Older athletes smash theories of the unavoidable degeneration and debilitation of aging. Are fit and even competitive seniors freaks or the answer to the growing health care crisis?

Who is an older athlete? According to research, the body begins to decline after the age of 35. Theories abound about the impact of genetics, (“I’ve just got good genes”), attitude, body type and socioeconomic level. Most theories are just that and fail to test conclusively. There are increasing exceptions.

With contemporary medical advances, if you are over 50, barring disabling disease or accident, you probably anticipate living longer than your ancestors. Living longer is fine if those latter years are years of physical, mental and emotional functional capability.

Perhaps Baby Boomers continue to challenge traditional expectations. As Baby Boomers age, they want to thrive. Furthermore, many are taking deliberate and educated steps in that direction. Though Kathleen Norris was not writing about physical fitness, her one-liner in “The Cloister Walk” is on the mark: “…the place of the very old is to teach about possibility.”

Given a clean bill of health and the time to dedicate to fitness, even competitive performance, with education, guidance, goals and plans to reach those goals, seniors are creating their own level playing field and working towards excellence previously unthought-of.

Often strength, speed and endurance gains are made relative to the age appropriate conditioning of the individual. But just as often masters’ performance challenges younger athletes.

Common knowledge has long been that as you age, mental and physical abilities decline: muscle mass is lost, bones thin and weaken, body fat increases. Muscle atrophy in seniors over age 75 may reach as much as 15% per decade. Not good news.

Much of that research, however, has been done on sedentary seniors. For example, in a recent study of highly functioning athletes from 40-81 years, individuals who ran, biked or swam four to five times weekly, it was determined that it is not aging, in and of itself, that causes the decline in strength and performance, but lack of use. The authors suggest that if more individuals stress their muscles and remain active as they age, the loss of physical capabilities and independence could be thwarted. (Wroblewski, A., et. al. “Chronic Exercise Preserves Lean Muscle Mass in MastersAthletes”, The Physician and Sportsmedicine.

While some experts warn that “pushing” to reach higher levels of performance is not only inappropriate but harmful, many others urge the inclusion of exercise in daily life. But it’s more than that. Yes, choosing to walk whenever possible, joining fitness classes, practicing flexibility and balance exercises and doing so on a regular basis are recognized as integral to protecting one’s health.

Take this a step beyond adequate activity into excellence it may be because of, rather than in spite of, maturity that the older athlete achieves. Is it because masters are those who have logged more miles or gained more competitive experience, are mature in their sport? Are older athletes those whose children are grown leaving them with more time and more resources? Looking hard and fast at the second half of one’s life may act as a wake-up call that summons the executive, retiree, or couch potato to a new enthusiasm for mobility or sports. Taking seriously the threat of a reduction in lifestyle and enjoyment puts teeth into the desire to move.

We know, or have watched, seniors outwit and outperform their younger competitors with skill and tactics that trump youth’s raw energy.

To achieve success in the areas of fitness and performance, as in all other aspects of life, there needs to be a plan, a means, education and training. Diligence is required as well as effort. Here one must think in terms of hours of exercise or training, not minutes; days and weeks and months, not just once in awhile; regular not random.

OLGA KOTELKO. June 25, 2014. www.globeandmail.com:  “During her long, remarkable life, Olga Kotelko lived through a rugged farm childhood, an unhappy marriage, single parenthood and a long career as a beloved school teacher. Then, the Vancouver resident gained world fame as a track and field athlete, competing well into her 80s and 90s. Ms. Kotelko, who was hailed as one of Canada’s most accomplished athletes and held 26 world records in her age category, died Tuesday. She was 95.”

Think about that. Here was a woman who grew up on a family farm with physical work as normal daily existence. Later a school teacher and single parent, at a time where single parents were unusual, Kotelko attracted attention by her seemingly unlimited energy.

Later as an unassuming athlete who couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, she was tested and studied to see what was working for her. Just weeks before her death she was still competing.

