Help Needed: Book Recommendation on Endurance Training?

[SallyCat]

Can anyone recommend a book or other resource on endurance training and diet that isn't necessarily sport-specific? Or one for mountain biking maybe?

I am 47 and have been horribly out of shape for about a year and a half following a minor surgery that forced me to be sedentary for three months; I can't seem to bounce back and regain my fitness. Prior to the surgery (which went fine, and I don't have any health issues at all) I was active and athletic; I ran a marathon and regularly did 5 and 10ks, I hiked and was a long-distance backpacker.

Lately I've been doggedly running, hitting the gym, and mountain biking, but my endurance is pathetic and it's becoming a huge bummer. I'm looking for a resource to help me work back toward a high fitness level effectively and efficiently. I've never really followed a training plan except for marathon milage guides; I've always relied on being healthy and active and generally being able to achieve my goals without having to conform to a tight training/diet plan, but at my age, I think those days are over.

I worked with a trainer at the gym this winter to get a good weight routine in place, and I'm doing well on the strength and balance front, I think, but one little hill on the bike and I'm gassed.

Does anyone have any resources the recommend, or anything that worked for you?

Thanks so much!

 

[VickiK]

It sounds like you're doing all the right stuff and gradually coming back. Good nutrition and quality sleep are important. Are you tracking your progress? Maybe the log will show in black and white that there is progress, and you're just not noticing it. I know how hard it is.

I've always relied on being healthy and active and generally being able to achieve my goals without having to conform to a tight training/diet plan, but at my age, I think those days are over.

This is where I'm at.

Hang in there. Don't get discouraged. I'll look for a book per your request and update the thread. There are so many online resources, too, to tap.

 

[Gloria]

Hill climbs require anaerobic energy vs aerobic. Endurance training keeps you in an aerobic state and the body adapts very quickly to endurance training. To improve your anaerobic ability you need to incorporate some short high output training along with your strength and basic cardio. To do this you could do any of the following: sprint intervals, pick 3-4 full body bodyweight exercises and do as many reps of each during 30-60 second intervals not stopping in between for 4 or so rounds resting only between the rounds, do the same with lighter weights - you can incorporate what you are doing in your strength training using about 20% of weight you normally lift, or you could combine all 3 and like start off with a sprint, do 2 bodyweight exercises and one weighted. You can also do any of the above in Tabatta protocol, AMRAPS ( as many rounds as possible) so would take 3-4 exercises and pick slightly lower rep ranges and Setc your timer for 5-12 minutes and try to complete as many sets as you can during that time. The importance of picking full body or multi joint exercise is to limit fatigue and prevent injury, essentially share the load with as many muscle groups as possible. Doing things like bicep curls, triceps kickbacks etc isolates single groups which can fatigue and cause injury. So squats, deals, push ups, kettlebell swings are more along the line.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Maybe the log will show in black and white that there is progress, and you're just not noticing it.

That's a good idea. This is definitely harder with age. Rollerblading is my primary non-ski exercise, and I have a week-long ache each time I go. In my youth, that kind of ache meant that I had overdone things, but now it just seems to mean that I've done my exercise. If I rest enough for the ache to go away, my endurance actually drops, so I've been ignoring the ache and keeping up my routine. Same with asthma. Same with piano playing.

After about 30 minutes of rollerblading, I totally poop out, and I haven't been able to increase this at all. What I did notice is that I'm skating faster and faster in that same time frame, so I am building something, even though it's hard to feel that way. The real test came one day when I skied until I could barely walk, and I was sure I was going to be in bed all week; amazingly, I was achy but mostly fine the next day, which means I had become tougher without knowing it.

If anyone finds a book or site that accounts for these peculiarities of aging, I'd be very much interested, too.

To improve your anaerobic ability you need to incorporate some short high output training along with your strength and basic cardio.

Hmmm... I've been focusing mostly on aerobic stuff... Time to mix it up.

 

[marzNC]

Don't think it's exactly what you're looking for, but definitely a good read for folks approaching 50. The original Younger Next Year was written by a couple men and was a little male oriented. One of the author's wives helped them create the version for women, although it's not that much different.

Younger Next Year for Women

 

[Gloria]

That's a good idea. This is definitely harder with age. Rollerblading is my primary non-ski exercise, and I have a week-long ache each time I go. In my youth, that kind of ache meant that I had overdone things, but now it just seems to mean that I've done my exercise. If I rest enough for the ache to go away, my endurance actually drops, so I've been ignoring the ache and keeping up my routine. Same with asthma. Same with piano playing.

After about 30 minutes of rollerblading, I totally poop out, and I haven't been able to increase this at all. What I did notice is that I'm skating faster and faster in that same time frame, so I am building something, even though it's hard to feel that way. The real test came one day when I skied until I could barely walk, and I was sure I was going to be in bed all week; amazingly, I was achy but mostly fine the next day, which means I had become tougher without knowing it.

If anyone finds a book or site that accounts for these peculiarities of aging, I'd be very much interested, too.


Hmmm... I've been focusing mostly on aerobic stuff... Time to mix it up.

