High-Intensity-Intervals and Muscle Pulls

[nwsteve]

I am currently 5' 10" 171 pounds. This is in the high BMI range but I feel like I am in the best shape ever and less susceptible to injury.

A researcher has reworked BMI data to revealed "normal" BMI by age class. See his website here Body mass index charts of Men
You did not share your age class but if 60-69 your height and weight puts you in the 27 percentile (73% in the 60-69 age band are heavier than you--pdg in my book. ;-)
The above website also includes a link for the ladies to see their BMI by age class.
Nwsteve

 

[NW-Bound]

25th percentile for me. Interesting to know, as I have always thought that I was skinnier than most people, and expected to rank even better than that.

Also, it is clear that people lose weight when they get to the 50s and 60s. Apparently, they are motivated by the realization that they are mortal, or that some health issues cause them a wakeup call.

 

[NW-Bound]

Nope. I am in the 15th percentile.

There's a link to a BMI calculator at the bottom of that Web page, which also ranks you according to your age. It should be more accurate than trying to read the chart and to interpolate. Perhaps I need to get my eyes checked.

 

[eytonxav]

Also, it is clear that people lose weight when they get to the 50s and 60s. Apparently, they are motivated by the realization that they are mortal, or that some health issues cause them a wakeup call.

Could also be attributed to loss of muscle as people age, sarcopenia. This makes another good case for weight lifting.

 

[eytonxav]

Last fall I suffered a bout of pancreatitis and spent 10 days in the hospital. I lost both muscle and fat that took my weight down to 175 lbs from around 200 lbs. I have stayed in the range of 175-178since then, which made my BMI look better, but its been difficult to regain the strength and muscle I formerly had, although it is slowly coming back. Not sure I would want to suffer an illness like that again for a better BMI.

 

[NW-Bound]

Looking closer at the chart, I have to differ. Only the heaviest 25% of the population loses weight as they age. The lighter 50% maintains the same weight from age 50 on up.

 

[TromboneAl]

Wow, what a lot of stuff to go over.

Yes, I do them on my bike, too, but I've been riding less, deciding the risk/reward ratio is too high. Any ride from my house includes this section of freeway:

My three main exercises all involve high-intensity work: wood splitting, running sprints, and Bowflex. It does feel like there's something magical about going all out. I feel especially good after a session, and especially tired the next day.

After a sixty-mile bike ride I usually felt more beat up than good.

The sand is usually even where I run. Something like this:

Oops, sorry, wrong photo. This:

There is something fun about trying to go as fast as you can.

Here's my heart rate during intervals:

Here it is during bowflex:

 

[eytonxav]

Looking closer at the chart, I have to differ. Only the heaviest 25% of the population loses weight as they age. The lighter 50% maintains the same weight from age 50 on up.

I am not sure whether you were responding to me, but losing weight is not the point, losing muscle is the concern as we age. You can lose muscle and replace it with fat and your weight may not change significantly. Loss of muscle and bone density are both conditions that should concern everyone as they age.

 

[harley]

Wow, what a lot of stuff to go over...

The sand is usually even where I run. Something like this:

So you're blaming your groin pull on lack of proper warm-up?

 

[Which Roger]

I am not sure whether you were responding to me, but losing weight is not the point, losing muscle is the concern as we age. You can lose muscle and replace it with fat and your weight may not change significantly. Loss of muscle and bone density are both conditions that should concern everyone as they age.

Yet another reason I don't like BMI. Losing muscle mass as we age (a bad thing) lowers BMI (which is perceived as a good thing).

 

[TromboneAl]

Especially relevant, check out this video, starting at 3:14

Here's a readers' digest version:

 

[NW-Bound]

I am not sure whether you were responding to me, but losing weight is not the point, losing muscle is the concern as we age. You can lose muscle and replace it with fat and your weight may not change significantly. Loss of muscle and bone density are both conditions that should concern everyone as they age.

I got that point, and did not disagree with that. Perhaps we were talking about two different things.

I was pointing out that the statistics show that the people tipping the scale at the top 25% of the population are the ones losing weight the most as they age. I doubt that they are all muscle. Therefore if they lose weight, it is not muscle that they are shredding.

On the other hand, the people who are trim stay trim. Perhaps they keep the same weight, but slowly replacing muscle with fat, I don't know.

 

[haha]

I got that point, and did not disagree with that. Perhaps we were talking about two different things.

I was pointing out that the statistics show that the people tipping the scale at the top 25% of the population are the ones losing weight the most as they age. I doubt that they are all muscle. Therefore if they lose weight, it is not muscle that they are shredding.

On the other hand, the people who are trim stay trim. Perhaps they keep the same weight, but slowly replacing muscle with fat, I don't know.

A lot of I doubts and maybe(s). There is some evidence on this topic, though how good it is or isn't I can't say. Fat people often have an surprising amount of muscle. I takes muscle to move a big fat body around in the environment.

Ha

 

[Bigdawg]

I remember when HIIT became popular 10-15 years ago. Of course the Marines added the word Super to the front. As in Super High Intensity Interval Training with the acronym being SHIIT. "Hey Gunny, were going to do some SHIIT!"

