This blog returns from the shadows . . .

Wow. It's been that long since I posted to this blog?! Obviously, this blog is becoming officially neglected. Let's see if I can get some sort of reversal going over the winter months.

So, we did the tour in early July. It was brutal: the worst heat in recent memory coincided with our departure and lasted throughout the trip. I was sweating buckets--thank God for Gatorade! I think I went through a few gallons on this trip.

Because of the heat, we cut the tour short, doing only about half the total distance we'd intended to do (only about 300 miles total). I learned some things about electric assist and how it can and can't be used on a longer trip like this. That's not totally germane to the topic of fitness, so I'm not sure whether I will include information about that in this blog.

So obviously, we rode all summer. And we even did a shorter tour in October--only about 200 miles. It was the opposite of the summer tour: freezing at certain junctures (in the 40's and overcast). We did that tour without any electric assist.

Now, we're doing mostly stationary biking indoors--though we did get out and do a few miles today. One of the issues during our October trip was, for me--since I wear cycling sandals--cold toes. I recently got some neoprene toe covers--the kind that you wear on your feet, under your socks. But they don't seem to be as effective as I'd hoped.

On other fronts, we continue our strength training using the JIM routine. We started doing a truncated version last spring after I'd gotten a shoulder injury and continued on that throughout the summer. We anticipate going back to the full version soon and during the winter months.

As a final note, I should mention that I watched a program touting the diet developed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and decided to incorporate certain aspects of it into my diet. It wasn't very much of an adjustment since I'm a long-time vegetarian. And I don't intend to go "whole hog" with it, since some of it sounds like hype and fad to me. But I see nothing bad resulting from incorporating more fresh and cooked vegetables into my diet and even have some hope that eating more of this type of food might help me to address some long-term health issues.

There. I've officially reconstituted this blog. Now comes the hard part: regular maintenance!

Fitness preparation for a bicycle tour

Readers of this blog will know that cycling is the mainstay of my fitness endeavors. I've always enjoyed bicycle riding and the aerobic workout it can provide. And I've especially enjoyed bicycle touring--taking long-distance trips by bicycle--ever since my first cross-country adventure in the early 1980's.

That's not us, but the photo captures well the spirit of bicycle touring

I've previously expressed in this blog the hope that I can continue to do bicycle tours as I age. So far it has worked well for the shorter-range tours we've attempted (less than 600 miles), and I've even begun to structure my annual fitness cycle around preparations for bicycle touring (incidentally we recently got, and are now testing, our new touring rig--more on that in a future entry). So it's high time I wrote some words on fitness preparations for going on a bicycle tour.

I'm certainly not the only one putting out information on this topic. The former long-distance cycling champion Lon Haldeman, who now operates a bicycle touring business, has a page providing tips for establishing a very solid fitness basis for tours his company organizes.

The pactour schedule is a bit extreme and, though it looks like an interesting challenge, I'm not sure it would provide the sort of touring experience I would enjoy. And, for the same reasons, the prescribed physical preparation seems to me too intense: I'm not sure most folks would be able to find enough time to put in the sort of miles they stipulate and, truth be told, why should they try if they're not planning to put in the sort of daily mileage at which pactour aims?

As for myself, our work and other responsibilities dictate that we can get in perhaps 1 - 3 hours of training on a few weekdays. On weekends we have a bit more time, but it's usually between 4 and 7 hours--very rarely affording us a stretch of more than 7 hours for riding. In short, the pactour training prescriptions are not only undesirable, but are unrealistic for us.

That said, we do try to prepare for our tours as best we can. That usually means riding 4 days per week, with two of those days being shorter, more intense rides of 1 to 3 hours, and the other two being longer, less strenuous rides of 4 to 7 hours.

We've established some rules of thumb, that seem to have stood us in pretty good stead thus far, as follows. We first try to determine what will be the longest daily mileage during the course of our tour. Once that's done, we set as our goal to have at least one training day where we meet or exceed that mileage--or, ideally, two days where we put in about that amount of mileage back-to-back. The rest of the time we're taking shorter rides but riding at a more intense pace.

