Walk, Don't Run, To The Gym

Glenn linked to this WSJ story that just about gave me a heart attack:

One Running Shoe in the Grave

New Studies on Older Endurance Athletes Suggest the Fittest Reap Few Health Benefits

...

A fast-emerging body of scientific evidence points to a conclusion that’s unsettling, to say the least, for a lot of older athletes: Running can take a toll on the heart that essentially eliminates the benefits of exercise.

“Running too fast, too far and for too many years may speed one’s progress toward the finish line of life,” concludes an editorial to be published next month in the British journal Heart.

My marathoning days are lost in the mists of antiquity (and the Reagan tax cuts). And the WSJ coverage isn't really new news - Drs. O'Keefe and Lavine (two of the authors of this new paper) were mentioned last summer for an earlier paper issuing the same warning.

But we have some good news! In a glossier version of their earlier paper, the good doctors included some specific recommendations for fitness buffs:

Avoiding Exercise-Induced CV Damage
Suggestions for an exercise routine that will optimize heath, fitness and longevity without causing adverse cardiovascular structural and electrical remodeling:

• Avoid a daily routine of exhaustive strenuous exercise training for periods greater than one hour continuously. An ideal target might be not more than seven hours weekly of cumulative strenuous endurance ET.

• When doing exhaustive aerobic ET, take intermittent rest periods (even for a few minutes at an easier pace, such slowing down to walk in the middle of a run). This allows the cardiac output normalize temporarily, providing a ‘cardiac rest period’ when the chamber dimensions, blood pressure and pulse come down closer to baseline resting parameters before resuming strenuous exercise again.

• Accumulate a large amount of daily light-tomoderate physical activity, such as walking, gardening, housekeeping, etc. Avoid prolonged sitting. Walk intermittently throughout the day. Look for opportunities to take the stairs. Buy a pedometer and gradually try to build up to 10,000 steps per day.

• Once or twice weekly, perform high-intensity interval exercise training to improve or maintain peak aerobic fitness. This is more effective in improving overall fitness and peak aerobic capacity than is continuous aerobic exercise training, despite a much shorter total accumulated exercise time spent doing the interval workout.

• Incorporate cross training using stretching, for example, yoga, and strength training into the weekly exercise routine. This confers multi-faceted fitness and reduces the burden of cardiac work compared to a routine of daily long-distance endurance exercise training. 

• Avoid chronically competing in very long distance races, such as marathons, ultra-marathons, Ironman distance triathlons, 100-mile bicycle races, etc., especially after age 45 or 50.

• Individuals over 45 or 50 years of age should reduce the intensity and durations of endurance exercise training sessions, and allow more recovery time.

For a similar perspective, Mark Sisson of the Primal Blueprint railed against "chronic cardio" a while back.

So don't let the WSJ scare you - plenty of forms of exercise are great for your health. But maybe putting a marathon on your list of New Year's resolutions is not such a great idea.

PUSHBACK: It's full speed ahead at Runner's World.

PUMPING IRON: Here is a cohort study showing that muscular strength is inversely associated with mortality risk:

CONCLUSION:

Muscular strength is inversely and independently associated with death from all causes and cancer in men, even after adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness and other potential confounders.

However, we aren't talking about Arnold Schwarzwenegger here among the ironworkers. Per this chart, to break into the top third on upper body strength a guy had to bench press 185 lbs. one time (on a Universal machine.)

Comments

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Bit of a formatting problem in those recommendations for fitness buffs, TM, at least on Firefox on my computer.

[Janet]

If I wait long enough, I'm gonna find out my entire lifestyle has been healthy.
No running - good for the heart & joints.
Sun tanning - no rickets.
Dust & pet hair in house - fewer allergies.
Coffee addiction - I forget why it's good, but it is now.

I just need a study exonerating nicotine. Maybe they'll find out it isn't GREAT...but it is better than being addicted to all the prescription meds that are so common now. Anyway, that's what I'm going with.

[Thomas Collins]

I believe Satchel Paige noted this around fifty years ago (don't run too much).

But does anyone really keep up a brutal exercise regimen to extend life? Isn't it just one of those things some people are compelled to do?

