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• April 28, 2013 5:56 p.m.

  Try a swim, laps that is, followed by a shower and then a full body deep tissue massage of 90 minutes. You'll feel better, sleep better, recover faster.

  - deborah linard

• January 21, 2013 3:16 p.m.

  I'm 65. I run the most, two 4 miles and one 12 miles. I run 2.6 miles in a 4 foot pool. And lift weights the other 2 or 3 days, during the week. I walk 15 miles a week. With this cross training, I ran two 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks. My muscles were fine. Took 9 minutes off the second run. So I got faster, 2:14. Cross training is the key.

  - Steve

• December 20, 2012 2:51 p.m.

  This is the end of that story, sorry i didn't realise there a maximum amount of words. I kept going and going; having never run this race before I had no idea of distance but you run along the side of a loch, in lovey countryside it should be said but with a boiling sun. Eventually I notice a barrier at the end of the road and everyone is turning, yip it was thirteen mile mark and still no sign of a car for a lift. They appeared at the eighteen mile mark and foolishly with bravado I said I want to do another couple miles, I was joking but they still drove away. They appeared again at place I think called Lochybridge with around five or six miles to go, I just decided at that point to try and complete the run or die trying. It was brutal and in all my escapades I cannot remember anything so painful but it was worth it at 3 hours 47minutes; oh I have been much faster in the past but never with such a feeling of accomplishment. The odd thing was I never felt particularly sore the days that followed and on returning home that we all went for a meal a then continued drinking. I couldn’t do that now but I know people that have trained seriously for a marathon doing all the right mileage before and the diet as well who haven’t broken four hours. I think it’s a lot to do with your mind and because I had set out half-drunk with no intentions of doing a marathon it was relatively easy well until the last 6 miles. Maybe if I set with no intentions of living to a hundred I might just

  - Bill

• December 20, 2012 2:42 p.m.

  I have just turned 59 and I still train most days but 9 years ago I had my most impressive marathon time. I probably not a convention runner since I’m 6’4” 16 stone, I’m martial artist so my training has many disciplines but still up until around five years ago I averaged 40+ miles a week. Anways that’s the background but when I was fifty I had a rather bad winter with the flu and colds so I had little or no training done; around March I started training again averaging a meagre 4 miles 3 times a week and couple of weight sessions at the gym. Even after four weeks I was still plodding along at the same distance. At around the middle of march on a Saturday night I was at 50th birthday party which went on until five in the morning with copious amounts of alcohol consumed; one of my friends suggested that since members of our club were participating in the Lochaber Marathon at Fort William this Sunday morning that we get a lift up to the event and run for six miles to get rid of our hangovers. It’s not like a large city event you can just enter and pay on the day but even so it’s a well-attended event. Sometimes April in Scotland can be like winter but on this occasion it was like the middle of summer and we were starting of our run without sleep, hangover, dehydrated and more importantly with very little training mileage under my belt. Well a car was supposed to pick us up at around the six mile mark, it didn’t appear so my compatriots sat down at the side of the road to wait

  - Bill

• December 17, 2012 9:10 a.m.

  I did the same thing this past fall - Running the American Birkebiener Half Marathon (trail run). Post race, my legs were in bad shape for about a month. I am 71 now and don't want to deal with the limitations of the aging athlete. Maybe I am finally able to come to grips with cutting back on my run/race distances.

  - Dennis

• December 13, 2012 3:06 p.m.

  I am 52 and feel that our bodies will let us know exactly when we should pull back on the exercise regimen. Every individual body should be assessed according to several factors. Starting with prior injuries, heart health and mental stamina. Eat right and stay strong by being physical. Don't get up when exercising can be your best friend!

  - Anna

• December 2, 2012 1:17 p.m.

  Hot power vinyasa yoga, people! I have worked out A LOT all my life but power yoga is the toughest workout I've ever done. But it gets your core muscles so toned, they support your body in a way you can't imagine, which helps you be safe as you age and continue to do major exercise. Plus, every other workout you do will feel easy by comparison! At 52, I am in the best shape of my life.

  - Julie

• October 11, 2012 9:09 a.m.

  Use it or lose it has been my personal mantra my 73 years of life. I am semi-retired, living in Mexico and my entire morning is dedicated to personal fitness...every day! I play 2 hours of competitive tennis, singles or doubles and then it is off to the gym where I jump on the eliptical trainer for 40 minutes, followed by an hour of weight training. The amount of weight I lift is nearly the same as when I began lifting in my late teens. I do spend more time these days stretching after my daily 4 hour routine as the years of sports has had its effects on my spine and joints. I'm 6'1" tall and weigh-in at 190lbs. I am proud of my fitness level and cannot see a day when I can't do what I did yesterday. Yes, "use it or lose it" should be the mind-set of every person, young or old. It is not just a way of life; it could be mean your life.