The goal has been to hit that mileage maximum about 2 weeks prior to departure and to decrease mileage in the two weeks immediately prior. So, we'll do our typical 1- 3- hour weekday rides in those days prior to departure and perhaps a 50-mile day or two when we have more time on the weekends (our maximum daily mileage on tours has been on the 70-mile range to date). But it is important to get in some rest and recovery from training prior to the start of the tour.

Before going into further detail on those training principles, I need first to explain why training is necessary at all. After all, can't a person who's reasonably fit just go out and ride 50 miles in a day? And I know that the answer to this question is "yes, he can."

But a further follow-up question ensues: how is said individual going to feel at the end of the ride and, just as importantly, is he going to want to get back on the bike and ride the next day? The answer to those questions gives insight into one of the reasons why training for a bicycle tour is a good idea.

In my experience, I do not feel very good at the end of my first 50-mile day of the year. In fact, I typically feel rather ill. And, though I could get on the bike the next day and perhaps ride another 50 miles, it would be rough going--especially for the first 10 - 20 miles. Now, I tend to ride hard whenever I get on a bike, but I think that even if I were going at a more leisurely pace I would still be pretty sore and not anxious to get back on the bike after that first 50-mile day.

But also in my experience, after taking a few days' break after my first 50-mile ride of the year, the next time I ride 50 miles I feel fine afterward. I will typically feel at least some soreness but can nonetheless easily engage in normal physical activities, both immediately after the ride and the next day. And I could get back on the bike and ride another 50 miles the next day without much bother.

So, one of the major reasons for training prior to a bike tour is so that the early stages of the trip will be more enjoyable. You've acclimated yourself to the distance you'll be riding so you don't collapse in your motel room, unable to do normal and/or necessary activities like going out for a bite to eat at the end of the day. And resuming your trip the next day is not such a chore, either.

Now, there are a number of variables that dictate what sort of training is done in advance of the tour. One of them is the total amount of mileage to be ridden and the amount of time that can be spent. It seems to me perfectly conceivable to, if one has very flexible time limits, do a more limited amount of training than we've been doing for our tours.

If, for example, one intends to ride across the country and has an unlimited amount of time for that, one could spend a month or so taking rather short rides of 20 to 30 miles. Then, at the beginning of their tour they could aim for short jaunts of 20 to 30 miles per day, upping their mileage as they so desire as they travel further. In other words, they would be gaining physical conditioning as part of the trip.

Owing to our rather tight schedules, that sort of training regimen will not work for us. We can only take 1 to 2 weeks for our tours, and we want to get as far away as possible during that interval prior to returning home. So our tours tend to be short and intense (for our age-group, in any case), thus requiring a more intense training period. I would certainly like to have such leisure as to be able to take a more lax approach to training, but for the foreseeable future I'll have to continue with the more intense approach.

But there are other good reasons, aside from making the early part of the tour more enjoyable, to train for a bicycle tour. The main one that comes to my mind is preventing or exposing exercise-induced injuries. What I mean by this is that when miles start to build up and as physical exertion increases, injuries can develop. I think back, for example, on an incidence I encountered while on one of my cross-country tours.

While somewhere in the state of Oregon, if memory serves, I ran across a couple of guys riding together--one of whom was on a touring bicycle and the other on a moped. When I asked them about this odd arrangement I was informed that one of the riders had developed knee issues partway into their tour and had to stop riding. Rather than give up his cross-country touring aspirations, this fellow decided to purchase a moped for himself and to continue riding alongside his buddy.

This is perhaps an instance where a lack of proper training caused issues once the tour was underway: had this fellow done more preparation before starting, the injury either would likely have cropped up during training and could have been addressed then, or it might not have happened at all. In any case, a chronic injury like that developing during the course of a bicycle tour is clearly something to be avoided.

