On 1/24/2019 4:02 PM, Mark J. wrote:
On 1/23/2019 9:42 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 10:08:27 PM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:
https://nypost.com/2019/01/23/betsy-...ling-accident/


So she broke her hip. And I must say, I wonder about the risk of
breaking bones among the elderly. One of my cycling friends was told
she has enough osteoporosis (or perhaps a precursor condition) to
justify weight training and other measures. You'd never think this
by looking at her or talking to her, but she goes to a gym a few
times per week and lifts heavy things, because it's good for her bones.

- Frank Krygowsk


Relevance for many of us here - ISTR a study showing bone density loss
in endurance cyclists; I think they conjectured something about calcium
depletion due to electrolyte loss.Â* Dunno if it was corroborated later.

Oh, here's a reference:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/w...an-improve-it/

Here's another, more scholarly reference:
https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000449

I have a (male) colleague, 60ish, who has some severe chronic back
problems attributed to osteoporosis.Â* His experience certainly scares
the hell out of me.Â* Definitely not a picnic, and worth efforts to avoid.

Yes, interesting. Then there was the Scandinavian study that was the
first (AFAIK) to demonstrate the endurance athletes had a far higher
incidence of Atrial Fibrillation. It all gets a bit scary.

The Training Peaks article talks about applying serious loads, including
what sounds like shock loads ("Plyometrics"). But I can think of two
friends who were not only avid, fairly fast cyclists, but also diligent
weighlifters. Both were very muscular.

The one (who was my boss for a while, roughly 25 years ago) told me many
times that he wanted to stay as strong as possible so he didn't end up
crippled. I had a phone conversation with him maybe 5 years ago and
asked how he was doing. He said he had terrible arthritis in multiple
joints, and it really restricted his activity. The other guy, long one
of my favorite riding and hiking friends, can no longer do hikes because
his knees are so bad, and also complains about his shoulder joints, his
bicep aches, etc. etc.

I think it was Grant Petersen who described his ideas about good
exercise and bad exercise. IIRC, he opined that anything too long or too
strenuous done too regularly was likely to be bad for you in the long
run. And then there was Greg LeMond, who once said that for cycling, you
want an upper body like a 12-year-old girl.

Maybe we should all lift some moderately heavy weights, do a moderate
number of jumping jacks (or whatever) and ride, but not too fast?

And I wonder - is there data showing exactly which physical activity
does the best at providing a long and healthy life? I'd have guessed
bicycling, but maybe only if done not too hard.


--
- Frank Krygowski