In any event, I attended my high school reunion on Saturday. I quizzed a classmate who was a math and science whiz and became a physician on the health and fitness craze. He said that a good rule of thumb is that except in unusual cases (such as getting shot, being in a serious accident or blatantly abusing one's body) one has a certain amount of heartbeats, and then it's over.

[NK]

ThomasC@1030-- there you go bursting our bubble with reality.

[James D.]

Janet, I guess you're banking on the "Sleeper" theory being true?

[Janet]

Practically a Jack LaLanne for computer potatoes.

[maryrose]

TC:
I agree with your classmate. The choice is in how you use those heartbeats. Do you speed up your heart or do you allow it to beat naturally. Moderation in all things is my motto. Walking or bike riding seem wise at my age. I don't feel the urge or the need to ruin toward anything anymore.

[maryrose]

should be run though ruin is always a possibility.

[Janet]

Here's a better one -

See how healthy she looks.

[Jane - Mock the media]

Moderation in all things is my motto

That's a wonderful motto. I couldn't pull it off if my life depended on it. It's a personality thing.

[Clarice]

TM, I hope you do live forever, but I don't think all this exercise really does more than keep a person looking fit longer.

[Extraneus]

The girl in the Westin Hotels and Resorts ad in the right sidebar looks pretty healthy, too.

[Thomas Collins]

My ad on the left has a bulky male footbal player giving me a chance to be in a locker room on game day if I click some Visa promotion.

To each his (or her) own, I guess. If I'm going to be surrounded by half naked people, I'd prefer an exotic dance establishment to a football locker room (or does that constitute excessive "intensity and durations of endurance exercise training sessions").

[Dave (in MA)]

Avoid a daily routine of exhaustive strenuous exercise training for periods greater than one hour continuously

So far, so good.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Ex-

You've been searching for trips, eh?

[Frau Regen bringt Segen]

Coburg outside Eugene, OR. No exercise for me at present. We're about ready to continue home in the midst of the Left Coast storm train.

[Janet]

So far, so good.

Hahahaaahaha!

I'm not much of a moderate person either, Jane. "Anything worth doing, is worth doing to excess!"

[Sue]

I'm waiting for the report that says sleeping and eating lots of chocolate chip cookies prolong life.

[henry]

Excellent, walking back & forth from the fridge on beer replacement as an ideal exercise regimen. I'll live forever this way.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Sue-

And you're just the person to write it. Let me know where I can send your fresh, on-line degree.

[Thomas Collins]

"Find Health Info & Exercise Tips to Create a Customized Activity Plan."

The above language appears on what is now my upper left corner ad. I'll resist the temptation to click.

[Jim Eagle]

Speaking of fitness, I wonder how ChaCo is doing on his diet?

[Thomas Collins]

The last report I saw on Insty, JiB, was that CHACO was losing weight, but more importantly he was feeling a lot better. Hope that keeps up. Are you out there to give us an update, CHACO?

[Old Lurker]

I sent that immediately to my personal trainer... Should be able to save some bucks to pay my increased taxes.

[Porchlight]

Phitness phreaks are phunny.

[Spending cuts first!--jimmyk]

I'm waiting for the report that says sleeping and eating lots of chocolate chip cookies prolong life.

The sleeping part is almost surely true, there's been a lot written on that lately. (Of course, whether the extra years offsets the loss of time due to sleep is another question.) And I've heard some good things about dark chocolate, if not the cookie part. So we're 3/4ths of the way there.

I exercise mainly because I enjoy doing things like playing tennis that would probably break down my body if I didn't stay in shape. But I've definitely shifted my routines toward those bullet points. And I never did anything like marathons or triathlons.

[Jane - Mock the media]

Speaking of beer, where is Hit?

[Threadkiller (Get off your couch and leave the GOP!)]

Did someone say beer?

[Dave (in MA)]

TC, Apparently it hasn't affected his stamina, if his Twitter output is any indication.

[Threadkiller (Get off your couch and leave the GOP!)]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/dancing-with-the-stars-cracks-birther-joke-during-season-finale/

I expect outrage from the DNC and an apology from Romney sometime today.