That pretty much summarizes what I have to say for now on the issue of training for bicycle tours. We're still working up to our maximum expected mileage of 85 miles for this trip, and we hope to put in consecutive 80-plus mile days some time in mid-June.

Other than that, my shoulder injury has recurred--likely owing to the use of some unfamiliar exercise equipment in a hotel where we stayed. I also got a slight wrist sprain in a bicycle mishap, and that's still healing up. So I've had to cut back a bit on strength training and am currently only doing half of the strength-training routine we're now performing--and that with certain accommodations (sissy push-ups)--twice weekly.

It's here!

The new recumbent tandem trike came--actually last week. Unfortunately it was damaged slightly in shipping and isn't rideable until a key replacement part that's being sent, will arrive. But, of course, we have another bike to ride in the interim.

On that note, we've been doing mostly short rides on the stationary bike this month. After a very warm start, spring turned cool. And rather than ride in temperatures that are a bit chilly for us, we've decided to ride indoors on the stationary bikes. We'll have plenty of opportunity for hard riding outdoors soon, so why push things early in the year?

Conditioning-wise, I'm feeling pretty good. It's a little disconcerting to see that a hard, 10-15 mile ride leaves me feeling a bit sore the next day, but that's an after-effect to be expected this early in the season. On the bike, I feel great.

A little shoulder issue has cropped up recently--I think it's the rotator cuff again. And I'm pretty sure I know the source of it: we were out of town and using some exercise equipment in a motel. I'm pretty sure I aggravated my shoulder issue when using the overhead press machine--which was not very well configured for someone my height.

So I'm taking things a little easy for awhile here during our upper-body strength training. So, things are going pretty normally in our little fitness world.

Who was that buff, mystery senior?

I posted an image I found awhile back of an older guy who has a pretty incredible build. I had no idea who the fellow was, and was unsure even whether the photo was a Photoshop production or an unretouched photo. Well, recently, I found some further information on this fellow and on the source for the photo.

The fellow's name is (was? I think he might be deceased now) John Turner, and in the photo I posted, he is said to be 67 years old. The face certainly fits that age group. John Turner is one of the seniors written about in the book "Growing Old Is Not for Sissies" by Etta Clark (see excerpts from from that book at google books here).

I do not have that book and have never read it, but from what I can gather by looking on google books, the picture I posted of John Turner appears on the back cover. John Turner was apparently a psychiatrist who lived in California and who devoted a fair amount of attention to fitness.

And he apparently did not discontinue his fitness pursuits after that photo was taken (in 1985, I believe). I managed to find another photo of him at age 79. He's definitely not in the sort of shape he was at the tender young age of 67, but he looks about as good as a guy can at age 79. For reference, I'll post the two photos side by side below (no, he didn't really get that much smaller with age :):

John Turner at age 67	John Turner at age79

On that note, we old-timers are still at it. We've managed to get in a few road days on the bike with the unseasonably warm weather--short rides of not more than about 15 miles, but it's too early in the season to worry about going much further. We'll break into the longer days gradually.

I felt I'd lost quite a bit of conditioning over the winter, despite our regular, if limited, stationary bike riding. But after the second day, I felt good and strong. So I didn't lose much.

We're off to do one of our twice-weekly JIM sessions soon. More later.

Officially on the road

I missed posting last month (again!). We've been at our fitness pursuits, apart from a ca 10-day layoff at the end of Feb./beginning of March. Haven't been doing intervals on the stationary bike this winter but have been meaning to start, as the on-road biking season approaches.

Speaking of which, owing to the unusually warm weather, we had our first on-road days over the weekend. Put in about 25 miles total over 2 days. Pretty lame, but we don't intend to start the season with overly-long days. I got a good workout nonetheless, and even had a bit of E.I.A. (exercise induced asthma) afterward.

Long overdue update; details about JIM routine

It's high time I stopped neglecting this blog and did some posting. And what better day to start than the last day of the second month during which I've posted nothing? Yes, that was a facetious remark.