Her sports were: long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin, weight throw and various sprint distances all with multiple victories and records. In her 80s and 90s these were her sports. Think about that. Yes, endurance sports are understandable: putting one foot in front of another, one pedal stroke after another, one sweep of the oar after another; but power and speed? Kotelko’s athletic career, one begun late in life, demonstrates her modest claim that it is all about “moderation, exercise and a positive attitude… DNA, choices and exploration of opportunities.” “What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives,” by Bruce Grierson, (January 14, 2014, Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.)

www.http://margaretwebb.com

MARGARET WEBB. Webb’s story has universal appeal. It is not gender specific nor is it about those singularly athletic or sedentary. Older, Faster, Stronger, What Women Runners Can Teach Us All About Living Younger, Longer, By Margaret Webb, (Rodale, 2014) is a story of hope, an offering of optimism. Webb presents the reader with the bad and the ugly: aging means more injuries, less lung and cardiovascular capability, loss of balance, coordination and flexibility, the nasty stuff about bone density, lean muscle mass and stored body fat. But then she debunks these as inevitable consequences of advancing years and chases her thesis that you can become even stronger and faster with advancing years.

With the help of her partner, sister, mom and a stable full of mentors and teachers, Webb employs every tool she can find from VO2Max testing to nutrition, heart rate training zones to yoga, strength to sports psychology. She loses weight, gives up cigarettes and booze, subjects herself to uncomfortable assessments and diligently follows her training plans.

Webb seeks advice, then takes it, practicing goal-setting, self-monitoring and celebration. She urges the reader to “find joy” in the pursuit. “Whatever limit you encounter, keep pushing against it,” Webb writes. “By doing this, you will have found, like many masters athletes have, a way to reach deep inside yourself, grasp the hands of your biological clock, and slow it’s forward rush.”

Webb suggests that those who did not participate in sports in their younger years may come to them with fresh legs, patience, a willingness to practice recovery as they strive to compete and then surprise themselves by the motivation that competition ignites. She tests, proves and further develops her findings.

There is much to be said about growing older with health and strength, stability and balance, grace and power, adaptation and potential, faith and optimism. What happens next, when the talking is done? Will identity be defined by the doing? That remains to be seen.

CONSIDER THESE ATHLETES GOING STRONG and LONG:

Jacinto Bonilla age 74, CrossFit competitor

Sister Madonna (“Iron Nun”) age 83, Ironman

Paul Tetrick age 83, Time Trial competitor, Cycling

Pat Gallant-Charette age 63, distance swimmer (a newbie having begun only 15 years ago), plans 2015 Great Brittain to Ireland and 2016 a repeat of the Cook Strait to right her failed attempt.

Louis Self age 73, Kiteboarding competitor

Steve Rounds age 85, 2014 World Indoor Rowoing Championship, “won his age group” but also set a world record

Tao Porchon-Lynch age 95, Yoga

Yuichiro Miura age 80, Mountaineering. May 2013 oldest climber to summit Mt. Everest

Arthur Webb age 72, Ultramarathoner, Finished Badwater 15 times since he turned 58

Jaring Timmerman, swimmer, only person ever o compete in 105-109 age group

Chuck Norris age 74, Martial Arts

(www.dailyburn.com)

 Whose name can you add to this list? Your own? A relative, neighbor, friend?

photo Jeb Wallace Brodeur

For some reason I have failed to acknowledge the existence of hiking poles. Until now. It seems that everywhere I look this year, hiking poles pop onto my radar. As I speak with friends, expert hikers on unimaginably difficult terrain, I find that they are enthusiastic about their poles.

So, I went to work to see what I could learn and share the news with you. Of course, you may be way ahead of me, but if not, perhaps you will join me as I try hiking this fall using poles.

We will not be the first to do so. Consider this list of individuals often pictured with their walking sticks: Moses, King Tutankhamen, Louis XIV, Charlie Chaplin, Father Time, Old Man Winter and Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), to name but a few.

Hiking poles, two of them, look much like ski poles, usually collapsible, with a rubber or carbide tip, (sometimes baskets, but more on that later), and wrist straps on the handles. They are skinny and offer support but not the kind that invites leaning one’s entire weight on them.

Trekking poles, or hiking poles, seem to be most useful on irregular terrain where they offer stability and, by further engaging the upper body, help to alleviate fatigue to the lower body. Poles help the hiker to find a rhythm and to move forward and upward maintaining that rhythm. Once “in stride,” the hiker can touch the trail on either side and maintain an efficient, centered movement pattern that covers the trail with apparently less effort.

Poles increase confidence especially on tricky downhill segments, crossing streams and maneuvering among and around obstacles. Poles can be used to probe mud or water, help with balance across a log and, in some cases, even double as tent poles.

The learning curve for hiking with poles is short and easy.