[Dave (in MA)]

Excellent, walking back & forth from the fridge on beer replacement as an ideal exercise regimen. I'll live forever this way.

With plenty of 12-oz. curls pumping aluminum in between for a strength program. (16 oz. for us intermediate to advanced hopophiles pumping glass.)

[NK]

Boehner-- no nicey words from him today. Maybe Repubs will pass the political IQ test; we shall see.

[marlene]

My husband has had severe hip pain for a couple of weeks,maybe some arthritis,but I blame his trainer and too much exercise! He won't even take a tylenol,so I've been looking for natural cures. Teresa Heinz Kerry calls gin soaked golden raisins highly effective for arthritis.I think it was Clarice who mentioned on another thread that if Kerry becomes SoS,Teresa will be at his side.(with her gin soaked raisins) Ha!

[Kurt]

Janet wrote: I just need a study exonerating nicotine. Maybe they'll find out it isn't GREAT...but it is better than being addicted to all the prescription meds that are so common now. Anyway, that's what I'm going with.

Actually, there have been some studies about nicotine, and it turns out it may have some benefits in slowing or preventing the progression of Alzheimer's. The recommended delivery form is not through smoking, though, as whatever the benefits of nicotine, smoking is undoubtedly harmful.

[Kurt]

Marlene, it's not just Teresa Heinz Kerry who thinks gin-soaked golden raisins are beneficial for arthritis. My 84 year-old mother has kept a jar on them on the table for several years now and has two or three spoonfuls each day.

[Janet]

Thanks, Kurt.

[Jim Eagle]

OT: Clinton called Gennifer Flowers in 2005 asking if he could stop by:)

Said he would "go jogging to her place wearing a hoodie".

[Jim Eagle]

Correction: My 12:23 is not OT.

Clinton mentioned jogging, which is an aerobic exercise and the topic of this thread.

Sorry for the confusion:)

[marlene]

Kurt,we will be soaking some raisins this week-end! : )

[narciso]

You try not to be cynical, but frankly it is very hard to do so;

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/11/28/holders-doj-spanked-for-possible-misconduct-in-new-orleans-police-prosecutions/

[narciso]

Well I was concerned, but he was the 'good Taliban'

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/11/us_drone_strike_kill_15.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournal+%28The+Long+War+Journal%29

[Have Blue]

When I feel like doing hard exercise I lie down until the feeling goes away.

[Janet]

This was on FB. Snippets of protests in the ME. The usual burning flags & signs written in English...& hollerin'.

Does anyone really CARE what these nutcases think? I could care less if they hate me as long as they stay in the ME. Why do we give them even one penny? The guy at 1min. is too stupid. Just yelling & yelling.

Close the embassies, shut off the money, & just airdrop some Bibles in their language...good luck.

[Jim Eagle]

narciso,

In your 12:44 link there was also a story about David Headley being sentenced in Chicago this coming January. Readers may remember him as the American who help do pre-planning for the terror attack in Mumbai.

American born Lashkar-e-Taibah member. They are here living amongst us and its a wonder we have not been hit again.

[narciso]

Yes, and as they mentioned in 'The Last Man', the ISI let his handler be exposed,

[Jane - Mock the media]

I will continue to say this. A group of rich white conservatives should buy ABC, NBC or CBS. End of problem. Not only will they break the MSM embargo, they will make money.

Oh good because I've been chewing nicotine gum for 20 years. I actually tweeted that to someone last night and got a message from Nicorette telling me to call their office.

[Jane - Mock the media]

Oh shit. That was teh wrong quote. Sorry Kurt

[narciso]

So this was who Berenson, was sort of referring to, in his last book,

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/headley-moved-towards-isi-after-cia-dumped-him/20111124.htm

[centralcal]

come again, Jane?

[NK]

Ann Althouse finds an acorn-- realizes that Susan Rice is is the squirrel distraction for 'Bam and the Media trying to bury the Benghazi story. What is the Benghazi story? It's all about Bam's cowardice and lies: http://althouse.blogspot.com/2012/11/fight-over-susan-rice-holds-political.html

[Jane - Mock the media]

I'm completely ready to go over the cliff. The media only talks about taxes and not about entitlements. Fine. The media can go over the cliff too. Hopefully they won't be able to afford ink. I'm so done with caring about this stuff. And if I didn't love all of you I'd be gone.

