Monday, February 12, 2007

Done in the gym?

Lincoln's Birthday

Are you done at the gym for the winter? Think again.

Do you think you can quit lifting weights now that the road racing season is upon us? Think again.

Cycling is right up there with swimming and sitting on the couch for what it does for your bones--or, rather, for what it doesn't do for your bones. Whether you're male or female or not, whether you're 25 or 50, if you spend a lot of time on a bike, you also need to spend some time actively working to maintain your bone density. Year 'round. You don't have to put 493 pounds on the leg press or look like Arnold. But don't stop the resistance training, the high-impact routines. Your bones need to be jarred, so that when you really jar them--say, when you slip running down your front stairs to get a package from the FedEx driver--they are strong and not brittle.

So keep up with those weights. Run some stairs. Load the OBRA truck once a week. But don't just go sit on your bike and think you are the picture of health. Odds are, someday you'll fall off your bike, and that's when strong bones can make the difference between bruises and breaks.

OK, off my high horse and back to the latest, top-secret StokedHat.

5 comments:

Argentius said...

I haven't lifted a weight since I dropped out of high-school weight training class, and I probably won't start anytime soon. Sometimes I think I should, but, I don't. I hate weights, lifting, and anything involving indoor gyms. Because that's how grumpy I am.

But I know who your spies are now.

:)

UltraMick said...

Alright then, run stairs. Jump rope. With your BMI, you're a prime candidate to be a frail old man when you're 45. And you don't know ALL my spies. :)

Old as dirt said...

Also, drink beer rather than wine, the pint glass is heavier.
Take it from a frail old man!Just like stoked's SPY!!

Argentius said...

I'm sure I don't know all of 'em.

I'll just look out for people in knitted hats.

I drink caffeine, too. I'll be super-frail.

Argentius said...

Do you have the email address for that particular spy? I was thinking of chasing him around some hills in the big ring...

you've got mine I think, but it's stetsonty at gmail dot com, natch.