Hiking with poles gets you outdoors and helps with balance and mobility. Poles protect your knees, ankles, hips and spine especially on downhills. Note that at the same time, being able to accomplish such descending safely acts as conditioning to strengthen muscles, tendons and even ligaments that support the important joints of the body.

Balance on the trails can be troublesome. Poles give that added touch that benefits equilibrium and creates the confidence to try for more.

Photo Jeb Wallace Brodeur

It is one thing to walk forward and backward, up and down, but lateral movements often tip the scale of balance. It is here that poles are especially helpful.

Hiking is a repetitive motion and executing each stride with correct form and technique is imperative to improve strength and coordination, speed and balance, and to prevent injury. Hiking poles help to execute steps with the pace and alignment of a good gait. Poles may keep the hiker focused and motion fluid.

Perhaps one of the best things to be said about using hiking poles is that they expand opportunities for all types of hikers encouraging the advanced to reach higher goals and those with physical limitations to explore the outdoors with security.

There is little said in opposition. While some environmental concerns are raised such as the scratching of rock by the pole tips, holes left in the ground or baskets damaging fragile vegetation (thus basket removal is recommended unless hiking in snow or snowshoeing), adherence to the principles of “Leave No Trace” means that users can find ways to avoid leaving behind any type of damage. Awareness is usually the simple solution.

Adjusting poles to the proper height, slipping the hand up through the loop and easily wrapping the hand around the pole’s handle while resting weight on the loop, and picking up the alternating coordination of swinging arms with leg strides, are about the only training points.

In summary, it is interesting to see that the “Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) estimates that pole usage rates on the Appalachian Trail vary from 90% among thru-hikers to 10-15% among day hikers.” (Saunders, Hipp, Wenos and Deaton, 2008). From what I have learned, I’ll just bet that 10-15% is much higher now, six years later. Shall we help to raise that percentage and join the trek?

Hiking is an activity that benefits from prior conditioning. On the other hand, hiking itself builds muscular strength and endurance while delivering impressive scenery.

Fall hiking is often preferred to summer.  Some hikers find heat oppressive and like the cooler temperatures. Bug nuisances are on the decline and falling leaves are not only colorful, but open views that remain unseen in summer’s dense foliage.

Vermont and neighboring states offer well-marked hiking trails for adventurers of any age and fitness level. Necessary skills range from new to novice, intermediate and finally advanced.

Casual and dedicated hikers agree to a list of benefits: fitness, stress relief, shared time with family and friends and fresh air. Trails with steep pitch and exposure provide excitement and technical challenge. While some speed-hike for training purposes, others take time to enjoy natural beauty or delve more deeply into the concept of journey.

Aside from the obvious “relax, just do it,” perhaps the most important piece of advice for anyone planning a hike is to do just that. Plan. Choose a designated trail that is suitable for your fitness level. Returning home stiff, sore, blistered, soaked or exhausted is a deal-breaker for more trail adventures.

Furthermore, lack of proper planning combined with basic commonsense could result in injury or misadventure initiating expensive search and rescue.

A significant piece of the planning component is time. If you are accustomed to walking, riding, paddling or running for extended periods of time, even though hiking taxes the body in different ways, you have probably built a good aerobic base and are ready to begin with a multi-hour hike. If not, by all means begin with something short and manageable that leaves you wanting more.

Once an appropriate distance is chosen, the next aspect is time of day. Never forget that temperatures and wind conditions vary and change dramatically at the top. Failure to dress in layers and carry along extra gloves, dry socks and perhaps a windbreaker, rain jacket or fleece, could ruin an otherwise happy hike.

Town forests provide excellent opportunities to practice walking on trails. Practice always pays off. Moving from sidewalks and even dirt roads into the woods requires alert attention to where you put each foot. Roots, stones, sand, washouts, up, down, wide and narrow complicate the process and, without due awareness, could easily cause one to trip or slip.

Walking or hiking mindfully means avoiding low-hanging branches that poke and jab, but at the same time listening and watching for interesting sounds and sights. Human voices travel through the woods, but when they are silenced, so do birdsong and the sound of animals moving about. Hearing often rewards with sighting.

Practice also means breaking in new trail or hiking shoes and experimenting with combinations of clothing that might keep you comfortable all day on a longer trek. Beginning with a trail that keeps you within easy reach of your car can save unexpectedly uncomfortable equipment or unanticipated fatigue. And, of course, as always practice carrying water and a snack and try them out along the way.