  - Robert

• September 7, 2012 7:37 a.m.

  I am 74 years old, have been running long distances over 42 years.Have a completely torn Anterior cruciate ligament, on my right knee joint, sustained 42 years ago. Decided, not to settle for reconstructive ACR joint but worked out a targeted overall knee & lower legs strengthening exercises. As a recent MRI showed, i still carry the completely torn ACR but am happy to share that the knee has withstood extremely well the rigours of regular & competive road races, also in running up 12 floors of stairs for years, without a hitch. Recently, i was able to increase my strie length to 1.57 metres oer stride from 1.15 metres.per stride in the previous 25 years of running Am a recent Gold Medal winner, in a recent World 10k event held in my city, in my age group. Also share that my resting heart rate which was around 70/72 beats/minite a few decades ago, is now i the lower thirties, 33/34/35 beats per/minute, as checked out on a 24 hours worn cardiac holter fitted out by my Cardiologist, with my Treadmill test done on the same day as the Holter, recorded 100% max targeted rate being achieved with a MET score of 15.90, previous METs in the range of 12/13. I share also that i carry out extensive muscle & core muscle strengthening exercises both in the upper & lower body sections. My weight of 72 kgs over height frame of %' 10" years ago now stands at daily constant figure of 59 kgs.

  - Krish

• July 12, 2012 6:27 a.m.

  at 80 nearly 81 years old, I certainly relate to your being realistic ! and can only add that doing the best you can with what you've currently got is the answer. I manage the gym twice weekly, on elecetroni measured heart rate equipment and try to maintain 115 heart rate on walk run, same for rowing and cycling then do some moderate weights for a total of an hour. Seems to work ! i.e. everything in balance.... but DO keep moving !

  - Ronald

• July 11, 2012 8:54 p.m.

  In 2010 I walked the Macinaw bridge in Michigan at age of 76. In 2011 diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatic and now walking a mile is an effort.

  - Joan

• June 24, 2012 6:08 a.m.

  While you can't turn back the clock, you can certainly wind up the spring, and this means a cross section of fitness regime. At age 79 I have over 40 years of distance running on hard surfaces behind me, so the obvious happened with both knee joints failing because I neglected to mix the hard surfaces with soft beach or trail running, a very common error amongst runners. Both knee joints replaced with the usual TKA's and a switch to road cycling which does not place undue strain on the knees. But that's not enough as you need weights to maintain body mass and slow down loss of muscle/lean tissue. My current program is weights 3 x wk; cycling 2 x wk; boot camp 2 x wk: indoor rowing 1 x wk; abdominal exercises (cycling crunches & oblique twists, planks) daily on the lounge carpet Diet is mainly vegetarian because eating dead animals really is a poor way to get your sustenance. If you are past 60yrs and always tired, get your testosterone levels checked as this can be supplemented (on prescription only) if indicated. Sleep? 8 to 9 hours for total rejuvenation. Get up early, go training and to bed early, remembering that people who stay up late at night playing with electronic gadgets and then sleep in, will never amount to anything worthwhile. Graham, retired medical scientist

  - Graham

• June 12, 2012 11:24 p.m.

  I'm looking for running advice. I'm 66 years old and have been running for approx. 20 years. Decent shape and skinny; running has been with no injury and no problems. For the last 18 years I've settled into a routine of running 4 eight minute miles, then doing other things (weights, calestentics, etc) on a MWF schedule. But for about a year I've been overly fatigued after workouts so I thought I should slow down. My doctorgave me the standard formula for max heart rate, but it doesn't seem to work for me because my resting heart rate is a range of 47 to 55 bpm, and the max heart rate is 100 to 120. My usual running heart rate is around 145 bpm, so the recommended rate does not allow me to run at all. I can get to that rate just by walking fast, so it seems to indicate that I should give up running. Are there any better recommended measurements out there? I don't want to give up running.

  - Ray

• May 30, 2012 3:02 p.m.

  As a youngster during the 1950's and '60's, I was "blessed" with what my doctor called a long-distance heart. My resting pulse was 48 and it rarely topped out over 110 during the most vigorous exercise. I did not run as an end in itself but I played basketball, football and baseball literally all day long. Now in my mid-60's my heart rate still remains unusually low but my joints cannot last through lengthy exercise due to the abuse as a child - the fun was worth it at the time. This makes any sort of weight routine insufficient for the broad range of physical activities I still enjoy, which means inevitable soreness. My stamina still allows me to work longer than I should but my joint deterioration makes it difficult to maintain muscle tone that might match my ability to work. I try to maintain a general level of large muscle strength, but I can tell you from experience, no two activities use the same set of muscles. Having been an amateur athlete into my 40's, I simply have learned to enjoy this periodic soreness and pain. It is the flip-side of the endorphin release.

