Health Basics

5 Tips for the Older Athlete on Learning Physically Challenging Sports Activities

December 5, 2018 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Am I too old to learn something physically challenging?

Learning new skills and activities can feel overwhelming for an older adult. I know that beginning horseback riding lessons about 9 months ago was a mix of scary and wonderful. I worried that my body just wouldn’t adapt to something so new. I worried about injury.

I am going to continue with my riding lessons with more confidence than I started them. This is partly because I have learned some things about scheduling other workout activities, as well as enough about horses to think this is doable. Here are my tips for the older athlete who wants to pursue such a new and physically interactive activity:

Make sure you have a foundation of physical strength. Consider cross training that will particularly strengthen muscles that will be needed for action and stability for the new activity you want to try.
Don’t schedule other rigorous activities the day before or the day after. For instance, I can still go on a short to medium run either before or after, but not a run that is at the upper limits of my current distance.
Rest your mind before a lesson. Learning something new takes a different level of concentration and awareness, both to avoid injury and to learn well.
Get enough sleep. This goes with #3. If you are physically tired, your mind tends to be slower. Also, you tend to have less physical strength to use as needed.
Talk to other older athletes that pursue said activity. It can be helpful to get a mix of those with long experience and those relatively new to trying.

I write more specifics about how to have a good experience learning to ride a horse at my age in Am I Too Old to Learn to Ride a Horse, over at the D&B Supply blog. As older athletes, it can be embarrassing to feel awkward at learning something new, but it is good for us in many ways. Don’t let your fears or the attitudes of others keep you from enjoying continued discovery in life!

Perspectives on Nutritional Supplements to Stay Healthy at Any Age

August 3, 2018 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Putting malnutrition in perspective

Do you know the story about Captain Cook making his crew eat sauerkraut on voyages to prevent scurvy? It turns out the commonly told story might not be quite right. First, there was the ever present trouble of how illness was reported. Second, Captain Cook was apparently very good at advocating his opinion. Thirdly, the ship stopped to get other food a lot. And fourthly, the Captain may very well have died as a result of other malnutrition.

In the case of ship related malnutrition, even though no one knew the exact cause, people who ate a variety of fresh foods on land rarely had these issues. Such is still the case with malnutrition. A variety of fresh food usually provides very adequate nutrition.

Just as importantly in the story is that once foods that helped keep scurvy at bay were discovered, it wasn’t because someone had isolated vitamin C. It was because they ate whole citrus fruits or real juice. Part of the challenge was that it was not well understood how preservation or storage affects the nutritional value of food. And the ship’s doctor who seems to have made the original discovery wasn’t completely clear on what he had found.

A little panic goes a long way

We live in a time where we have access to a huge variety of foods grown all over the world. This means we are much less likely to have malnutrition due to limitations of our local soil. However, it is still pretty easy to get people panicked about their diet. Plus, supposed quick and easy fixes are more alluring than the harder work of exercise and good eating habits.

While it is true that additional isolated nutritional supplements have been shown to help people with certain health issues, it is not so clear that everyone needs to take extra vitamins. There is some evidence that a body adjusts to greater amounts of a nutrient and stops absorbing it as efficiently.

There are reasons that taking dietary supplements could be not only wasted money, but detrimental to your health. How can it be detrimental to your health? Here is a summary that you can feel free to investigate further:

excess of one nutrient can inhibit the absorption of another
excess nutrients, particularly in non-food form may be bad for your body
by taking a nutrient artificially you may not be eating enough of the food that also provides other important nutrients
many supplements are processed and preserved in ways that affect how ingredients affect the body
shelf life of packaged supplements may lead to rancid or contaminated products
it is very hard to identify what is actually in an encapsulated or dried supplement
molecules produced in laboratories are sometimes not the same as those produced in natural processes.

How do you know it is an apple?

You may be surprised to hear that the FDA does not monitory dietary supplements. Not that they really keep anyone safe, but that is another story that you can check out here – Death by Regulation, by Mary Ruwart. I’m not a fan of most medication anyway, but the FDA does more to inhibit drugs getting on the market and keeping prices high than anything else.

Regarding supplements, here is a private organization that has done a lot of work to help people evaluate supplements. You can listen to an interview of Neil Thanedar, the CEO of Labdoor.com on the Tom Woods Podcast episode 1196, A Market Alternative to the FDA.