When comfortable with the easier stuff, it’s time to head for a destination hike. Traveling to the top of anything clearly challenges the cardiovascular system and makes demands on muscles and joints. Again, proper footwear and attire is a must as is good hiking and walking form. The addition of a daypack is not to be underestimated in importance or as resistance of even a little added weight.

Going up is one thing; traveling down is another. Watch your step, rest occasionally and listen to your body. Sometimes you will be on dirt, sometimes crossing streams or scrambling up rocks. Take your time and get the job done safely.

Above all, plan to be safe. Use the internet, your favorite sporting goods store, the Green Mountain Club (or any of their excellent guides and publications), books, maps and experienced friends for help selecting and planning for your hike. Anyone who has been there before is usually happy to give you hints and let you know what to expect.

Safety basics apply to hiking whether you think you’ll be out for an hour or all day. Hike with another. Carry a cell phone as reception is improving. Wear identification that includes medical information, if any, and emergency contacts. Let those at home know where you will be as well as your estimated finish time. Check the weather forecast. In the event of weather warnings, for heavens sake stay home and go another day. Beware of shorter days and earlier sunsets. Stay on the trail.

Even bright people do stupid things. Have you ever passed a silly person on a trail wearing flip-flops? Do you read of search and rescue teams spending the night scouring the backwoods for someone who has wandered off the trail to find an imaginary shortcut down? Stories abound of hikers who call for help because they are tired or cold or got lost because they didn’t have a flashlight. Search and rescue experts are eager to help those in legitimate need.

Moving beyond day hikes to multi-day trips is a quantum move up the hiking ladder and requires research and extensive preparation. Once you begin putting one foot in front of another through the woods, once you feel the exhilaration of scaling some ledge and reaching the top to see miles and miles of the surrounding countryside, once you have listened to the speedy brook splashing downhill or the sound of partridge that you have surprised, you may be hooked and want more.

Each time you hike, you have the opportunity to see different things, to grow stronger, more skillful and more confident. It is a sport that bears repeating and certainly improves with repetition. Are you ready to hike this autumn? Plan and prepare well. Avoid hunting season. Have fun.

Mt. Abraham.

Hiking with family on a perfect day in Vermont, 9-28-2014. The views were well worth the vertical challenge.

Sometimes regeneration comes when slowing down, not stopping, and seeing things through different eyes.  The following appeared as:  THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD, Rutland Herald & Times Argus, ACTIVE VERMONT, August 10, 2014

Surely I’m not alone. My heart resides in the mountains of Vermont, but a bit of my spirit needs the ocean. This is my fourth year spending some of my summer on the coast of Maine. .

At the time it seemed a stroke of luck, but now I believe it was meant to be. One winter I randomly opened a Down East magazine and my eye fell on a simple one-liner of a cottage rental on one of many fingers of land that jut out into the ocean. I characterize the place by saying that if I fell off the deck, I’d spill down the rocky bank and get wet. (OK, there is no crashing surf but the water is legitimately salty and rises and falls with the 6-hour tidal changes.)

What has become “my” cottage is perfect. Quiet, simple, off the beaten path, it is the place I go to recharge and play.

Last week I saw Maine through the eyes of a soon-to-be 10 year old new to it all. For one week we were unplugged: no computer, tv, radio, iPod or even heart rate monitor, only an iPhone to assure her parents that we were always accessible.

It all began when we packed my little Subaru with a month’s worth of work, play and living for me, a week’s worth for her, and two Jack Russells who needed as much gear and grub as we did. With kayak and bike on the roof, and Anne of Green Gables (unabridged) in the cd player, we embarked on an adventure that turned out to be as meaningful and fresh with discovery for me as it was for her.

When I unlocked the door, I was touched to see in her face the wonder and awe that I feel each time I cross the threshold. In an instant, I knew that we would share equally. If I could slow down, speed up or pause at just the right times, I would see anew. There’s only one first: one first time away from home, one first time to see a blazing sunset reflected on the water, taste the salt on one’s face after a day at the beach, measure the hours by the tides or glimpse a seal. To revisit that first time with a child is a treasured gift.

“Recovery is a Valid and Necessary Part of Fitness.”

How many times have I said this, sternly urging clients to balance their active training days with appropriate recovery, time for the body to regenerate and, in doing so, retain strength and performance gains instead of breaking down and diminishing. Do I listen to my own coaching?

