I'm Too Old For This #@%!

No you are not!  You are never too old for fitness and their are a lot of good reasons why you should care about your fitness in your middle-age years and beyond! 

Check out Bob Michael's P90X Success at age 60.  Bob recently finished 90 days of P90X and is in the best shape of his life!  Bob shared his video with Beachbody as a message of hope for baby boomers like himself.

Click this text for a video of Bob

The following is an article I found in the New York Times by Gretchen Reynolds that discusses how being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.

The Benefits of Middle-Age Fitness

 

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

 

(North) Americans are living longer, with our average life expectancy now surpassing 78 years, up from less than 74 years in 1980. But we are not necessarily living better. The incidence of a variety of chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, has also been growing dramatically, particularly among people who are not yet elderly.
The convergence of those two developments has led to what some researchers have identified as a “lengthening of morbidity.” That means we are spending more years living with chronic disease and ill health — not the outcome that most of us would hope for from a prolonged life span.
But a notable new study published last week in Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that a little advance planning could change that prospect. Being or becoming fit in middle age, the study found, even if you haven’t previously bothered with exercise, appears to reshape the landscape of aging.
For the study, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Cooper Institute in Dallas gathered medical records for 18,670 middle-aged men and women who’d visited the Cooper Clinic (the medical arm of the Cooper Institute) for a checkup beginning in 1970.
The 18,670 men and women, with an average age of 49, were healthy and free of chronic diseases at their first checkup, when they all took a treadmill test to determine their aerobic fitness. Based on the results of this initial fitness test, the researchers divided the group into five fitness categories, with the bulk of the people residing, like most Americans, in the least-fit section.
Then, in a first-of-its-kind data comparison, the researchers checked the same individuals’ Medicare claim records (with permission) from 1999 through 2009, by which time most of the participants were in their 70s or 80s.
What they found was that those adults who had been the least fit at the time of their middle-age checkup also were the most likely to have developed any of eight serious or chronic conditions early in the aging process. These include heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and colon or lung cancer.
The adults who’d been the most fit in their 40s and 50s often developed many of the same conditions, but notably their maladies appeared significantly later in life than for the less fit. Typically, the most aerobically fit people lived with chronic illnesses in the final five years of their lives, instead of the final 10, 15 or even 20 years.
While this finding might not seem, on its face, altogether positive — the fit and the unfit alike generally became infirm at some point, the Medicare records showed — the results should be viewed as encouraging, says Dr. Benjamin Willis, a staff epidemiologist at the Cooper Institute who led the study. “I’m 58, and for me, the results were a big relief,” Dr. Willis said.
That’s because, he points out, the results show, in essence, that being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.
Interestingly, the effects of fitness in this study statistically were greater in terms of delaying illness than in prolonging life. While those in the fittest group did tend to live longer than the least fit, perhaps more important was the fact that they were even more likely to live well during more of their older years.
Of course, aging is a complicated process and extremely individualized, with the onset or absence of illness representing only one element in quality of life after age 65 or so. But it is a big element, says Dr. Jarett Berry, an assistant professor of internal medicine at U.T. Southwestern and an author of the study. “And since it appears to be associated with midlife fitness, it is amenable to change,” he continues.
While aerobic fitness is partly determined by genetics, and to that extent, the luck of the universe, much of a person’s fitness, especially by middle age, depends on physical activity, Dr. Berry says.
So, exercising during midlife, especially if you haven’t been, can pay enormous later-life benefits, he says. “Our study suggests that someone in midlife who moves from the least fit to the second-to-the-least-fit category of fitness gets more benefit,” in terms of staving off chronic diseases, than someone who moves to the highest fitness grouping from the second-highest.
And moving out of that least-fit category requires, he says, “only a small dose of exercise,” like 20 or 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week.
“You don’t have to become an athlete,” says Dr. Willis, who himself has little time for exercise but tries to fit in a daily walk. “Just getting up off the couch is key.”

Don't We All Remember Our First?

In 12 days I will run in the BMO Vancouver Marathon for the 3rd time.  This year I am running in the Half Marathon (21.1K) event with a personal best time of less than 2 hours, 2 minutes and 8 seconds as my goal.  Actually, I want the first number in my official time to be a 1!  Last spring I ran my very first marathon at the 2012 BMO Vancouver Marathon and in 2011 I ran my very first Half Marathon there. As my race approaches I am thinking back to how far I have come, how I have come to love running as a lifestyle and past time, and I want to encourage others who have ever contemplated a half or full marathon to GO FOR IT!

