The Fit Nation

https://ift.tt/m2x6Ikg I just got back from visiting my brother Bill in Phoenix. It can get hot there by April, but I was lucky. It was nice and cool each morning, and only got warmer in the afternoons (80s most days, low 90s a couple of days). We went for hikes in the beautiful South Mountain Park right next to Bill’s house. I only took one day off, deciding to give my calf muscles a rest because they got sore. I hadn’t been doing as much walking or hiking at home recently due to my SI joint problem, and I guess biking by itself wasn’t enough to keep my calves in shape. The hikes turned out to be a great test for me, we went more than 90 minutes each day. Quite an improvement over not being able to walk more than 5 minutes a few weeks ago! Aside from our local hikes and outings (Phoenix has a lot more restaurant choices than does the vicinity of Morgan Hill), we did one adventure to the Phoenix art museum and another to the small town of Carefree next to Scottsdale. All in all a gre...

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https://ift.tt/rRJyWea http://www.Amazon.com/books Dr. Peter Attia’s long-awaited book about longevity is finally out, and it doesn’t disappoint. I first saw him on Rich Roll’s podcast . Dr. Attia is an interesting guy, very smart, and with a diversified background. He started out as an undergrad in aerospace engineering at Stanford (one floor up from the floor where my Applied Mechanics division was headquartered, but some years later). A moving volunteer experience recounted in the book caused him to switch into medical school, and he became a cancer surgeon. He left medicine for a few years to work in the world of finance, to which he was well-suited because of his strong mathematics background from his engineering education. He then switched back to medicine, and became involved in applying medicine to help patients achieve healthy aging, which he continues with today. He is also a remarkable athlete, and what is most evident is how he launched himself with full intensity into...

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https://ift.tt/NVHJp0h http://www.emikeflynn.com/index.php/blog/flynn-s-harp/huntsman-world-senior-games-35-years-on-a-vision-fulfilled It is usually stated that maximum aerobic capacity (VO2Max) declines with age at a rate of about 10% per decade in sedentary people, but that those who continue to do fitness training will only lose this capacity at about 5% per decade. A typical study upon which this rule of thumb is based is ref. 1 . This is one of the reasons for the maxim “use it or lose it”. It appears to be “really use it so you lose it more slowly”. But it’s important because the difference between 5% and 10% is huge for quality of life. Activities of daily living like being able to go up stairs become very difficult or impossible if VO2Max goes below about 20. This can happen by the time you are about 70 or 80 if sedentary, but can be delayed until more than 100 years of age if you keep training. Another important factor is that it has been shown that aerobic capacity can b...

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https://ift.tt/V2gpzyt I did another long brisk cruise today, mostly to the north. I took the Coyote Creek Trail to the first flood, then worked around it on Monterey Highway. I knew there was another flood north of Blossom Hill Rd, so left the trail and worked my way over to Hellyer Ave, which got me to Hellyer Park. I wanted to check out the velodrome, but ran into yet another flood right before it. I’m signed up for an event “ HPV fun day ” there on May 21st. I hope either the floods go down by then or we can come up with an alternate solution, as the only other access to the velodrome is via an alternate pedestrian-only entrance with no parking. I had the sad duty of informing the organizers of the event about the situation. I retraced my steps on Hellyer Ave and the trail as far as Metcalf Ave, then took Monterey Highway home because I was running a bit late. Monterey Highway is a four-lane road with fast traffic, but it has a wide bike lane so is still pretty pleasant to ride ne...

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https://ift.tt/EifFobN I rode with my normal Tuesday group yesterday, on a day that started out gray but turned nice and sunny. We went up into the hills West of Morgan Hill, first around Chesbro reservoir, then up Croy road to the County park at the end, around Uvas reservoir, then through the beautiful Sycamore valley back to the start. I had warmed up for an hour before the start, so this ended up being 3 1/2 hours of mostly easy riding for me. Heading up Croy Road, the country road Karen and I lived on for 24 years More Croy Scenery Swanson Creek (which flows into Uvas Creek) going under a bridge at the Park. There are gorgeous waterfalls this time of year, but you have to hike in to see them, I’ll have to do that soon.

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https://ift.tt/zoat53q I took my recumbent with my new and improved drivetrain for a 3-hour plus cruise today. What a difference a non-squeaky and non-rattling chain makes! After a warmup, I averaged 14.7 mph for 2 hr 27 minutes at an average heart rate of 115. This was a good pace. The only mistake I made was I had my Garmin GPS watch in “bike mode”, which I have set up to show current speed and heart rate on the main screen. Looking at the speed too often distracted me from “meditation in motion”. Next time I do a similar ride I’ll use time and heart rate as my main screen, not look as often, and just focus on being present and enjoying the ride. Heading Northwest on the Coyote Creek Trail Turnaround on the Coyote Creek Trail, the barrier ahead is for the flooded-out section beyond Turning Southeast towards Gilroy Heading Northwest again, back towards Morgan Hill

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https://ift.tt/HdEtgIQ My shifting was getting a little sloppy plus the chain was making a lot of rattling noises on my recumbent. I checked it with my wear gage tool: Mine was worn past the 0.75 line so was way overdue for changing. It is also recommended that you change out the rear cassette when you change the chain, so I finally got around to doing this. The downside is that on a recumbent you actually have to buy three chains and hook them together to get a long enough chain, so it’s a bit pricier. The upside is that the chain lasts longer because each link passes over the gear teeth less often. It was still pretty inexpensive (less than US $100) to order all this on Amazon. A local bike shop will also do this for you for a reasonable price. What a difference this made! I knew there is evidence that a worn-out chain can waste about 5% of your power, but it feels like more than that. Now I seem to fly along considerably faster, at least 1 mph, with the same effort. I enjoyed thi...

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https://ift.tt/yS5LUVh This is the title of an entertaining and inspiring book by Wayne Aho, who rode his bicycle across the United States on the TransAmerica trail at the age of 74, a distance of about 4200 miles. He was a successful businessman for several decades, then had a second career as a business professor at Western Carolina University. He finally retired completely in 2020 and did the ride with three other friends shortly thereafter. They also had the support of one of the friend’s wives, Mary Ann, who followed them with a pick-up truck. http://www.Amazon.com/books I’ve read various books about people cycling across the US, but this one caught my eye because of Wayne’s age, which is a few years older than I am. He and his friends also used an interesting approach. They carefully pre-planned the entire route with the aid of maps from the adventure cycling association (which grew from the group that planned the “ bikecentennial ” across the US in 1976). They then pre-boo...

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https://ift.tt/QxsqrCl I hadn’t ridden off-road lately because it’s been too soggy. I gave it a try today, riding up to the top of E. Dunne Ave. and then through Holiday lake estates to get to Rosendin park. It was a treat to have the trails dry enough to ride. In the past, I would have gone through the park to get to Anderson dam and then loop back home from there. But that option is closed off because of the Seismic retrofit of the dam, so I just returned from the trails to Holiday drive. I rode down Thomas grade to get back home, which is a blast to ride, lightly trafficked, and has great views. The trails at the south end of Rosendin park start at the end of Holiday drive in Holiday lake estates at the top of E. Dunne Ave. The large pond to the left next to the trail was never there before this year’s extensive rains Close-up of the pond A nice park in Holiday lake estates. You can just get a peek of Lake Anderson, which is still pretty full, to the left. It’s supposed to...