I’m not saying we need to eat everything raw. Some processing can be useful for digestion or short term storage, which I cover in Simple Nutrition for the Barefoot Runner. Still there comes a point at which you can’t recognize or identify what you are being asked to believe is food. Plus, if you are not eating the nutrient in its natural food form, you may not be getting other nutrients that are necessary for it to work.

The best supplements to your diet are real food

Sometimes the body needs extra support in the way of specific nutrition or in energy needed to perform. I know when I am running more, I crave more protein. It is weird how I just know what sounds good. It doesn’t have to be expensive protein. And since sometimes different proteins sound better, I have to suppose that there may also be something else in them that makes a difference, too.

When I’ve been low on vegetable or fruit intake, my body begins to crave those things. When I give in to eating too much nutritionally deficient food, my body doesn’t feel good. It can take some practice and honesty to figure out what your body is craving versus what your bad habits are craving, but it can be done.

Alternatives to supplements

If you really feel you need to make sure you are getting more of a certain nutrient, stock up on foods that will provide that. Think about what you are craving and ask yourself why that might be? Sometimes I find myself craving salt due to having perspired a lot. There are good and less good ways to get my salt!

Have easy snacks that satisfy cravings in a healthy way. No, your diet doesn’t have to be picture perfect, but a little planning will leave you with good options at crucial times. Then you will find yourself feeling better from overall good nutrition.

Be aware that diet fads often suggest avoiding healthy foods that may be just what your body needs at a given moment. Not everyone needs the same proportions of nutrients as everyone else or even themselves across time. It can depend on things such as age, type of physical activities, personal digestive needs, and other stresses in your life. Don’t let the latest hype keep you from eating basic healthy foods as part of an overall varied diet.

Monitoring the affect of your diet or supplements

We constantly have a lot of variables in our lives. It can be difficult to narrow it down to what is helping and what is not. Sometimes we just feel better if we know we are doing something!

But if you want to do a better job of evaluating how your diet or supplements are affecting you, try to keep a journal about it. To be thorough, such a journal would really need to include all of these variables:

sleep, when, where, how long, other factors that may affect it
how much change is going on in your life
events and relationships that might affect your emotional and mental attitudes
your diet, including proportions, how prepared, time of day
physical activity
illness
variations in digestion and elimination

If you do this, you have to be careful of two things. First, do not obsess about your choices. Maybe tweak things here and there based on observations, but don’t change a lot at once and don’t stress yourself out over them. Just observe yourself for long term patterns.

Secondly, be aware of being consistent in how and when you record things. There is a tendency in all of us to selectively notice and record things to fit our own biases or preferences.

The supplement of happiness

Sometimes people are looking for a drug or supplement to make them feel better when an attitude adjustment would probably do just as well, if not better. It is pretty well established that attitude affects our body. Our bodies physically responds to mental messages about stress by preparing it physically for stress. This is harmful if it is constant.

Its like trying to live our lives at a sprint. Not even the best sprinters can sprint all the time. In fact, they can only sprint a short way once in a while. The human body just isn’t designed to be functioning at peak stress for very much of the time.

Oddly, this means that just eating something fun can be a good *supplement*. If it makes you happy, it may be what you need at the moment. Give yourself permission to be happy!

When supplements are okay

Supplements are probably okay if:

you are not neglecting the rest of your nutrition
you verify there actually contain what they say they do
they have been stored in a way that retains their intended value
you can afford them
you have a particular disease or illness that inhibits getting nutrition through normal digestion

This is not an all or none list. These are just suggestions about how to wisely decide whether or not to take supplements, as well as how to decide which ones you might take. Don’t be pressured by advertising or the latest *scientific* study. But remember, no matter what, food is more enjoyable than any supplement could be.

Are You Afraid to Ride a Bicycle at Your Age ?

July 12, 2018 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Who needs Disneyland?

I was recently surprised to survive a mountain bike ride. I found myself vacillating between

You only live once!

and

If I crash, will I die?

This in spite of cycling being recommended as one of the least stressful exercises for the body.

Actually, I wasn’t being foolhardy. I would say it was a combination of trying to trust what skills I do have and working the course. Oh, and encouragement and insight from dear husband. Is this a reasonable approach at my age of 57 years?

What is your biggest concern about cycling?

The biggest concern is that the older our bodies are, the less resilient they are about healing. Just how much less resilient may be up for discussion, because there are so many more variables than age. Nutrition, overall body strength, and good circulation will all impact healing significantly.

