OldTryGuy

Seem to remember reading an article similar to one in OPs post a number of years ago in a triathlon forum.

Paying attention to yourself is key to all things for a long term healthy life. Too many people deny symptoms or simply age related events and wind up in trouble. Nothing much worse than some older jock trying to relive those running, baseball, basketball....days and getting injured. You are wise to limit your activities.

osco53

I ride hard until I puke or get tired,
I stop, let my breathing slow down, I drink, eat and stretch easy, At this point my workout is over and I'm usually way out In the woods, the back of the preserve.

I get back on the bike all re-hydrated, fueled and fresh and I ride In Fun mode at 75-80% of max 'Q'. At some point I wind up back at the trail head,
Tank empty, low on water, tired, hungry and happy
I have been known to go back out the very next day and ride the same ride, faster and stronger, ending with less fatigue than the day before..odd..

My Doctor says I am healthy so I don't sweat it, If I die In the woods alone with my bike, I'm cool with that...

jeromephone

just read the article must be we are all on the email list. I have af and am on meds blood thinner beta blocker but doc said just do whatever I want a long ride for me would be 20 miles and two days in a row would be unusual. My drs seem to think If I am not having other problems just continue as is rather than try and "cure" the AF. My mother is 92 and has AF also with no symptoms. Genetics ?

TCR Rider

I don't know if you're serious or kidding but IMO there's a lot of truth in that statement. It's not just about the length of your life but the quality of the years you have. That was the reason I had the second ablation. If it was successful it would resolve the issue and I would get my lifestyle back. To me it was worth the risk and the Doctor was one of the top practitioners in the field. To date I haven't had another episode and I'm not on those dreaded Beta Blockers, God I hated them.
My cardiologist, himself a former cyclist, has no problem with my activity level. In fact he said since I have the ICD it's like riding with an EMT so in a worst case scenario it would shock me back to a normal rhythm. Right now my only real concession is riding with a road ID and sending my wife my ride on Live Track.

qcpmsame 

The entire article is a good read, but I don't see that it should make for increased worries. These guys are training at a super high intensity, if any of us are using such a high level then those members might have cause to be concerned. The OP has been pretty inspiring in her riding, to me, I hope that she keeps up the improvements she has shown.

Bill

Viking55803

I'm coming back from quadruple bypass surgery and trying to reach my optimum level of fitness for my age (66.) That means pushing myself, but doing so with caution. Forty years ago I was a serious endurance athlete - mainly long-distance x-country ski racing and running. Many of the men I competed with are now struggling with atrial fibrillation.

Here's the problem with AF: the most common outcome is not a heart attack but a stroke. I had a single episode of AF about 1 years post surgery a couple of day AFTER pushing myself past my limits. Two days after that, I had what is called a transient ischemic event or mini-stroke. I woke up in the middle of night and the entire right side of my body was weak. It only lasted a couple of hours - a tiny clot from my heart went to the brain and then dissolved, leaving no after effects. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather have a heart attack than a stroke, which could leave me permanently disabled for the rest of my life.

Now, two years later I've had no AF. I'm on a very low dose of beta blockers and a full dose of daily aspirin (not a bad idea for almost any older person.) What was "over my limit" two years ago is now fairly comfortable and I wear a heart rate monitor at all times to gauge my effort - between cadence, heart rate and breathing I know exactly what I can do - the speed is what it is!

I've reviewed the medical literature carefully and have come to the conclusion that for up to 6 hours/week of moderate aerobic exercise you are contributing to your health. Over 6 hours you may be improving performance, but are slowly entering the area of risk. Just don't fool yourself: if you are doing more than 6 hours/week you are not doing it for your health but for other reasons. Those may be perfectly valid and reasonable - achieve personal goals, winning a race etc. - but you are not healthier than you would have been sticking to a more moderate plan.

augiedogie

I stand corrected on the Jim Fix issue, but I still think that there are some people who are over doing it for their age and damaging their body. I have several friends and family in my age group, and I don't know any of them that yet have cardiac problems. They're active, but would never be considered fitness fanatics. All I'm saying is that it is possible to overdo it and actually damage your body more than help it.