[daddy]

Scary watching Megyn Kelly this moment. The Left talking head guy simply keeps repeating the meme that the Dem's cut 316 Billion out of Medicare so that proves that they can and they have cut spending, and now it is time for the Republican's to prove to America that they can follow the Presidents lead and raise taxes.

The Repub responds that that 316 Billion came from Medicare and was immediately spent on ObamaCare so they did not cut anything.

The Dem responds that yes we did cut 316 Billion. It doesn't matter that it was later spent on ObamaCare. The important point is that we cut 316 Billion, therefore we proved we can cut spending and now your side has to agree to raise taxes.

It is like listening to a second grader make an argument, and yet that is the argument from the Left.

[rse]

But then we would miss you Jane.

And it's already been a sad month. Might as well make each other laugh.

Is there a preferred Gin for soaking the raisins in?

By nondrinking mom needs a hip replacement. Anytime she uses my beef stew recipe which calls for red wine or her rum cake recipe she wants me to buy the stuff for her.

So what kind of Gin should I buy? Totally thinking this will be a good Christmas gift.

How long do they marinate for? I know wrong word but right concept.

[rse]

http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=236772

There's the recipe. Still hoping for Gin recommendations.

Bombay Sapphire?

[maryrose]

rse:
Tangueray is good or good old Gordon's. I love a good gin and tonic

[maryrose]

I probably shouldn't be talking about drinking on a health thread.

[daddy]

Monty Python and the Mat-Su Icebreaking Ferryboat (part 2)

Continuing from my riff last night on trying to unload our 80 Million Dollar Ketchikan made Ice Breaking Ferryboat on the Guamanians, in the comments today I read this.:

"If I were Murkowski I wouldn't brag about what the ferry did for Ketchikan.The Ketchikan shipyard that built it sold out to a Lower 48 company and went out of business."

And this:

The MatSu has to sell or give the Ferry to Nowhere away to a qualified gov't entity. If they sold it to a private entity, they'd have to pay back millions. The Mariana Islands can take it for free, then sell it for scrap. They can't afford to operate it.

[Porchlight]

Gin - I like Beefeater.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Hope that keeps up. Are you out there to give us an update, CHACO?

Yup. Down around 23 pounds since 19 October, blood sugar also going down at a decent rate. Had an interesting Thanksgiving, in which adding a little carbs and wheat exacerbated my GERD and caused me to gain about 6 pounds overnight even though I was 4200 kcal short over the wame week.

Got some charts on the facebook page http://facebook.com/13Weeks and in a mid-week piece I did on Lifestyle: http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2012/11/21/13-weeks-extra-in-which-we-do-arithmetic/

[centralcal]

maryrose, it sounds like if you throw in some golden raisins drinking is healthful!

[Bill in AZ sez it's time for Obama/Holder murder trial in Mexico]

From MarkO previous thread:
"I will continue to say this. A group of rich white conservatives should buy ABC, NBC or CBS. End of problem. Not only will they break the MSM embargo, they will make money."

Well, since one of the powerball winners is from AZ, I was contemplating things I could do with all that money that would benefit society. Buying the NYT and burning it to the ground was at the top of my list, and then I checked my powerball ticket - alas, it was not me.

[Sue]

C,

Absolutely. Drop a lime in any drink and instantly it become a healthy libation.

[David]

"one has a certain amount of heartbeats, and then it's over."

I am over fifty and run marathons. My resting heart rate is 50. Someone with a heart rate of 72 will have over 100,000 heartbeats in a day. Even with my 40 minute run, I will have about 75,000 heart beats a day. I weigh 50 pounds less than I did before running, my cholesterol level is on the low side of average, and my blood pressure is down.

I am hard pressed to say that running is worse for me than sitting on the couch.

[Sue]

Wow. What I learn on the internet. Abraham Lincoln has no direct living descendents. His great-grandson died childless in 1985, ending Lincoln's lineage.