I originally wrote this piece in May of 2011 on the heels of my first half marathon.  It is full of the raw emotion of reaching way outside my comfort zone and achieving success.  I read it again to inspire myself and I want to share it with you here.  You will see the origin of my profile pic taken by my daughter Cassidy and once you have read the story you'll understand its significance in my journey.  I hope you enjoy it.

I remember my first hat-trick in hockey, the first time I shot par in golf, my first free-fall skydiving, my first bungee jump – and I remember vividly my first half marathon.  For those who have participated in a big city run – I hope this brings you fond memories of your first.  For those that haven’t yet – hopefully you find it at least amusing to hear from my perspective what it was like for me.  

I also need to be clear that my journey to this place was made possible in large measure to Steve Price, Owner of Dream Travel Inc and Shelley Beaubien, National Clinic Administrator at the Running Room.  They were my Running Room online coaches and saw me through all 18 weeks of my training with tremendous advice and support.

Registration and kit pickup

It was very exciting to walk up to the Expo tent with all the people and the realization that I am here. As I walked into the expo, it hit me that this is a really big event and I’m part of it! I felt really proud because I felt like I belonged there – right from the start. I knew I had worked hard and had earned the right to race. I was also relieved that there were no issues with registration, my chip read right and all seemed in order. When we went by the Running Room area the second time I spotted John Stanton and he saw me too and waved. I went over and said hi and he remembered me from my first 5K in Kelowna the previous fall – it was really great to introduce him to my family. He chatted with us all, signed my book and was pleased to have a picture of all of us taken with him. That was really great! I walked out of the expo supercharged and feeling terrific.

Saturday morning jog

After a somewhat interrupted night thanks to our hotel neighbours, I’m out for a 3k loosen up jog at 8 am. I plan to run part of the race start and experience the little hill on Beatty Street. Once I’m out of the hotel it feels so good to run! It is a sunny but cool morning and there is very little traffic around. I jog down the stairs to the start of the race and start down the route for the first time. I feel wonderful – my legs have been aching from not running for two days and the slow taper week. I cruise up Abbot Street and turn up the hill on Beatty – it’s nothing – I don’t feel it all – this is awesome! I am tempted to take off down the viaduct and keep running but know that would be too much this morning – I have to be patient and save my energy. I jog back to the hotel and get ready for a great day of hanging out with my family – relaxin’.

Saturday afternoon and evening

After a few hours at the Vancouver Aquarium, Karen and the kids go shopping and I went back to the hotel to rest my legs. I try to sleep but the Canucks hockey game starts in two hours and the fans are arriving outside and they are noisy. I decide to get my gear ready, pin my bib, lace my chip, place everything in a separate drawer so that I can pull it out in order in the morning and put it on. This is good therapy.

In the evening we go to the Spaghetti Factory and I have bread with butter, salad with Italian dressing and a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce. I pass on ice cream – too much fat right before the race and I’ve already had a bunch of butter. We get to bed by 11 pm and I fall right asleep. I have a great sleep. Wake up once at 4 am to go to the bathroom.

Race Day

Up at 5 am. I’m rested, not tired and not too anxious either. I hit the bathroom and then get my gear on – then have some yogurt, oat flakes, banana and water for breakfast. Two more bathroom tries and we are out the door by 6:10. My family was awesome and we’re ready to go on time! I was wearing old sweats over my running gear that I planned to take off in the line and leave – it was about 7 degrees or so. In the end, I left my bag with my stepson Jake and put the sweats in there as it wasn’t that cold and I didn’t want to have to deal with the gear check. Once we got down there I immediately got in line for the bathroom. I felt really good – not nervous at all – just ready. We made plans for meeting up after the race and then I went to get my spot in line. I jogged about 500 m or so just to get the blood moving in my legs and warm up a bit. Got set up right behind the 2hr pace bunnies. I chatted a bit with runners near me and then heard shouts from above – my daughter Cassidy, Jake and Karen up on the viaduct and taking pics. 

We start

Once the race started I was happy to get going, started my watch as I crossed the start and away we went. There was adequate room in the pack – not as cramped as I felt at the start in Kelowna. The inside of the corners got jammed up and I and others jumped up on the sidewalk on the first corner. (Looking back on it – it’s ok to slow down and stay on the road). We ran the first K around 5:50 walk-adjusted (WA) pace – perfect for me. The bunnies picked it up right away after that and we settled in on about a 5:25 – 5:30 WA pace. This felt very comfortable to me – my breathing was solid and my legs felt good. An interesting phenomenon I noticed is how quiet it gets in the pack. When you start there is lots of chatter and announcers and music. Then you get out on the road there are fans cheering on the side of the road, but it’s very quiet in the pack – just footsteps. It’s quite calming to be in there surrounded by everyone and feeling comfortable. I really liked that feeling of being comfortable at the pace and kind of the camaraderie of being with so many others doing the same. I like to run in the middle of the road – no camber.  I ran past the first hydration station before I noticed it – luckily had water on board. Around 3 K I tossed my blue gloves off to the side of the road – plenty warm now. I had a GU around 4K with some water – feeling really good!