There are a number of strategies for bicycle riding, too. If you haven’t been bicycling for a while, you shouldn’t start with a mountain bike challenge. You want to gradually develop the necessary muscle strength and experience that will help you respond to more challenging terrain.

Ways to keep bicycling fun and challenging

Here is my list of advice for getting back to cycling or continuing on your cycling journey.

Start with a comparatively stable bicycle. For instance, what is known as a road bike is supposed to be lighter and make cycling more efficient, but it is also quite a bit less stable. Make sure you have a well developed sense of balance and are fairly experienced reacting to the terrain before trying a less stable bike.
Avoid traffic. Find greenbelt paths or simple trails to ride on. Drivers are too often unpredictable and unknowledgeable about bicycles on roadways. Bicyclists can be hard to see on the road even when drivers are paying attention. Trying to manage that can make riding much less enjoyable, as well as distract you from learning how to ride your best.
Ride at a comfortable speed, but not too slowly. Enough forward motion actually helps you stay upright, especially when you hit uneven spots or debris.
Keep your joints relaxed. This includes elbows, knees, back. This will help you react to the terrain with a more fluid motion. It will also mean less stiffness after the ride. If you do have the misfortune to crash or fall, you will be more likely to respond with adjusted movements or roll with the punches, so to speak.
Make sure your bicycle seat is angled correctly. Even the best bicycle seat will cause you great soreness if positioned poorly. Of course, if your sitter is not used to sitting on a bicycle, you risk soreness if you increase your time too drastically, but at least start with a well-positioned seat.
Find a good seat height to pedal ratio. Typically, you want your leg to still be slightly bent when the pedal is fully extended. If you want to get off to a really good start with this, you might consider having the proportions of your bicycle professionally adjusted. I know avid cyclists who swear by this. All I have ever done is make sure that the bicycle seat is basically at the height of my hip bone.
Invest in some cushioned bicycle gloves. This is not a lot of cushion, but it can make your hands much more comfortable.
Wear the right kind of sunglasses. You want to both protect your eyes from drying in the motion enhanced wind, as well as avoid being blinded by changes in sunlight. I have a pair of cycling sunglasses that do just that.
Make it a habit to alternate pressure points while riding. For instance, when you are not actively pedaling, take a moment to slightly rise off the seat for a second or two. Or make sure that you are not constantly leaning hard on your wrists.
Experiment with your brakes before you seriously need them. This includes knowing which are front and which are back brakes. You never want to hit only your front brakes while going downhill! Also, you will want to lean a certain way while braking, depending on hills or turns.
Use one of those quaint bicycle bells. Not only is it polite to let walkers know you are passing, but you are less likely to crash if everyone around has an idea you are there.
Consider supplementing your outdoor cycling with a stationary bicycle. While there are important differences, this will still help condition your legs and get used to time on a bicycle seat.
Let your feet and ankles function with good range of motion. Your knees and hips are designed to be in motion in symphony with proper foot and ankle movement. If you confine your feet you risk stress in the wrong places. Wearing looser footwear (usually sandals) also makes my toes less likely to go numb!

Don’t forget basics like a helmet and good inner tubes. And take someone with you who knows how to fix a flat… or have a phone. I have not yet been able to master changing a flat tire. Mechanical repairs are definitely not my forte.

So is bicycling all that age dependent?

I think we can conclude that most levels of bicycling are not so much a matter of being too old as possibly being unprepared. Get a bicycle that is in good repair, find some friends who can both encourage and advise, and get out there and bicycle!

When you have built up your skills and strength, don’t be afraid to try some more varied terrain. You can walk hills if you need to. Most of the youngsters walked the same hills I did on that mountain bike ride, and they are all in great shape! My husband powered up more than anyone. He is a few months older than me.

PS – This ride was out in the Owyhee desert, south of Nampa, Idaho, beginning at Hemmingway Butte trailhead.

I am the only one over 30 in this photo. Dear husband is the photographer.

Post ride, almost 10 miles and only one flat tire later, which wasn't even mine. — Post ride, almost 10 miles and only one flat tire later, which wasn’t even mine.

My Interview on Super Human Radio About Running Barefoot

March 27, 2018 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Who wouldn’t want to be interviewed on a show with Super Human in the name? But really, people give me too much credit for running barefoot. It may take some hutzpah to go against social norms, but bare feet make running more fun!