 

[NW-Bound]

Fat people often have an surprising amount of muscle. I takes muscle to move a big fat body around in the environment.

Surely, fat people have more muscle than skinny people. Else, they would not be able to move.

But what about the ratio of muscle to fat? And when fat people lose weight, if it is muscle that they lose and not fat, then they would have a much tougher time moving about, keeping the same fat with less muscle now. So, I would hope that it is fat that they lose.

I dunno. I have never been overweight, so only theorizing.

 

[TromboneAl]

Here are my intervals on a bicycle, yesterday (the pulled muscle didn't complain at all):

I'm encouraged by the observation that after three years, my heart is still acting about the same.

-----------------

So, for those of you who suggest not doing intervals at my age, what about this?

I continue to do intervals, and if I get a muscle pull, I just stop doing them for a while. If I'm getting them every time I run, I quit.

Something I like about doing them on the sand and not on the road or on a bike: if I'm going all out and I fall down, I won't hurt myself. Hasn't happened yet ...

 

[eytonxav]

Something I like about doing them on the sand and not on the road or on a bike: if I'm going all out and I fall down, I won't hurt myself. Hasn't happened yet ...

Not to mention you are only a few feet away from a quick cool down.

 

[Amethyst]

Just to pile on...my cousin, who is a Certified Massage Therapist, told me that as we age - no matter how clean we live - our ligaments get like old rubber bands, which as you know, dry out, shrink, and even tear if you stretch them too far.

Thinking we can prevent this through diet, exercise, and stubbornness, is like a woman trying to prevent menopause by staying in shape.

Amethyst

And I think your body is telling you that you are wrong! If you are getting strains, and have to stop, that just does not sound good

You need to adjust your routine to an aging body, the body is not going to adjust to your routine!

-ERD50

 

[Amethyst]

Yes. I am the same weight I was at 35, and I exercise even more now than I did back then. But my body fat %age has risen inexorably from 18% to 24%. Body-fat charts show this as "lean" for my age group, whereas for a younger woman it would only be "average."

I

On the other hand, the people who are trim stay trim. Perhaps they keep the same weight, but slowly replacing muscle with fat...

 

[ERD50]

Just to pile on...my cousin, who is a Certified Massage Therapist, told me that as we age - no matter how clean we live - our ligaments get like old rubber bands, which as you know, dry out, shrink, and even tear if you stretch them too far.

Thinking we can prevent this through diet, exercise, and stubbornness, is like a woman trying to prevent menopause by staying in shape.

Amethyst

That reminds me - many years ago, I was curious and asked my optometrist about these books that said you could exercise your eyes and eliminate/reduce the need for glasses.

He said much of our need for glasses comes from aging of the tissues that make up the eye. Thinking you could improve that with exercise is like thinking that you could remove wrinkles with exercise. OK, he might be biased, but it makes sense.

It's called aging. We change. Though it is good to keep limber, and make the most of what we have, there are limits. If a person is pushing themselves to the limits, they can expect those limits to reduce as they age.

A sedate person probably isn't getting anywhere near their limits. So I do think it is good to push towards a limit, and that limit can be extended with exercise, and improve overall mobility, reduce falls, etc. But the ultimate limits will degrade with age.

-ERD50

 

[rgarling]

...
He said much of our need for glasses comes from aging of the tissues that make up the eye. Thinking you could improve that with exercise is like thinking that you could remove wrinkles with exercise. OK, he might be biased, but it makes sense.

Maybe for presbyopia; however, myopia hits way before any significant aging. Many report improvement in myopia with 'plus' lenses or similar eye 'exercises'.

 

[razztazz]

Myopia will often go away as you age. I used tow ear thick glasses. If I had to join the Air Force today with the eyesight I had in 1975 I could not get in due to their higher vision requirements. The past 12 yes or so however, my distance vision has improved to where my glasses are at the absolute minimum level of prescription. One more increment of improvement and I will have medically normal vision. I am already legal to drive without glasses.

As far as Amethyst's general statements: So much of what people think about diet, exercise, more fiber, lower fat or whatever making us live longer or preventing teh consequences of aging is mostly delusional. Glue sniffing.

 

[NW-Bound]

What I perceive as the problem with high-intensity activities at an older age is that you do not really know how your cardiovascular system can hold up.

Over the years here on this forum, there were quite a few posters who dropped from a heart attack while playing tennis or doing something a bit more strenuous, and they were saved in the nick of time. I think they felt healthy and fit, until that happened.

Let The Sky Fall

This is the end
Hold your breath and count to ten
Feel the earth move and then
Hear my heart burst again​

 

[eytonxav]

Not knowing whether your CVS can handle high intensity is not exclusive to older age; problems like that can happen even to High School athletes.

 

[razztazz]

I like the HIIT method way way better than the steady state aerobic stuff of yore but the reality is NOBODY NEEDS to go "All out". You just need to get close then you're at the point of diminishing returns. 80%, 85%...? You will still get stronger and better because your performance will still advance. It will just take you about 3 or 4 more weeks to get to that point where an "all out" workout would have.

Exercise is not religion. While there it good information out there and protocols that work better than others there are no systems worth worshiping or believing in that much. You will always get to heaven no matter which one you use