[narciso]

Ah' the Ministry of Silly Boats', why didn't they keep the dang ferry, and that drone went 'Full Otto' did he also say, 'the key principle of Buddhism is everyone is in for themselves'

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--I am hard pressed to say that running is worse for me than sitting on the couch.

Posted by: David | November 29, 2012 at 02:12 PM--

Depends on who you're sitting on the couch with.
There are any number of ways to raise your heart rate and only one that I know of which will let you die with a smile on your face and it sure as hell ain't a marathon.

[Jim Eagle]

Bombay, Gordons and Beefeaters are all reliable gins but if you really want to savor some great gins then try these:

Hoxton's of London. Don't believe it is in the States yet but if you ever get the chance to London, do try it.

Leopold's is American and hand made and somewhat expensive but superb.

Hendricks is a juniper berry special reminiscent of the Dutch Genevers.

But you can buy Bols here in America for a taste of original juniper berry gin the way the Flemings and Dutch distilled it back in the 17th century.

[Sue]

I have been on an exercise routine where I work out for 1 hour, 3 days a week for the past 3 years. I do weights, palates, kick boxing, some yoga and cardio at every workout. If 3 hours a week of intense workouts is not enough, or too much, too bad. I will only change my routine when forced by circumstances beyond my control. I can run a 5k, but choose not to because of my knees. I run when I want to, ride my bike, play baseball, football and basketball with my grandchildren and stopped reading studies a long time ago. Everything causes cancer. Everything kills you. That's all we need to know.

[Old Lurker]

Hmmm. Let me think.

David's approach.

Or Maryrose's Tanquery G&T.

Sorry David, under the bus you go.

BTW, that "Raisins soaked in gin" thingy is even better without the raisins.

[Sue]

My grandmother, a teetotaler, kept a bottle of peach brandy in her medicine cabinet. A tablespoon full, for medicinal purposes, mind you, kept her alive and kicking to the ripe old age of 94. Just remember you tell yourself and all around you that you are teetotaler. And keep the brandy in the medicine cabinet.

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

Its even better if its vodka or rum instead of gin:)

[Sue]

I don't like gin. It's good to know I can use vodka.

[rse]

I like Hendricks.

Since she is not a drinker I would prefer something that can be drunk straight so it will not jump out at her as "reeking of alcohol."

[centralcal]

lol, Sue! Grannies had wonderful "medicines."

[daddy]

If I wait long enough, I'm gonna find out my entire lifestyle has been healthy.

For Janet,

When she wakes up in the future from cryogenic storage like Woody Allen in Sleeper

And as for tobacco, would this guy steer you wrong?

[daddy]

Merry Christmas everybody!

[marlene]

The juniper berries give gin its medicinal benefits.
Sue,you might find the book by Charles Lachman "The Last Lincolns,Rise and Fall of a Great American Family" to be of interest.
Robert Todd Lincoln's daughters and their progeny had little regard for the Lincoln legacy.Very strange people. It was a shock to read that some of Lincoln's papers and other items that were stored in Robert Todd Lincoln's Vermont home were destroyed. The grandchildren and great grandchildren had no regard for history.

[Clarice]

I've been eating lo carb for two weeks--right thru the holiday and my middle is starting to vanish. (I'm not weighing myself. As Chaco observed, slight variations can make the dial jump up for no apparent reason and that's too dispiriting. When I get to where I'm heading. I'll slowly add carbs to have a more normal diet again.)
In summer I swim every day and have 2 hours a weeks of pilates. I can't swim in winter because the pools are over chlorinated and that destroys my skin. If that's not enough i'm with Sue--tough tooties.

[daddy]

Barney Fife climbs onboard Clarice's diet:)

[Sue]

Marlene,

I'll check it out. Thanks.

[Jane - Mock the media]

I bought 4 bottles of vodka today. That might get me thru the holiday.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Here's a guy arguing against the study above: http://www.runnersworld.com/health/too-much-running-myth-rises-again#.ULaw-ySGJ1w.facebook

I'll note he's a physicist not a physician, and that I'm note sure I buy "it doesn't really hurt you much" as an argument in favor of more running.

[daddy]

A serial threatener and harrasser of Sarah Palin has been arrested in Pennsylvania for violation of his Parole. "Christy walked off the community re-entry program campus, where he allegedly verbally abused staff and damaged facility property, without the appropriate approval."