I was interviewed during the first hour of this two hour show. We cover a lot of common misconceptions about barefoot running, as well as how to get started. If you think your feet are better off in the modern shoe, you might want to listen to my interview and hear how such footwear could be both limiting and hurting you. (Click on the link below to go to the interview. FYI, the second part of the episode title is the interview in the second hour.)

SHR # 2168 :: Why Does Grandma Run Barefoot? + The Role of Deuterium in Disease and Mitochondria Function ::

There were some points in the interview I’d like to explain, just for the fun of it. Like, at one point, Carl asks me about my feet being too ugly or rough for my husband to massage them. He put it in the context of watching TV.

I don’t like to sit and watch TV very much. We are frequently eating when we are both sitting and watching something, so not an ideal time for foot massages… Also, if I do sit for a show, I often have a crochet project or something I am working on.

It is also helpful to consider that everyone has their own “love language.” One of my husband’s is making things for me, like the incredible set up I have for my Endless Pool or my beautiful, handmade cement greenhouse table. I will take those things over a foot massage any day!

Besides that, I actually go in for a full massage pretty regularly (as does he), so we are in no way massage deprived. All that being said, my husband does occasionally massage my feet and he does not think they are ugly or unpleasant to touch.

Another thing I’d like to mention is that I believe feet were designed. Yes, by a creator. I don’t think wearing particular footwear is going to cause evolution. Instead, poorly shaped or inflexible footwear will only result in maimed or weak feet, even in the long term for the population.

If there are any other points in the interview you would like to ask about, you can email or ask in the comments. Of course, if it is answered well in my book, Why Does Grandma Run Barefoot, I might refer you to that. 🙂

And, finally, none of my grand kids wonder why I run barefoot. They think it is normal for me to go bare foot. Several of them prefer bare feet most of the time! However, when other people see me running, I often picture them wondering, “Why is that grandma running barefoot?”

9 Top Reasons You Get Injured During Your Workouts and How to Avoid It

March 20, 2018 by Laura Blodgett Leave a Comment

Why do people so frequently hurt themselves when they become active?

You know exercise is supposed to be good for you, but you keep hurting yourself! More often than not at least one of the things below is involved:

Doing too much too soon
Pushing to extreme limits of ability and exhaustion
Using improper body mechanics
Inadequate rest in general
Inadequate rest between similar workouts
Lack of supportive strengthening
Lack of variety
Careless channeling of stress
Not caring for stressed body parts well

Don’t expect your body to perform miracles

If you have been relatively inactive for a while or are getting involved in a new activity, slow and steady is something you should repeat adamantly to yourself. You need to build a base of strength before even thinking of intense effort. You need to work on everything from your cardiovascular system to the particular body parts that will dominate the activity.

This can take a few months. Don’t feel guilty for making slow and easy increases in your efforts. You are doing everyone a favor. You are avoiding a severe set-back of some long term injury because your body rebels against a level of effort that it is totally unprepared for.

Take the extreme out of limits

When we see someone engaged in extreme activities, whether on TV or at the gym, we need to remember that more than likely it is NOT extreme to them. It might be extreme compared to what the average person does, but those people have almost certainly trained gradually. In order to do these activities as smoothly as they do, it has to have become fairly normal to them.

When the extreme limits of our physical abilities are pushed too far, we stress our bodies in unproductive ways. Body parts that are not ready for the effort strain in unnatural ways to perform. Exhaustion of body and mind results in poor decisions and poor form.

To increase our limits more safely, we need to

only test one limit at a time
test the limit in small increments
give enough time in between to be able to evaluate our body’s reaction

Over time you will probably get better at testing your limits. You will be more in tune with how certain things affect you and how your body feels. Give yourself a safe margin to develop this sense.

A little knowledge about how your body works can go a long way

You don’t have to have a college degree to learn how your body works. For one thing, you can just be observant. And ask questions like:

Why do I have toes?
What is the natural rotation of my shoulder?
What do abdominal muscles do?

Asking these sorts of questions should lead you to examine natural, comfortable motion. Assume the body works a certain way for a reason and don’t be quick to adjust it with the latest gear. Be skeptical of people who approach the body like it can’t do anything without a mechanical device they just happen to sell.