So in terms of what you are finding with a 30 minute peak. Your peak time may not be 30 minutes, by going faster and harder you are increasing the intensity, which is fine. If you want to go longer than 30 minutes try slowing down if you want increase your time. It's like sprinting vs jogging. The energy system required to sprint runs out of gas it simply can't be maintained for as lone of a time as you can jog for. So in terms of mixing it up you could stick to the Rollerblades and do a couple times a week slower and longer a couple times faster and harder and a day of intervals where you would go all out for a few minutes and then resume a slower pace for a couple minutes then all out again. Drops in endurance after rest periods can sometimes indicate too much rest between workout days. Women don't need as much rest and typically recover faster than men. I just read a study that said women should break their rest days into 2 single days a week than two in a row.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

If you want to go longer than 30 minutes try slowing down if you want increase your time.

Good point. I'll give it a try. I like your suggested regimen; mostly, I don't have time during the week, but I am getting there. (delegation!)

Women don't need as much rest and typically recover faster than men. I just read a study that said women should break their rest days into 2 single days a week than two in a row.

Interesting!

 

[Gloria]

I have been trying all day to think of a good book, but honestly so many of them pick a topic of interest and espouse on it and it's not always thar cut and dry. Over 40 you have all kinds of different hormones at play and there are some things that are fairly steadfast and others that can vary. It's important to understand the main players those of course related to menopause but also insulin, t3, cortisol are really important too. And these will vary by individual. There is a website called tnation that pretty much for hardcore lifters but they have one guy on there that writes really good articles on cortisol, insulin etc. Not much on estrogen, the t does stand for testosterone and the tone is much different there than here but the info is solid.

 

[SallyCat]

Hill climbs require anaerobic energy vs aerobic. Endurance training keeps you in an aerobic state and the body adapts very quickly to endurance training.

@Gloria that makes it clear how I could have no trouble doing long marathon-training miles, yet struggle with uphill bursts. Thanks so much for your detailed posts.

Thanks, everyone, for the great replies: luckily I have the summer free and I can spend some serious time reading and researching, shaking up my routine, and developing a good fitness plan.

 

[VickiK]

I haven't found a book for you yet. But I'm a good little internet surfer, and I'll keep your question in mind.

re shaking it up, try Zumba for a cardio workout. It's as aerobically challenging as you want to make it, and it's fun. Even if you feel you're not the dancing type, you can challenge that perception and come to find you are.

 

[SallyCat]

@VickiK , I am SO not a dancer, but as long as I'm taking up terrain park skiing and mountain biking at my"advancing" age, I might as well really shake things up and give it a try!

I decided to go back to basics and dust off my research and note-taking skills for this mission. Armed only with an old-timey composition book, ink pen, and the internet, I'm going to start from scratch and see what I can learn. I also ordered a book, because it was well-reviewed in a few different places. I actually like that a lot of the reviews say "he's not offering anything new or different, just the same advice as most other trainers." So, I thought it would be a good, standard-issue overview to help me get started on part of my plan. It's this:

"Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto

 

[Gloria]

I think that's a 30 day crash diet for body culturalists.

 

[SallyCat]

Oh, yuck, I misread those reviews. Oh well, I'll return it. It doesn't look like a particular book is going to help; they all seem sort of self-promotional and snake-oily. I'm going to look into a trainer at the gym I have access to here and start with their recommendations.

 

[VickiK]

You might like this blog by a Canadian personal trainer - https://elsbethvaino.com/articles-index/
She has a good sense of humor and writes about ski conditioning.

 

[Gloria]

Oh, yuck, I misread those reviews. Oh well, I'll return it. It doesn't look like a particular book is going to help; they all seem sort of self-promotional and snake-oily. I'm going to look into a trainer at the gym I have access to here and start with their recommendations.

I'm sorry.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Is there like a standard textbook for trainers when they are being trained to be licensed/certified?

 

[Gloria]

There are a handful of different certifying agencies each has their own text. You can learn the different energy systems, the difference between exercise intensity underneath each system as well as the intensity for hypertrophy, strength, endurance, and power training. They usually have about 4 different most common imbalances like upper crossed syndrome etc. They each have their own programming model and then basic info on nutrition and special populations. Without a college level degree a good trainer should have 2 national certs and 3-4 specialty certs. IMO.

 

[altagirl]

Oh, yuck, I misread those reviews. Oh well, I'll return it. It doesn't look like a particular book is going to help; they all seem sort of self-promotional and snake-oily. I'm going to look into a trainer at the gym I have access to here and start with their recommendations.

I read it a long time ago and thought it was very helpful as a long term thing for weight training and diet, not a short crash diet. Maybe I'm mis- remembering? Is been at least 10 years.

 

[altagirl]

I've heard some loony stuff out of the personal trainers at 24 hour fitness years ago. They wanted me on a sub 1000 calorie diet, and to buy their brand of diet cookies (?) I was like no thanks.

 

[Gloria]

I read it a long time ago and thought it was very helpful as a long term thing for weight training and diet, not a short crash diet. Maybe I'm mis- remembering? Is been at least 10 years.

It's a bodybuilding orientated book. Good for its purpose and would likely yield results for a couple months but wouldn't likely get her to where she wants to go/be longterm. Hypertrophy is aesthetic but not necessarily athletic in application.

As for the 1000 calorie diet, unfortunately not every trainer has put the time in past the initial certification to be the best they can. In fact trainers are not even suppose to make dietary recommendations. Unlike a yoga certification where you have to put in hours of hands on training, most certifications are online. Many trainers realize there is still alot to be learned beyond the cert and study everyday yet there are definitely some overly confident ones who think they already know everything and don't bother learning anything more than they think they know. I hate to be stereotypical but most of these can be found in large low fee commercial gyms. Not to say you can't find a good trainer in one of these gyms, there are plenty, but you need to do your homework just the same as buying skis or whatever.