Originally Posted by
work4bike
To wrap things up, this was critical in me coming to the conclusion that just doing one activity for health is NOT enough for true health, especially as we age. I've heard many people say that they don't run, because it's too hard on the body.
That's exactly why I run, because the body needs stress. I know many elderly cyclists that do have knee/hip/back pains.
So much for the idea of only doing low-impact activities.
This is exactly how I feel. It seems, as we age, whatever fitness we have becomes more and more specialized. Doing something new, even if it is fairly "easy" just wrecks me.
I've been watching a lot of Steve Magness YouTube videos and, while he isn't really aiming what he says at older guys, he does stress the importance of doing some sprints for endurance athletes. I tried to chase my nephew at full speed in a game of tag and, while I caught him, it resulted in a lot of weird, uncomfortable feelings in muscles that hadn't been used that way for years. That's something I think I need to add going forward.
Edit to add:
I noticed that a H/R of 135 BPM on a run felt much more of a huge effort than the same HR on the bike -- 135 BPM on the bike was an easy zone 2 ride, but on a run it was a taxing zone 3. However, over time 135 BPM became less taxing.
But my question was why did 135 BPM feel so taxing? Surely it was NOT because my cardio (AKA: Engine) was insufficient.
Thought of this while running today. I pretty much never run slower than zone 3 because zones 1 and 2 seem just as uncomfortable as zone 3 to me. Like, if I'm going to be running, I at least want to try to get it over with quickly or something.