Yesterday in 1059, an engaging blogger, Dan From Madison, suggested I consider a bicycle as an alternative to running. He made a great point about it still being very good exercise and not as grueling as running. I especially appreciated his advise on taking the time and making the investment to work with a good bike shop to select equipment properly and get it fitted correctly. His suggestion made me pause to consider how my exercise has evolved through the years.
Dan from Madison said...
Yes, this is a retirement blog. Yes, it may appear we've gotten a bit off track talking so much about health, exercise and diet. But it all fits. Retirement is a delicate balance of working long enough to afford not to, but not working too long as to prevent yourself from physically enjoying it.
As a pup, it was all about hockey with a little baseball. No, I wasn't very smart: goalie and catcher respectively. But I enjoyed them both. As the years passed, baseball became softball. Junior hockey became senior hockey. After many years of being out of hockey, I actually made a brief return just to prove to myself I still had the reactions. Unfortunately, my equipment was so old, it began falling apart. Note: that was the EQUIPMENT that was falling apart - not the goalie. Tennis and golf have always hovered, but are playing larger roles these days.
Here's the consideration - then a quesiton. It's interesting that the physical activity has naturally lightened over the years. It appears that age has somewhat discreetly caused the activity intensity to change. Now, here's the question:
If you could see clearly into the future, as clearly as I'm trying to look to the past, would you attempt to maintain or even increase your activity levels as you age? Would you consciously adjust your activities (accounting of course for being safe as the body ages), or would you simply let the passage of time direct the course? My goal is clear: increase the activity level, while being heart smart.
Another migrated comment:
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I plan on being active until I die, as a way to keep in shape - my metabolic rate is notoriously low and I like to eat - thus I must exercise.
That said, right now I enjoy biking, running and Muay Thai and training fighters. I am 39 now, and there is no way I will be able to continue this into my fifties and sixties. I suppose I could keep moving with Muay Thai with not as much contact, but fighter training - no way.
I am just going to keep going until my body tells me it is time to stop. I have asked many people the question you seem to be asking about diminishing returns and almost universally I am told by doctors, physical therapists and other professionals that my body will tell me "when" it is time to stop. Until then I am going to keep up my current pace.
When the time comes, I will just move from running to walking, biking 100 miles on hills to 50 on flats, etc.