According to his dad (another convicted serial threatener and harrasser of Palin) his son "left the residential program because he had suffered hundreds of bed bug bites."

They are shipping the useless bastard back to us. Link.

[narciso]

Beyond satire, it is, might as well show them a crucifix;

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2012/11/29/reuters-thinks-going-100-35-tax-rate-will-be-burden-cubans

Did that worthless slug, Hollis 'Gunny' French, win again, then again do I really want to know?

[Tom Maguire]

But does anyone really keep up a brutal exercise regimen to extend life?

One of the many articles on this topic provides the obvious answer Sort of like, how many people play football or ski downhill exclusively for the health benefits?

I don't feel the urge or the need to ruin toward anything anymore.

I expect the conversation will swing around to the fiscal cliff soon enough.

[Rob Crawford]

I tried to start on lo-carb again.

Today was a write-off. Co-worker who usually works from home was in the office today and we went to the sushi buffet...

Back on it tomorrow...

[narciso]

We're going over, TM, the only is whether we'll have a barrel, or just go like Wile E Coyote, hanging on the question mark?

[narciso]

Really, why did we bother, with you, no I don't buy the spin,

http://shark-tank.net/2012/11/29/rick-scott-keeps-options-open-on-obamacare-exchanges/

[Spending cuts first!--jimmyk]

Today was a write-off.

If a sushi bar is a write-off, you're doing well. My write-offs are more like a big pasta dish at in Italian restaurant, with gelato and tiramisu for dessert, with a couple of glasses of Chianti.

[Clarice]

Rob, the night before thanksgiving my son's MiL made her annual sushi feast, but some time ago I persuaded her to make it with much less rice so it didn't seem to throw everything off.

[Trevor Saccucci]

I have two things which have kept me from running for endurance training: asthma and knees. The curative agent for the first, and for issues with the second, is the same. I don't want that cure. Mr. Collins, I too have heard it said that, barring significant bodily insult or injury, the single biggest factor in determining one's lifespan is one's choice of parents. Given that no mulligans are offered for that (and would likely be of dubious value if they were), and that most of us are pretty happy with our parents in any event, I guess I'll just try to walk more, eat less, and not treat William Burroughs as a role model. That last has always been a pretty easy sell with me.

[Rob Crawford]

If a sushi bar is a write-off, you're doing well.

My first attempt ended with a near panic-attack compulsion for something -- anything -- on bread.

[daddy]

and not treat William Burroughs as a role model.

Met him in an elevator in Boulder shortly before he died. He looked gawd-awful. Avoid his diet.

[Clarice]

Virginia Postrel offers up an interesting suggestion on immigration.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-28/canada-shows-how-u-s-states-can-fix-immigration.html

[Spending cuts first!--jimmyk]

Avoid his diet.

Are you talking about the father or the son? Pere Burroughs did make it to age 83, but maybe it was the genes. The son wasn't so fortunate.

[Peakview]

As to the finite amount of heart beats concept - you stay out of shape with a 72 beats a minute rate or get in decent shape with 1/2 hr. of hard work three times a week ( that is all it really takes) at 140 beats/ minute and get your resting rate down to 50. Do the arithmetic. If you believe the finite number of beats meme you are FAR better off getting in and staying in reasonable cardio shape.

[daddy]

The elder, Jimmy.

As I recall he had been a former heroine junkie. It had not helped his looks. BTW, I don't think I've ever read a word of any of the Beat generation writers; Burroughs, Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, etc.

[Rocco]

Grannies had wonderful "medicines."

I remember my Granny pouring a small amount of a white powdery substance on the back of her hand and snorting it. I can't tell you how many times we brought her to the pharmacy to buy her "Snuff."

[bunkerbuster]

Your mileage will vary. Generalized fitness and health advice is virtually useless, given that what kills one person may yet spare another untimely demise.
I somehow doubt the nation is plagued with over-runners, while we know beyond doubt that sedentary lifestyles are literally killing us, and driving up health-care costs along the way.

[Dave (in MA)]

The son wasn't so fortunate.

The son's mother was even less fortunate.