Fitness

Today I competed in my first indoor rowing competition---called the CRASH-B sprints---here in Boston. I achieved my two main goals---to beat my personal best and not to finish last. For context, everyone rows 2 kilometers on an indoor rower. The world record is below 5:40. For men under 165 pounds, the "lightweight" division, the record is slower and for ones pushing 50 slower still. I beat my 2k record by four seconds for 7:39, about a minute slower than the winner and a few seconds ahead of the last guy. Curiously, my time would have placed me better---third out of five---had I rowed in the lightweight men 27 to 35 years old group. I would have placed nearly last in the lightweight men 50 years…

How did you learn the exercises you do? Did you watch videos or read about them in a book? I bet you learned them from someone. Do any of them still remind you of the person who taught you them? Most exercises remind me of the people who taught me them. It feels good to think about friends, so in the hopes of leading you to think more about it, I'm going to share some of my exercise-person association. While you won't recognize the names, I hope you'll recognize the spirit---that exercise is social even when alone. I find it brings people together and develops discipline. I'll still only use first names. Burpees make me think of a lot people: Gretchen, whose article prompted them,…

I've rowed enough on my erg to get decent times on the standard measure for rowing---the 2k. My best time is 7:43, which I consider good for lightweight 48-year-old guy. I'm considering competing the U.S. indoor rowing competition---not to win, but for the experience, figuring I might do okay. I looked up how lightweight men's performances last year. My category: lightweight men 40-49 years In my category, I would have come in tenth. Not horrible, especially for someone who didn't row in college or competitively, though I have put nearly 2 million meters on my machine: I passed 1.9 million meters last week. I've rowed for fitness, not competition. The advice I sought from experienced rowers was only for form, not to bring my times…

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, the 75th anniversary of the closest to successful attempt to assassinate Hitler, and the 48th anniversary of me. As my mom likes to remind me: 9 pounds 8 ounces in sweltering summer heat. At near the halfway point, some reflections. I don't feel older Five or ten years ago I found the quote "Inside every old person is a young person thinking, 'What the hell happened?!?'" and it resonated. I researched its source. I expected to find it came from a famous thoughtful person. The best source I found was a bumper sticker. I'm as fit or more, which makes me feel young. Here is a picture I took today, if you don't mind a…

I prefer posting original work, but I stumbled on this page from the U.S. federal government's Health and Human Services' President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Physical Activity Only one in three children are physically active every day.1Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day;2 only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.3Only 35 — 44% of adults 75 years or older are physically active, and 28-34% of adults ages 65-74 are physically active.4More than 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and more than 80% of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity to meet the guidelines for youth.5In 2013, research found adults…