Biker395 

"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." ~ Mick Jagger

lol

Seriously, of course you're right. Even if you're interested in training to be as fast as possible (something alien to me), you can overtrain and do more damage than good. I agree with the others here. Push when and if you feel like it, but not to the point of pain.

PS: Anyone besides me shocked that the Rolling Stones have aged so well? Must be good genes.

chasm54

You're not.

Caveat: I'm not a physician, but I have read widely on the impact of exercise on the heart, partly because I experience the premature ventricular contractions mentioned in the article and have always been a bit of a hypochondriac so wanted to read some of the evidence for myself.

There are various studies on elite endurance athletes that suggest they are more likely than the general population to show scarring of the heart muscle in middle age. But those studies (like the velonews article) tend to focus on extreme practitioners - professional cyclists, ultramarathoners, ironman triathletes - who have subjected their hearts to extended periods at high bpms very frequently - like for some hours every day - for many years. And there are a host of other studies that indicate that those who take regular strenuous exercise tend to outlive, by a considerable margin, those who don't.

As far as I am aware there is zero evidence that occasionally pushing to the max will cause us any problems, and abundant evidence that extensive moderate exercise, with some high-intensity thrown in, will do us a lot of good. What may be less wonderful (the jury is still out, as far as I can see) is long rides - I'm talking several hours - at a HR that is up there close to your threshold. So if you wanted to play extremely safe, I'd say spend most of your time on the bike at low-to-moderate intensity and go as hard as you like for briefish periods, but don't hammer away for hours at a time in HR zone 4. And as it happens, that 80% low intensity and 20% high is a pretty good recipe for maximising fitness, too.

augiedogie

I think a study of the heath of people who participated in Iron Man events, professional cyclists, etc, these types of folks would be interesting, especially to see what the long term effects of this, and particularly when they hit their retirement years.

I've heard that NFL players don't fare particularly well when it comes to living a long time, but that's a totally different type of activity, and no doubt the general lifestyle of an NFL player would be a factor.

I personally don't think there is a key to living a long life. My FIL lived as long as Jack Lalane, who was a health and fitness fanatic. What's amazing is that my FIL, was obese, did almost no exercise, did not eat healthy and smoked part of his life, yet he didn't have to see a DR. till he developed AFib at 90, and was mentally sharp till the day he died.

peterws

"Anyone besides me shocked that the Rolling Stones have aged so well? Must be good genes. "

Jagger was a jogger, may still be. Got rid of his excess beer induced calories. And some people seem to thrive on banned substances . . . . Not sure the other Stones have fared so well!

Viking55803

Are you kidding? Just the fact that Keith Richards is still alive defies belief!

Jarrett2

He's to hoping Dr. Chasm is right

Rich Gibson 

Oh my goodness my head hurts from trying to follow the regime! Are you training for racing? Please excuse if I sound sarcastic or critical, but why the complexity? For me I ride four on, one rest and gradually try to improve each set. Just curious.

Rich

Garfield Cat

This is the reason why the "Aging Baby Boomer" will eventually get another bike after that road bike begins to wear off.

ModeratedUser17082018

After a near fatal heart attack in Sept. 2013, I attended a cardio recovery class. I'm sure there are many on this forum who have had similar. The cardio class was excellent and they (the nurses) told us every class that cardio work can and should be done every single day. This is not the same as pushing the envelope - it's getting your heart rate up slightly and keeping it there for an hour or more. My "target" workout heart rate is 125bpm at this time.

