Hills - Should you back off as you get older ?

[toontra]

I have taken 3 VO2 max tests in NHS hospitals over recent years. These are, by definition, efforts until failure. I was in my 60's. I think it's highly unlikely that the medics present would have encouraged me to participate in something life-threatening (although I guess I was in the right place if they mis-calculated ).

 

[jefmcg]

I have taken 3 VO2 max tests in NHS hospitals over recent years. These are, by definition, efforts until failure. I was in my 60's. I think it's highly unlikely that the medics present would have encouraged me to participate in something life-threatening (although I guess I was in the right place if they mis-calculated ).

Almost all medical procedures have risks. Just because a doctor did a test doesn't mean it's safe. It's a matter of balancing the risks and benefits. Obviously there were some benefits to knowing your VO2 which out weigh the risks. Also doing something 3 times with medical supervision does not mean you should necessarily do it weekly on your own. Take - for example - colonoscopy

 

[Tin Pot]

I have taken 3 VO2 max tests in NHS hospitals over recent years. These are, by definition, efforts until failure. I was in my 60's. I think it's highly unlikely that the medics present would have encouraged me to participate in something life-threatening (although I guess I was in the right place if they mis-calculated ).

You mean RAMP tests? VO2 max is not an until-failure test, it's your maximum rate of oxygen use/consumption beyond which your output doesn't increase.

 

[Tin Pot]

A surprising number (sorry, I can't be bothered to look it up) of sudden deaths occur while people are sitting on the toilet, straining. It seems that somehow their bodies just don't let them know that they are about to experience a life-terminating incident. So the moral is probably that, as we all get older, we should back off from sitting on the toilet as much as we possibly can.

And conversely increase consumption of alcohol, class As and sexual promiscuity.

I can't wait for my seventies!

 

[toontra]

You mean RAMP tests? VO2 max is not an until-failure test, it's your maximum rate of oxygen use/consumption beyond which your output doesn't increase.

They were ramp tests - to failure - to determine, amongst other things, my VO2 max. Better for you? Jees.

I posted here to try and give some encouragement to the OP from my own personal experience but (as is so often the case) there are some who are more interested in winning their own little internet argument than the matter in hand. I'll leave you to your games.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

[QUOTE 4920782, member: 9609"]and the moral of the story ? have a sex change before its too late[/QUOTE]

Maybe they already had?

 

[JtB]

My question is at 54 is it dangerous to push yourself when your feel your heart coming out of your jersey ?

3 years ago at the age of 53 I ended up with a pacemaker and during a followup consultation I asked the cardiologist whether I should get a heart rate monitor to restrict myself on the hills. His advice was not to bother and to just listen to what my body was telling me. I told him that my philosophy had always been "no pain no gain" to which he responded "exactly" and no more was said. I should mention that he is also a keen cyclist.

 

[reacher]

You're tieing yourself up in knots here. Of course it's a guess, just like your own comments. But what isn't a guess is my comments about mhr and the fact that in a healthy heart, hitting mhr is categorically not dangerous like you seem to think it is. An effort to failure is not dangerous in that context. If you disagree with that, then respond with something worth debating, and not just more of your own misconceptions.

No thanks i'l give it a miss, you can have it

 

[Alan O]

220-age has no basis in cardiology, the only way to establish your mhr is to test individually. To that end, most people's mhr is significantly higher than their 220 figure (mine is 15bpm higher), so 'backing off' when you hit your theoretical mhr is in most cases completely unnecessary. There are no excuses for panic through a lack of understanding of something so important.

Yes indeed, I agree totally - my intended point (as you appear to agree) is that using technology to compare your health indications with pseudo-norms is pretty much meaningless.

But at the same time, I do think it is valuable to consider the physical effort we put into exercise in terms of our age. The older we are, the more we are afflicted by arteriosclerosis (as an example), and the greater the chance of a heart attack when pushing at higher heart rates. The other side of that, of course, is that regular cardiovascular exercise can significantly improve our expected longevity (and the quality of the time we have). How can we win? Surely it requires a sensible balance.

My approach (having an impressive scar up the front of my chest, and now aged 58) is to push my exercise (including, but not exclusively, cycling) to what feels like a comfortably testing level - but I won't go into discomfort levels. If something starts hurting, I stop.

 

[Tin Pot]

They were ramp tests - to failure - to determine, amongst other things, my VO2 max. Better for you? Jees.

I posted here to try and give some encouragement to the OP from my own personal experience but (as is so often the case) there are some who are more interested in winning their own little internet argument than the matter in hand. I'll leave you to your games.

Me?

Ha ha!

 

[slowmotion]

I was on a night ride to Brighton, five years ago. I felt pretty dreadful just getting to the start, and nearly bottled out at Clapham Common. Somewhere in Mitcham (I think), there was a small railway bridge ahead and I thought "There's no way I can get over that!", and turned for home. Three weeks later I was under the knife having a double coronary bypass, a completely undiagnosed condition until four days before the operation. I guess my body had spoken on the way to Brighton. Anyway, I managed Ditchling Beacon for the first time in my life six months later, and I've wheezed up it a few times since. Just ride your bike and enjoy it.

 

[slowmotion]

A surprising number (sorry, I can't be bothered to look it up) of sudden deaths occur while people are sitting on the toilet, straining. It seems that somehow their bodies just don't let them know that they are about to experience a life-terminating incident. So the moral is probably that, as we all get older, we should back off from sitting on the toilet as much as we possibly can.

Sadly, Evelyn Waugh shuffled off that way, according to Auberon.

 

[midlife]

Sadly, Evelyn Waugh shuffled off that way, according to Auberon.

Tldr as they say but that's a problem with the val salva maneuver.

 

[slowmotion]

Tldr as they say but that's a problem with the val salva maneuver.

I had to look that up on Wiki. Anyway, it seems to work if you are sitting on the khazi.........

"and patients may note floaters in their visual field"....

 

[midlife]

I had to look that up on Wiki. Anyway, it seems to work if you are sitting on the khazi.........

"and patients may note floaters in their visual field"....

It's a long story but it was my job to check the toilets after medical / dental student exams to make sure everybody made it home safe.,..