Downtown and Stanley Park

Karen and the kids were waiting at Pender and Cambie and I ran over to the side to see them. We high-fived as I went by and that was a HUGE boost for me!  Cassidy took this pic - what a great moment!  Through the downtown another kewl phenomenon – the sound of the footsteps is amplified and reverberated down at you off the high rise buildings. I got water at around 7K and that felt really good. Next we headed into Stanley Park and just held the same 5:30 pace all the way to the hill. We passed 10K around 56 minutes and half-way right on the hour. I GU at about 10K. I have had to pee since the first K and it is starting to be on my mind. I’m checking the bushes along the road and contemplating dashing in there but don’t.
 

The Hill

I now have the experience behind me and it will be easier to deal with next time. But the hill (Prospect Point) was making me very anxious. I have thought about it for months and, quite frankly, gave it too much credit. This would turn out to be a problem for me later. I kept thinking, ok, just around that corner is the hill – this happened for 3 turns and still no hill!! I can hear a lot of cheering and a loud band ahead – that must be it. (a look at my Garmin data shows my heart is racing now – so anxious about the hill). Finally, there it is. I see runners ahead of me already a ways up the hill and they look solid. I brace myself and say I can do this....
We turn the corner at the bottom around the giant cedar – it’s pretty steep but not as steep as my hill repeats hill. I slow down a bit and try to shorten my stride, pump my arms and steady my breathing (the Garmin data shows my heart rate has dropped dramatically at this point – key learning – it is easier to do it than to worry about it). The hill itself is not bad at all. I chug up there steady and pass quite a few people. I take a breather at the switchback and walk for about 15 seconds – then keep running. The bunnies are ahead of me now and so I try to keep up. They don’t really stop for water at the top – I do. I think for a moment – ok, that’s over with and wasn’t too bad. I head down the small dip after the summit and on the way up the other side I start to really feel my legs go to rubber. I notice there is a bathroom available so I quickly run in there to pee.

Hill Karma….. Really?

From 14 K to about 17 K I struggle. My legs are weak, I feel I’m very tired, I’m hot and thirsty. I found myself having to take more frequent walk breaks but I try to keep them short so that I’m not losing a lot of time. As it turns out, my Garmin data shows I kept up the same pace – but I really felt like I might not be able to make it. The cheering people along the road really did help keep me going – this was where I had to dig deep in my gut and just plow through. I had consumed all my onboard water but had planned to GU at 15K – so I did with no water. I believe I accumulated a bunch of lactic acid just prior to the hill and on it – and the effects played out in the next 3 K. There was water around 16 K and I needed it so badly – 2 cups on my head and one in my belly.

Second Wind

I could see the Burrard bridge in the distance and thought – oh man, that’s a long way off, then there’s Granville, and still a long way to go...can I do this? Then something happened – the GU kicked in, the lactic acid cleared, I cooled down...I’m not sure, but it’s almost like I woke up. And there in front of me was the little hill under the Granville bridge. It looked like about 200m and pretty steep. Ok, dig in, shorten the stride, pump the arms, breath...near the top I started to walk – my legs are VERY tired – but not dead.   There is a God – as I turn the corner at the top of the hill with lots of people cheering, the road goes slightly downhill and there’s a water station!!! After another cup of water on my head and two in I start to run again. My legs are so heavy again! But I have new resolve. I’m almost at 2 hrs elapsed time and I know I will not make my goal time – I need to be smart. So I take a full 1 minute walk break, gather my composure and get ready to run it out.   A minute gone by, OK – start running. I feel much better – I’m sore but my legs feel lighter and I have renewed confidence. I can see the stadium and I can hear the distant cheering is very loud. I CAN DO THIS! I’m close now – its only a couple of K! I settle into a nice steady run pace and resolve to just hold it – just keep running this pace till I’m there – no more stopping! I’m able to settle in and am really buoyed by the cheering supporters. 

I hear screaming from above me.  Looking up I see my family hanging over the overpass cheering wildly for me. I wave, give a big smile – they give me another big boost – wow that was GREAT! I can see the end now, just keep running steady pace – smile – yes, I’m almost there. As I approach the finish I put my hands in the air – not because I want a good photo – but because I DID IT!! I did not give in, I gave it my all, and I finished!

