Biking is another activity that takes us back to being kids. The feeling when you were first able to ride a bike on your own, and the freedom of how far you could go under your own power. A lot of our cities our getting more bike friendly now, with good bike lanes or car-free … Continue reading Biking
Author: BionicOldGuy
I am a Mechanical Engineer born in 1953, Ph. D, Stanford, 1980. I have been active in the mechanical CAE field for decades. I also have a lifelong interest in outdoor activities and fitness. I have had both hips replaced and a heart valve replacement due to a genetic condition. This blog chronicles my adventures in staying active despite these bumps in the road.
Other Aspects of Fitness- The “Four Pillars” of Healthy Aging
In my opinion, there are four components or “pillars” of healthy aging. Staying active is one of them, healthy eating is the second, and the others are social support and stress management. There is a lot of emphasis on the first two on this site but I consider the others equally important. In this post … Continue reading Other Aspects of Fitness- The “Four Pillars” of Healthy Aging
Physical Activity and Weight Loss
One of the big debates you’ll see is whether physical activity is beneficial for weight loss. The reasoning is usually based on calories in vs. calories out: “if you walk for half an hour you might burn 150 calories. You take in more than that by eating one doughnut”. My first thought is “Uh, don’t … Continue reading Physical Activity and Weight Loss
Suggested Reading- Inspiration
These are books I've recently read and enjoyed about staying active despite aging and injuries, illnesses, or other setbacks. Watch this space! There'll be more suggested reading to come on this and other topics. The Anna Meares Story -When Courage Triumphs Over Disaster, Anna Meares. Inspiring description of Anna's comeback after she broke her neck … Continue reading Suggested Reading- Inspiration
One Regular Guy Writing about Food, Exercise and Living Past 100
Tony, who writes the blog One Regular Guy Writing about Food, Exercise and Living Past 100, shares my interests in healthy eating, staying active, and aging gracefully, as you can tell from his title. Only he’s been at it longer, blogging about it since 2010 and has collected a ton of useful and inspiring information … Continue reading One Regular Guy Writing about Food, Exercise and Living Past 100
Walking
Walking is the most natural activity for most people, since it’s just an extension of an activity of daily living. Just try to sneak it in as often as possible. In rainy weather get a nice big umbrella, in cold weather wear a scarf or ski mask in necessary. When I lived in Boulder we … Continue reading Walking
On Pacing: LISS and HIIT But Don’t MISS Too Much
Anything done predominantly aerobically is low intensity steady state (LISS). Higher intensity activity exceeds the capacity of the cardiovascular system and the mitochondria in the cells to provide oxygen, so anaerobic glycolysis has to occur: Fuel in the form of muscle glycogen has to be broken without oxygen, a more inefficient process that produces byproducts … Continue reading On Pacing: LISS and HIIT But Don’t MISS Too Much
Paddling and Rowing
Rowing, and paddling (which includes canoeing, stand-up, and kayak paddling) are fun activities that are a great upper body workout. This is important because many aerobic activities like walking, hiking, running, and cycling are lower-body dominant, so you either should supplement them with resistance training or complement them with upper body activities (or both!). I’d … Continue reading Paddling and Rowing
Getting Started With Resistance Training
As I mentioned in previous posts, resistance training is vital to preserve muscle and bone mass as we age, and it also helps keep our metabolisms from slowing down with age quite so much. I’ve already discussed ways to make it enjoyable, and promised there to give a short program that hits the high notes. … Continue reading Getting Started With Resistance Training
Matt Cable’s Leukemia Comeback Story From “The Titan Games”
I’ve always been a big fan of “American Ninja Warrior” and, starting this year, of a similar show “The Titan Games”. What I like the most is the inspiring background stories of the competitors. On a recent Titan Games episode, one of the competitors was Matt Cable, who had an amazing comeback story. He was … Continue reading Matt Cable’s Leukemia Comeback Story From “The Titan Games”
BionicOldGuy 