Part of the reason I haven't posted is that not a whole lot is happening. I mean that in a good sense. In the context of a fitness blog, the good sense has the meaning that our fitness routine hasn't changed much: we still work out 6 days most weeks, four on the stationary bikes (it's winter where we live) and two days of strength training.

If I could report anything new, it would be in the way of offering further details about our new, JIM (it's an acronym) strength-training routine. The acronym is in honor of the relative who helped me formulate the routine, by the way.

The routine uses some of the same exercises we've been engaging in to date and, like our other strength-training routines, is focused on the upper body. The way it differs is mainly in its simplicity: we're doing only five exercises (we'll add a sixth later), most of which are body-weight exercises. And we do five sets of each. The whole routine takes about a half hour.

The six exercises, in the order in which we execute them, are: 1. inverted rows; 2. bent-over rows; 3. push-ups; 4. dips; 5. overhead press. Sometime soon we'll add: 6. pull-ups. The first two sets are warm-ups, where we do less repetitions or use light weight. The last three sets are to be done with more weight and at maximum repetitions.

So far it's gone well. I like the variation it's introduced. We've also varied our--what I'll call "mid-section" exercises. Instead of doing what are typically called abdominal exercises, we're now doing what might be better labeled "core exercises." I'll post more detail about them later.

There, at long last, is the update I've needed for some time now to post here.

Cheap shot

Ok, this post is a cheap shot. Its only real purpose is to alleviate my conscience. It does that by offering me the comfort of knowing that the month of November did not really go by without me posting a single entry here. Is that lame, or what?

Oh well. We're taking a break from fitness at the moment--10 days worth. Cycling now is pretty much limited to short sessions on the stationary bikes. But we have inaugurated a new upper-body strength-training routine, one we developed with the help of a relative who has some experience in this area.

I call the routine "JIM," in honor of my relative, and will be posting more about it soon.

Back from the short tour

We got back from our short, independent (independent insofar as we did not join any group, but planned and rode the whole thing by ourselves) fall tour. We hit some really brutal hills in certain spots, which provided as much of a workout as an old body like this can handle: those were some serious intervals. Averaged about 50-55 miles a day. So we got in some good exercise and probably our last long mileage of the year--probably around 250 miles total over 5 days.

Kinda sad to call it quits for the year, but we had more than our share of mechanical issues during this trip. That made us a little less reluctant to end this one.

Thinking now of getting a different bike for touring--a recumbent tandem trike (something along the lines of what's in the photo above). They're pretty pricey, but it seems like having such a machine would resolve several issues we've faced.

Back to strength training tomorrow.

An uninformed assessment of CrossFit

CrossFit, a fairly popular fitness regimen, came up in a discussion with a relative the other day and I thought it would provide a good opportunity for a blog entry. The relative mentioned that he did not approve of CrossFit as a fitness regimen, which got me thinking about why I have not used it.

I should point out to begin with that I call this assessment "uninformed" because I have never tried CrossFit: my only exposure to it thus far has been through reading about it or about the exploits of those who have tried or are using it. Furthermore, I have no formal training in the fitness field and, as merely a casual fitness practitioner, am far from being in a position to offer anything approaching an authoritative appraisal of CrossFit--even if at a distance. I nonetheless do hold that I have perfectly valid reasons for not using it, though those reasons are quite unique to me and my own philosophy and situation. Your mileage may vary. Thus, the following.

I learned about CrossFit some years ago, when I was initially planning out my current fitness regime. Though it had some attractive features--namely the fact that the regime makes use of both calisthenics and weights--I quickly ruled it out as viable option for me.

One of the main reasons I decided against using it was because it incorporates lower-body exercises--not a bad thing in and of itself, of course, just bad for me because, as I've written previously, I get all the lower-body exercise I need and want from bicycling. Taking on other lower-body exercises would be apt to interfere with my cycling endeavors, and is therefore something I do not want or intend to do.

