue that overall it doesn't make much difference (e.g. i have missed 10-15 days of work in 8 years from sports injuries). but i enjoy sports and training and also more "extreme sports" like mountain biking, skit touring, snowboarding, mountain climbing, etc. i could train and be fit without "risky" "extreme" sports, but that is my choice b/c i like it.

i also FEEL fit and strong and healthy and full of energy - and that makes a lot of difference too!

i used to think i was prety much invulnerable (i could do any launch, no get hurt in any fall, etc.), but after about age 27 or so the injuries begin, so you learn that this is not really true.

Maybe its an American disease, but when you are physically active, you dont have to always be pushing yourself to 100% performance.
Some excercise/cycle-sport websites give advice like "make every ride count", "set goals for every training session".
The graph of US population vs excercise seems to be a peak at each end of the spectrum, rather than a bell curve.

It is possible to excerice moderately, and to ride just for the enjoyment of riding. I dont see how you can convert a couch potatoe to excercise, when excercise means a rigourous regime of extreme sports. It may be easier and better to try a walk in the park first.

Are you sure it isn't a psychological problem? Invulnerability is never possible. Someone is crazy.

Originally posted by oxologic
Are you sure it isn't a psychological problem? Invulnerability is never possible. Someone is crazy.
No one is invulnerable to heart attack. But--

The evidence that exercise greatly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke is common knowledge. Diet, lifestyle and heredity also are factors.

There have been some instances of fatal heart attacks in seemingly healthy, athletic people, such as Jim Fixx and Ed Burke.
Fixx died while running, Burke died while on a group ride. Burke was an exercise physiologist.

This is not to say that either of these tragic deaths were either man's fault or that they suffered from the alleged, "myth of invulnerability." But their deaths might tell the rest of us that exercise alone is no guarantee you won't die of a heart attack.

Overall, I'd be more concerned about the "obesity is normal" myth. But for balance sake, I'll say there are some people who think that more exercise is always better, just like some people think, "If a little bit of aspirin helps my headache, twice as much will be twice as effective."

Everything in moderation, right?

I mean, exercise is generally good. But as other people have pointed out, past a certain point, more exercise is not better. Just as importantly, more exercise past a certain point almost certainly forces a reduction in the attention paid to other aspects of life that are just as important if not to the length of life then the quality of life.

Exercise takes a lot of time and a lot of people eventually give it up because they feel it takes too much time out of their lives. While I think this is a cop-out for some people, there is at least some truth to this when you start to over do exercise. It doesn't seem to happen too often, but spending two, three hours a day exercising, how can you have enough time to spend attending to all the other aspects of life that are important to the quality of it (family, intellectual stimulation, socializing, just relaxing, etc.)?

Erm guys, where was that article? I was an article saying that burning a certain amount of calories by exercise causes more health problems than health benefits?

Would someone gladly reply and tell me the calories limit please?

Well, it is a known fact that regular exercise greatly reduces your chances of diabetes and heart attacks. Actually, you can get the risk of diabetes and heart attacks very close to zero with a strict diet but that is tough to do in the land of big Macs and fries. There are certain groups of people with diets low in fat and sugar and high in complex carbs who have rates of heart attacks and diabetes approaching zero.

Fit people can get diabetes and heart attacks though. I think diet has the greatest effect. But exercise does have a major effect.

Now one has to look at the kind of exercise done. Quite a few forms of exercise are not particularly beneficial. Aerobic exercise seems to have the greatest effects and bicycling is just about the premier aerobic exercise. Walking is good but not as intense as cycling. Running is good but tends to be associated with foot injuries because it is high impact. Cross country skiing is great but you can't count on having snow. Many kinds of "exercise" really are not very effective because most people spend most of the time sitting or standing around when they are doing them: tennis, football, weight lifting and so on.

There really are not that many health downsides to exercise. People can over train. But I have put in serious miles for weeks on end (300+ per week) and never had that problem. I think it is an intensity thing. If you ride hard on one ride, you have to recover for awhile until you feel better.

I've also heard that being attacked by leeches can reduce one's heart risk. Mind you, I'm not sure I'd advise going for a ride with five big fat leeches inside your shoes sucking your blood (I did that about 18 months - 2 years back). I don't know the relevance of this, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Originally posted by Chris L
I've also heard that being attacked by leeches can reduce one's heart risk. Mind you, I'm not sure I'd advise going for a ride with five big fat leeches inside your shoes sucking your blood (I did that about 18 months - 2 years back). I don't know the relevance of this, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Thanks Chris, I'm going to check my shoes now.
I've never considered myself to be invulnerable.
I am, however, bullet-proof.

Well today isn't the day for me to be questioning my vulnerability...I came close to posting here a few days ago but my outlook has changed somewhat since then. I don't recall the last time I had the good old-fashioned flu but I guess I need to mark it down somewhere because that's what's going on: 101-102 fever, joints feel like I've just stepped out of a wringer washer. At least I'm snot-free. But hey, if it weren't raining right now I'd still be getting suited up for a spin, and that is something to consider: vulnerability issues aside, I ALWAYS feel better after a ride, even if it's under conditions like these and I'm just out for a little fresh air. I also feel fairly sure that I will be getting over this little bug faster than a sedentary person.

Originally posted by oxologic
Erm guys, where was that article? I was an article saying that burning a certain amount of calories by exercise causes more health problems than health benefits?

Would someone gladly reply and tell me the calories limit please?

I am not an expert or do I know the article you have read you don't want to burn more calories than you consume but we already know that I wonder if what you are refering to is the production of free radicals that are produced during exercise. Now if I understand this correctly (I had a long discussion with the doc on this one)free radicals are a normal cell that is missing the Nuetron(sp) so it is important that you eat foods rich in beta caratens(sp) it helps to replenish the free radicals with a nuetron then you have a happy healthy cell

Since being married to an RN the last fifteen years and hearing her chronicle the # of 30 year old heart attack patients, the "they did everything rights" and died of cancer at 41's, the marathon runners who keel over at 50, I ride for the sensual pleasure of descents and corners, the mad-scientist kick of feeling my own framebuilds on real pavement, the spiteful pleasure of taking up road space in front of some local ******* in a Ford Excretion, the memory of those who I've known who aren't on the road anymore.

Originally posted by Feldman
Since being married to an RN the last fifteen years and hearing her chronicle the # of 30 year old heart attack patients, the "they did everything rights" and died of cancer at 41's, the marathon runners who keel over at 50, I ride for the sensual pleasure of descents and corners, the mad-scientist kick of feeling my own framebuilds on real pavement, the spiteful pleasure of taking up road space in front of some local ******* in a Ford Excretion, the memory of those who I've known who aren't on the road anymore.
Feldman, is it funny because it's true?

lmao/true