Originally Posted by
yannisg
Use intensity workouts to slow aging and reduce the yearly decrease in VO2max is recommended by various biking articles, and who doesn't want that to happen to themselves.
On the other side, many cardiologists, athletes included, recommend to reduce the intensity for the same age group. Ride but not intensively. Stating that high intensity can cause heart problem such as arrhythmies, AF (atrial fibrillation), and increase of the aeorta. I already have a slight arrhythmia, and an enlarged aeorta.
So how much intensity should I included in my workouts to get the benefit of the reduced aging without risking any future heart problems.
Considering the above, I have reduced the intensity of my interval workouts, and increased the length. My shortest intervals are 4min X2 rec. I have also reduced my average and MaxHR for the intervals. However, the above intervals are still intensive.
So, my dilemma is whether I should continue doing these intervals as I get older or ride my routes, which many of them included a lot of climbing, but I can control the intensity which is harder to do once I am committed to do a series of intervals.
Any view on this matter is appreciated.
I happen to be a physician, so maybe I understand some of the concepts a little better, but I’m essentially a smart lay person in this area. I’m 66 and at risk for these issues, having competed and messed around in endurance sports since high school. I have a couple of comments.
First this concern applies only to people who have put in years of intense training. The big risk factor is years and degree of exposure, not age. For most of us, the damage, if any, is done and it’s not clear from what I’ve read that what we do now is all that important. I still do VO2max intervals and knucklehead group rides, but the intensity and frequency are are limited by my pathetic rate of recovery. I pay close attention to HRV and all this means that I’ve cut way back in recent years. I will certainly never race again.
Second, I do wonder about the potential usefulness of a screening echocardiogram. If I found out I had a huge left atrium, I might think seriously about taking up shuffleboard. The problem is getting someone to put something very tactful in your record or paying cash for the test. One also has to be careful with cardiologists. Some are great and understand elderly athletes, but others are incredibly aggressive and doctrinaire and, as a group, they are the intake stage for the cath lab and the chest crackers, huge profit centers for health care systems.
Good luck, brother.