And, as I am not looking for lower-body exercises other than cycling, I am also not looking for other forms of aerobic activity than cycling. So, the aerobic activities that the CrossFit program entails were also something that holds no interest for me: I get all the aerobic conditioning I need and want from bicycling.

Another major reason I did not opt to get involved in this form of fitness is convenience: there is no CrossFit affiliate anywhere near where I live, so in order to participate in a group setting, I would have to drive (or perhaps bike?) some distance, and in my pragmatic considerations, having to drive anywhere in order to participate in fitness activities is a non sequitur: if one were to walk, run, cycle, or use some other means of self-propulsion to get there, wouldn't that serve as the only activity needed to attain fitness? Perhaps if there were an affiliate within a short walking distance I would have tried CrossFit. But barring that scenario it is simply quite impracticable for me.

And my reasons for not undertaking CrossFit on my own as opposed to at an affiliate, are also pragmatic: I could only see myself doing CrossFit at an affiliate because I do not own, nor do I wish to invest in, the equipment required to execute the routines. I don't have an olympic weight set and certainly don't want to purchase and store one, and I don't see how a number of the exercises they prescribe (squats, deadlifts) could be done without one. So Crossfit was ruled out for me on those scores as well.

Finally, I should point out that CrossFit seems to be a community-centered fitness regimen. In other words, it cultivates and seems heavily reliant on, a community of exercise enthusiasts who urge along one another. Now I certainly don't intend to demean communal fitness programs: I can see many advantages to having exercise partners and a social context for fitness endeavors. But for me this is not needed. I have an exercise partner and to date, we have been all we both need for inspiration to continue exercising. I certainly can't fault anyone who does not have a good exercise partner from seeking out one or more, but for me it is simply not needed. So, CrossFit loses on that score for my purposes as well.

This is a concise synopsis of my own rationale for foregoing the CrossFit regimen. These things having been said, I can certainly see some virtues in the program. First and foremost among these is undoubtedly the comradery aspect of the program: having a fitness partner or partners can be a huge incentive to, if not beginning an exercise regimen, certainly to sustaining one. The incorporation of body-weight exercises and more calisthenic-oriented ones such as rowing, as well as the wide selection of exercises they prescribe, seems also a big plus in my view (variation) even though, as I said, the lower-body exercises are a detraction for me.

None of the reasons I list as obstacles to involvement in CrossFit are likely to apply as they do in my circumstance to the situations of others. So this review, while spelling out what I consider to be valid and substantial reasons for not getting involved in CrossFit, will not likely serve as a deterrent for many who are considering taking up this regimen. But it may, at the least, provide some food for thought for those casting about for a fitness regimen and may thus, ultimately, be of service to someone. And this is, in part, why I offer my thoughts on the matter.

There you have my uninformed assessment of CrossFit.

Bike tour aftermath

In an attempt to rein in procrastination, I need to get this entry out of the way. It's been way too long since I posted anything here, yet things keep coming up that I want to write about and I keep not writing. So, here's to overcoming writer's block and procrastination.

The tour ended some time ago and it was a joy for us. Well, if you subtract getting rained on then cold afterward, two flat tires, searing heat, harsh headwinds, etc. But despite those things it was a joy. Why? Because part of the reward from bicycle touring is overcoming hardships and getting to your destination despite obstacles. But more on that later.

We did over 500 miles in about 10 days. And at the end of it, we were sad that we had to stop.

Well, we didn't actually stop altogether. We, of course, continue riding. We're in training now, in fact, for another, shorter, tour--just 5 days this time.

And the tour had its health benefits. My blood pressure after we got back was almost ideal: I saw 119 over 72 a couple of days after we finished. That's without any medicine. But it's since then gone up a bit.

I want more . . .

We continue our upper-body strength training--we're still in the arm toner phase. I did have to leave town for 10 days, so we took one of our breaks from fitness during that interval, not doing any cycling or strength training. And we're fine with that.

So there. I've broken the procrastination cycle and hopefully preempted writer's block.