I collect my medal and revel in the fact I’m done – oh how good that feels!! More water and the best quad stretching of my life! 

I feel like I have really accomplished something big – this was big for me – wow!

Don't Like Running? Go For A Walk!

I love to run.  But, it is not for everyone.  For the millions of people who either can’t stand running or jogging or maybe can't because of previous injuries, the good news is that a study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology has concluded that walking is as good for you as running to help you live longer and in better health.

Researchers analyzed data from 33,060 runners in the National Runners’ Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study and concluded that over a 6 year period, people who regularly walk BRISKLY were able to lower their cholesterol levels, lower their blood pressure levels, and improve bother their diabetes coronary heart disease risk profiles as much as the runners were.

The key to this though is that you walk briskly, not sauntering or loafing along. Your heart rate should be up and you may even break a sweat.  You don't have to walk like the Olympic Race Walkers - that's really hard!! - but it should still be a vigourous activity.

According to John Stanton, founder of the Running Room, 63% of Canadians aren't getting the recommended amount of daily exercise, and it's adding up: heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure are all on the rise. It is the same story in the United States where the US Surgeon General has declared that obesity is the greatest threat to that country.

 

But something as simple as taking a few extra steps a day can make a huge difference: moving more leads to more energy, improved sleep quality, and better heart health.

So this weekend do yourself a favour - go for a walk, a brisk one!

WORK OUT LIKE A WARRIOR And carve a lean, chiseled body in 60 days!

Starting May 1st, I'm going to Coach a small group of people through a 60 day Challenge to complete the ultimate mixed martial arts workout program!

 Each of the Challengers will not only have a lot of fun and get in awesome shape but they will also have a chance to win $100,000!  Will you be one of them?

I'm looking for a few people that want to take part in the ultimate mixed martial arts workout program! Get ready to punch, kick, block, and strike your way to an outrageously shredded body with 7 calorie-blasting and muscle-defining workouts.  You'll do it in the comfort of your own home on your own schedule and I'll coach you!

To learn more, here's 4 ways to contact me.  Visit my Coaching website at barrywilsonbc.com, become my friend on Facebook, join the barrywilsonbc Fit Club community on Facebook and follow us on twitter.

Do it right away though - May is on its way and you should be Committed about 10 days in advance so you can start on time!

A couple of months ago I was reasonably fit (ran over 1600 kms last year) but I was still overweight.  I Decided, Committed and Succeeded by doing the Les Mills Warrior program for 60 days and drinking Shakeology every day.  Here's my results:

Weight - down 10 lbs
Waist - down 3.5 inches
Hips - down 1 inch
Chest - down 2 inches
Arms - down 1/2 inch but more definition
Thighs - same but traded fat for muscle

Is it only for men?  Hell no!  Look what Monika did!

 

The Science -Why LES MILLS COMBAT Gets Results:

The secret is Fast Twitch Integration Training. LES MILLS COMBAT blasts your fast twitch muscle fibers—the ones with the greatest capacity for change—by taking the most dynamic moves from 6 unique mixed martial arts disciplines and combining them in increasingly intense sequences.

Burn up to 1,000 calories per hour.
You'll be doing Karate/Kung Fu, Capoeira, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai/Kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do and Boxing—all in a single workout—and burning up to 1,000 calories per hour!

Meet the Master Trainers

Dan Cohen is a former British Master Kickboxing Champion and runner-up for the World Kickboxing Championship.

Rach Newsham is a graduate of the world-renowned WMC Lamai Muaythai Camp in Thailand.

For the past 14 years, they’ve taught and inspired thousands around the world with their passion, intensity, and enthusiasm. They’ll push you to get results you never dreamed possible.

What do you need to be successful with LES MILLS COMBAT?

Fitness + Nutrition + Support + Rewards = Success

As your coach, I'll get you access to the workouts, provide guidance on nutrition, give you daily support and show you how to ensure you are eligable for prizes - the rewards of fitness and health are yours to keep!

4 ways to contact me.  Visit my Coaching website at barrywilsonbc.com, become my friend on Facebook, join the barrywilsonbc Fit Club community on Facebook and follow us on twitter.

Do it right away though - May is on its way and you should be Committed about 10 days in advance so you can start on time! 

Home Fitness Guru Tony Horton tells us how to succeed!

Keep it simple - develop a healthful lifestyle that works for you and gives you the life you want.  Pretty easy!  Click on Tony's picture for some real motivation GOLD!