Not once in 6 days did I unpack my gear bag, inflate tires, lace running shoes, lift a dumbbell or even think TRX or Bosu. I also gave my disciplined psyche a rest. We stayed up late, slept in, forgot to eat, then messed about in the kitchen scrabbling together whacky meals after dark. We let the sun’s position in the sky and our curiosity provide loose structure to our days. Can this only be done in the company of a child? Do we need permission?

This is not to say we were inactive. We walked, swam, scuttled over rocks, squatted, reached, pushed, pulled, hopped, skipped and jumped our way through the hours. But, the key is that we paused when we wanted.

And there were questions. Matthew Cuthbert’s halting “Well … Now … I don’t know” became a theme as well as a challenge to search for each answer.

At the conclusion of Anne of Green Gables, we segued to Cynthia Lord’s wonderful story “Touch Blue” (Scholastic, Inc. 2012). To our delight, Tess, a spunky 11-year-old, compares her family’s experience welcoming a foster child to their simple island home in Maine with that of Marilla, Matthew and Anne (“spelled with an e”) when the latter arrived at the little farm house on Prince Edward Island. Sweet serendipity.

Words we read became part of the fabric of each outing. One calm day we paddled (another first) from the mainland out to an island accessible only by boat. Residents parked their cars on the shore, walked to their dories docked nearby, loaded their groceries, supplies and usually a dog, and puttered off to the island to reverse the process. When her fatigue became obvious, I resisted the urge to paddle on and we simply floated in the gently moving water. Twenty minutes later we were good to go, but better. In that space of time we had shared dreams and closed our eyes to memorize the rhythms of the waves. I taught her how to paddle using more than arms and shoulders, how to employ the core by turning the upper body with each stroke and pushing as well as pulling the shaft. She got it. While abdominal muscles were at work on each paddle stroke, the ceaseless rock and glide of the boat became a part of our emotional core. (Mark Verstegen, who did ground-breaking work on functional training and the core, connects core strength with core values.)

Later we compared our sea journey with the Maine Atlas and Robert McCloskey’s classic “Time of Wonder” locating islands named Sheep, Pumpkin, Three Sisters and Birch. Words were more than read.

Power, Strength, Force, Balance

Though these words apply to physical conditioning, we found them on the beach too. To a child familiar with mountain trails, the ocean is compelling. Should it be feared or is respect enough? Does it represent work or play? I have a series of photos that mark the transition from first tentative steps to open-mouthed surprise when being tumbled. Cold, noisy, relentless, the rollers curl into breakers as the undertow buries feet in the sand and upsets the best balance.

We had driven to a beach some distance away in order to witness the ocean in all its glory. With only a few visitors, ocean’s edge became hers to enjoy with abandon. Unselfconsciously she jumped and fell, dunked and ran, sang and skipped and teased the waves as they did her.

“Touch blue and your wish will come true,” Lord writes. Despite daily trips to calmer beaches searching for shells and sea glass, we found only one smooth chunk of blue. Periwinkles we have by the dozens, scooped up by the handful and carefully washed and dried back at the cottage. We collected bright bits of shells, rocks that, of course, were more colorful wet than later dried but oh well, small pieces of driftwood and our sparse collection of glass. Just before packing for home, she filled several jars with scrupulously selected samples of each and tied a ribbon around the top to take home as gifts.

There was oh so much more. Perhaps what will most remain in memory for this sensitive child is a week’s worth of daily life on the coast and her sense of familiarity with the cottage and the dirt road loop we walked many times. Looking from her bedroom window she could watch the sunrise over water, hear the creaking of the floating dock, the coo of the doves and the shrill call of the seagulls. From the deck we watched cormorants stretch their wings to dry and the ducks dive for breakfast as we ate our own.

On the other side of the peninsula we watched sunsets so brilliant that, had an artist painted them, we would have scoffed at his exaggeration. The fragile new moon hung above the tops of the pine trees standing on a lump of land that was, at low tide, a short walk from the mainland, and at high tide, an island. 

On the night we left to drive towards home, that same moon was bolder and turned a deep orange, leading us towards Vermont. Returning hours later, I unlocked the door to the empty cottage and stepped in to begin the next chapter of my Maine. There, on the table with a love note, was the piece of blue sea glass. I touched it and feel sure that our wishes will come true.