Sme Good News. (For some of us.)

J64TWB · Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685

Looks like isobars is wrong about medical advice. Google Don McNelly, a 94 year old who started running marathons late in life. 744 of them including 100 some ultra marathons after Age 50.

KGB-NP · Joined: 25 Jul 2001 Posts: 2856

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

The clue is in the word EXCESSIVE exercise N.P. Or, in athletic terms OVER TRAINING.

That concept has long been recognised as counter productive. Your quoted research is somewhat late to the arena! However, excessive is a relative term, and what would be so for some would not be so for others. It all depends on what level of athletic performance an individual can safely operate at.

World class coaches and trainers are fully up to scratch on those they train, especially in endurance events. (Tour De France for example.) They are well aware of how to recognise possible over training symptons in the super fit, (those who are not drug fuelled)and adjust their training regime accordingly. Such will involve built in recovery and rest periods.

The proof of the pudding is in the relatively long active life spans of some of the highest achieving athletes, and the extension of their fitness well into old age.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Coronary artery calcification from jogging > 20 miles/week at an 8-mile pace isn't overtraining, but it still kills.

And, heavens ... some piece of medical literature I quoted was "wrong"? Then educate me: which was that? I neither want to rely on or repeat anything that's wrong. (Don't point out some exception and claim it disproves the literature, because the literature deals in bell curves.)

wynsurfer · Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 940

I suppose that if one does in fact have coronary artery calcification that excessive exercise may shorten your life. One does not cause the other however.
That is to say that excessive exercise does not cause artery calcification. Calcium should not stick to your arteries in the first place. If it does it is probably due to lack of vitamin K2 in the diet, or drinking chlorinated water and other causes.

Andrew Skurka hiked, skied and rafted over 4700 miles around Alaska and the Yukon territory in 176 days. This is like doing 178 back to back marathons, and he is in good health. Interesting article in National Geographic March 2011 edition about Skurka. He also has a website: http://andrewskurka.com/

The human body can adapt to some very extreme feats and remain healthy.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Then by your definition Iso, endurance cycling events of which the Tour de France is the very essence (hundreds of non stop miles for three weeks) should see the competitors all dropping like flies. Apart from a few well documented drug cheats (Tony Simpson died from over exertion, and a few EPO abusers died in their sleep) they do not do so! On the contrary, many cyclists live very long and fit lives. Studies have proven that their fitness has been of great benefit to them in this regard.

Unless you, and your quoted 'experts' can explain this anomaly, you and they could simply be over simplifying the true picture. (i.e, mistakenly applying a belief to ALL, not just to a particular group of people.)

So, how to explain this glaring contradiction?

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

P.S. Some 'experts' now claim that fitness gained and maintained, especially in the mid thirties through to the late forties, from the moderate form of exercise you dismiss as fatal, is of great benefit to staying active in later years.

This would appear to directly contradict your 'experts' advice. All of which convinces some of us that 'experts' can often get hold of the wrong end of the stick! I would have thought there were ample examples of that!!

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Two things.

1) Cherry picking. ou have no medical training or research expertise. Your knowledge of such matters comes from reading other peoples research. There are always disagreements in such matters (opposite claims) therefore you have chosen to believe that which you constantly state, and ignore any research claims to the contrary. There are countless millions of people who who, according to your claim, are doing that which is about to kill them. They are living proof that your claim is way over the top!

2) Some facts are clear. Nobody ever wins, or should even attempt to take part in, any kind of endurance event without the correct build up, and basic endurance training, for which there is no substitute. I fairly often do 100 miler bike rides, with three thousand or so feet of climbing. To complete them in a sensible time I have to carefully pace myself, and energy expenditure, which, again, according to you is suicidal. My arteries should according to you be almost blocked, but, I'm happy to say, my max heart rate, low resting heartrate, and rapid recovery time are all well in advance of that which my age (79) should demand.

When my reality conflicts with your opinion, I know which to believe, because I am simply following the path set by countless other long lived athletes.