Sometimes You Need To Mix Your Exercise / Sport Activities 

Seriously there is a large body of medical research on healthy aging that strongly links the importance of a high (relatively speaking) VO2 Max, good grip strength (as well as other strength measures, and having good balance. Add them together with sound nutritional practices and you are going to experience a higher quality of life. 

Few sports can address all of these areas although gymnastics especially the all-around  competition probably comes close. So too crew and no, rowing machines are not quite the same. No balance component. 

Could be why I know so many former olympic gymnasts who are amazing mountain bike racers. More on that in a future post. 

For the rest of us we need to mix it up a bit. Say your sport is tennis or the all so popular pickleball. Fun, they do help with balance and explosive, short duration (anaerobic) cardio but lack the overall strength and long duration VO2 Max components. 

So add in some brisk-paced walking. Maybe the 10 to 30 minutes while you are waiting for a court to open up. 

For many of us our daily routines, work, and even sports don’t provide much if anything in the way of load (weight) bearing exercise. We, and this includes cyclists working desk jobs like me, need to add weight training to ensure we are encouraging good bone density and the upper body and core muscle strength to ensure a healthy body. A plus for cyclists, you look better in spandex. 🤣

Simple message today: do your research on the benefits noted above, the types of activities that will work to help you achieve meaningful results from your present condition to your desired result, and get started. A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with that first step. 

Enjoy the journey!