A short study of anatomy and physiology can be very helpful, too. Just the basics that are well established. Learn which joints do what. Be amazed at things like how the muscles and ligaments make the elbow work. Notice the unique shapes of the bones there in the back.

Just paying a little more attention to your body can give you intuitive insights into what it should or shouldn’t do. When you have a better understanding of why it is important to keep your knees aligned a certain way you will remember it more easily. When you know what reasonable hip joint rotation is, you will know better how to move.

Learn how much sleep you really need

The best way to learn how much sleep you need is to let your body sleep until it is done. I’m not talking about just laying in bed, but letting yourself stay asleep without an alarm to wake you. If you are regularly sleep deprived, it could take a few days for your body to actually get caught up so that you find a normal length of time.

You will probably begin to notice that how much sleep you need depends on how physically active you have been. This will help you when planning your schedule. On a night or two after a long run, you will want to give yourself more time to sleep.

A tired body doesn’t heal as well. A tired body will make more mistakes when trying to engage in physical activity. Being tired on a regular basis makes you more prone to illness, which will also interfere with your progress and enjoyment of activity.

Make recovery between workouts part of your routine

Your body is very good at adapting to what is asked of it, but it needs time to do that. If you neglect recovery periods, your body won’t have time to adapt. Instead, it will be stressed and worn out, which will, of course, make you more prone to injury.

Some of these recovery periods need to be absolute. That is, sometimes your body needs complete down time in addition to sleeping. How much of this you will need will depend on:

your age
your overall health
your particular body
how used to a particular activity you are

However, some of these recovery periods can be used to strengthen your body in other ways, in ways that will be supportive of all your efforts. If you ride a bicycle a lot, some swimming on the side can help you relax and work out kinks. Some yoga might be good to work on core strength.

More power to the core

Activities that build stamina often involve repetitive use. Make it a point to find isotonic or weight bearing exercises that strengthen the joints that are used the most. But don’t stop there.

Your body’s core, basically what is between your neck and your pelvis, is like a foundation of a building. If it is strong it will support all kinds of movement of the appendages. If it is weak, you risk not only harming, but also damaging the rest of the structure.

Core strength begins with good posture. Strengthening your abdominal muscles makes your back more stable. Working on your core often incidentally trims your middle, so between those two things, you will probably get people commenting on how good you look lately!

Don’t get stuck in a rut

Having a variety of activities is good in a few ways.

It staves off boredom, which can make you sloppy.
It helps you build your health in a well rounded way.
It leaves you better prepared for unexpected fun.
It gives you options when there are complications with the weather or your schedule.
As mentioned above, it gives needed rest time from specific activities

Learn how to safely reduce stress

Physical activity is inherently good stress relief. However, expressing stress through your workout motions is likely to lead to no good. This is because doing so will often lead to exaggerated and careless movement.

If you feel particularly pent up and think you might overdo it during a workout, try a different emotional outlet first to blow off steam. Singing or playing my flute help me with this. If you have any kind of journal, this would be a good time to write some things down. For some reason, writing tends to release the thoughts, whereas just thinking about them keeps them churning.

It might be that toning down your workout is a good option, such as walking instead of running. This might also let you talk to a friend at the same time. Something like yoga with a group, where either the motions are naturally slow and even or the group setting helps you control yourself might be a good choice.

Be your own between-workout therapist

Some tender care between workouts can help you recover and relax in important physical ways. Consider regular massage or trigger point pressure to muscles that have worked hard. Invest in some simple tools that help you reach trouble spots.

A warm bath can help your muscles relax to get your self-massage off to a good start. Also, don’t forget that sometimes you need to be massaging connected areas. For instance, when I regularly massage the bottoms of my feet, I have much less trouble with tight lower legs.

If you can work it into the budget, finding a good massage therapist can help avoid doctor’s bills. When you can see the same massage therapist regularly, he or she can get to know your needs. This makes better use of your massage time and gives continuity to the massage treatments.

Invigorating versus struggling

There will be times when you choose to get your heart pumping. It can feel refreshing and inspiring. It will be necessary sometimes to give yourself a bump to the next level. What you want to avoid is exercising to exhaustion, whether in a given workout or so that you are just generally worn out.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of exercise and enjoy exercise itself more, plan for regular, moderate effort. Besides feeling better overall, you will be injured much less, too.

5 Tips for the Older Athlete on Learning Physically Challenging Sports Activities

Am I too old to learn something physically challenging?