  - John

• May 21, 2012 1:45 p.m.

  Downhill snow skiing on a warm winter day with slick, icy slopes. I was going fast,...attacking the hill...falling more times than remembered. The next day I felt fine. No soreness. No pain. Two days later I was soooo sore and beaten up.

  - Rick

• April 30, 2012 10:40 p.m.

  Started running at 68. Ran my first marathon at 72. Recently ran 3 of them in 85 days at age 76. I have fewer running injuries now than when i started running. I've learned to respect the 26.2 miles. The benefits of intense exercise outweigh the risks, IMO-- especially enjoying my running buddies! Plan to run my last marathon in my nineties.

  - Joanne

• April 19, 2012 12:29 p.m.

  If you aren't sore after a race you didn't run hard enough. No pain = no glory.

  - Ed

• April 19, 2012 6:35 a.m.

  Old dudes rule!!!!!!! As i read Mathews B/B dilemma of the ever shrinking upper body a chill went up my spine, at 54 I’m few years older than him have been weight training since i was 15 and love the feel and the look of being a lean mean flexing machine but the ravages of time i know will finally catch up with me. To date i have maintained my muscle integrity although i concede i probably have lost some of the bulk i had a t 40 yet my weight is stable and the muscle to fat ratio is still as good if not the same as when i was at my peak. I still push heavy weight even compared to others in the gym and much younger trainers. It’s not my intention to delude myself I’m still young but i believe that if i keep my body under the stresses it’s been used to for most of my life it will accommodate me by responding accordingly. A recent sore knee had me thinking maybe the machine is breaking down. Although i train hard i also train smart there’s no point getting older without getting smarter. Christopher

  - Christopher

• April 18, 2012 1:43 p.m.

  Doctor Creagan, I can certainly relate! In my teens, 20's and most of my 30's I ran an average of 25 miles per week. I had no clue what was going on INSIDE of me until, at age 37, my lower back turned me into a 97 year-old! All of the compression caused by running was playing havoc on my lower spine, and to make matters worse, I was unknowingly compensating via altering the way I ran, which led to hip and knee issues as well. I miss it dearly, however I do not miss that excruciating pain I was in [the kind when you don't care if you die or not!]. I've learned to let go of some things and substitute with another thing. I walk now...don't lift the heavy weights any more but do resistance training, and I eat my weight in veggies and fruit. No, you cannot out-run nature - but you can make the best of the later years by choosing the corrrect activities that continue to maintain health; while minimizing the stress on your joints.

  - Anthony

• February 10, 2012 9:57 a.m.

  I can relate very well to your story. I was running 4 miles when a friend talked me into running 10 miles. "4 miles isn't 10 miles" my wife said. I ignored her, completed the ten miles and missed work the next day. I felt as though I had been savaged by wolverines.

  - Jim

• February 7, 2012 7:37 a.m.

  Approaching 70 , average health , a little over weight . I'm walking 2 to 3 miles , 4 or more times per week . "FOR ME" this is about right . Heart rate gets up to 120-125 , stays there 30 or so mins and my joints don't fuss (too much) . I add modest free weights of 40 lbs everyday for 15 to 20 minutes for muscle tone . "I THINK" life is better for it . No , it's not always fun , but it's worthwhile .

  - Quinn

• February 7, 2012 7:23 a.m.

  Age is a definite factor . Finding an exercise routine that is both comfortable (not pain generating) and effective is the issue for me . Exercise that makes you hurt is not going to be sustained ... is doomed to fail . "Comfortable" does not mean "effortless" , it means literally without out causing pain .

  - John

• February 4, 2012 7:23 a.m.

  I hate to say this but you all sound like a bunch of complainers. I'm 50 years old I don't run due to a back injury at age 22 which did not come from running. I have raced bikes ever since and still at an elite level. Every comment seems people are going from little activity to alot. I don't care what age you are thats not good. Any exercise you should rotate easy days and hard day along with easy weeks and hard weeks.If you are working out there will always be a muscle you pull or some injury at times its not age its part of being active. Read a book buy Joe Friel on cycling past 50. A I can say is free your mind and you butt will follow. HOw about I send some cheese for all the wine you guys have.

  - Stephen

• February 3, 2012 9:18 a.m.

  I disagree with your assessment of the aging process. With a structured common sense approach to fitness, that includes goal oriented challenges, one can improve with age. Visit www.agelesstimeless.com to see remarkable athletes over the age of 50.

  - George

• January 26, 2012 3:12 p.m.

  "Can anyone else relate to my somewhat humbling experience?" Boy can I ever!!

  - Rick