Upshot is, biking most days of the week for long hours may not be bad for you and in fact may be very good for you. I think it's all about the intensity. I use a heart rate monitor but mostly go by how I feel (as instructed by the wonderful cardio nurses). To improve one's health, it's not the intensity; it's the duration.

freedomrider1

Wait just a dog gone minute here. 44. We are going to have to have some kind of special secret meeting about this.After we all get back from our rides. today or maybe, well sometime soon.

bowzette

Some max vo2 intervals, some LT intervals and increasing the amount of time and long rides at aerobic threshold which is rather low HR. But that has to be spaced out with significant recovery either off the bike or very low HR rides usually on a trainer to control the HR. "Why"-just finished a single pace line 52 mile ride through rollers with wind at 19 mph. I rode close to or at the front much of the ride and took some good pulls . It was 80 degrees when we started and 90 when we finished. If I didn't have a "complex" regiment I couldn't do that at age 69 about to be 70. The other riders are a lot younger than me some of them my sons age. Use to train to race now I train to ride with reasonably strong recreational riders-not fair but that's life.

OldTryGuy

Pretty aggressive.

A little curious, how many in the paceline and what was the average speed?

rumrunn6

yeah but sometimes ... I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was

shout out to Toby Keith

bowzette

around 12 riders maybe 15 but a number of riders weren't taking pulls and the group sometimes split into two groups. we stop a number of times for lights and cross roads and we wait and regroup as appropriate. my rolling average was 19.1 but the effort is higher than the average. It would be at least 20 if we didn't have the stops and regroups but its a fast social ride not a race. I had sections I was pulling at 20-22 so I was pretty tired at the end. But I off topic. My OP was the article I thought would be interesting. I I think Joe's latest book is good for performance even if not racing and sort of in line with the study of plenty of rest and monitoring how often you ride hard.

Rich Gibson 

Inspirational. I've been cycling two years now thinking I was doing well. I just put a power meter on my bike and boy am I depressed! You have my appreciation for your determination and fitness. I have no motivation to race or compete but I can respect it nonetheless.

I've finally gone through every post here I appreciate everyone's input. I've been blessed with good health and take reasonable care of myself. I do admit to leaning on taking nutritional supplements over eating better. Nevertheless after I mentioned to an allergist about a pain near my right lung this spring he cautioned a heart workup. No detectable blockage. (anecdotally a long time female friend was diagnosed with 65% blockage in one of her arteries and her doctor told her to take one Garlinase tablet and 100 mg of COq10 daily. Two years later all the blockage was gone. I started that three years ago and, again for me no blockage. Coincidence, black magic?).

This past spring has been very frustrating because of the lousy, long allergy season. The past two years I could ride outside in hilly terrain 22 miles a day averaging 12mph and hold 117 bpm for the several hours it took. This spring I couldn't even ride outside for the pain in my upper chest to the huge pollen count, and recent ozone level barely breaking 100 bpm before the ache. Only this week I've been able to ride past 110 bpm without discomfort. My Kurt Kinetic is getting a groove in the metal roller because of the usage. I recently joined Training Peaks to help with getting back to my previous level, and this past week bought and installed a power meter. Wrong decision! Now I see I'm even more aerobically challenged than before. I'm considering dropping the subscription. The graphs are pretty, but don't seem to be a benefit for the $20 monthly fee.

This thread is a wake up call because I've begun getting obsessive about training trying to maintain 500 miles a month riding four on, one off and reach the old level I had. As an engineer by education I enjoy noodling over details and figures. I'm not a Type-A; I have no desire to race anyone but as an over-achiever I tend to follow the "if some is good, more is better" mantra and get sucked in continually trying to improve. I'm still in the 115-120 bpm range but the above reading is a valuable caution to not obsess about continual improvement. What to do you think? 4x24 miles at 60-65% MHR and a day off?

Thanks, Rich

Jarrett2

lol, did I say 44? I meant 54

FBOATSB

I have settled into a routine of one hour a day, seven days a week for now - don't like to hurt the next day. Sometimes more, never less. I can ride indoors if weather is bad. I know I'll get better over time as weight goes down and strength increases. I'm 59, but I'm just trying to ride my way out of an early grave.

freedomrider1

I like your thinking, just lose 10 years anytime you want.