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Continuing to ski hard while aging gracefully??

Rod9301

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The OP said he bike 10-12 bones in his life.

My advice is drink milk and lift heavy, to strength your bones.

And get a bone density test.
 

bbinder

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That's exactly the problem scenario. White wall paint has what, 70% reflection?

Cats have a tapetum lucidum and get a monstrously higher illumination density at the retina that we do, in any light. Even allowing for non-specular reflection, I wouldn't be surprised if a laser on a white wall to a cat is directly comparable to shining the same laser directly in your mate's eyeball. Obviously polished surfaces like floors and furniture are even worse.
I'm not aware of any studies that support the idea that reflected laser has any effect on cat's eyes. Yes their retina and tepetum allows them to have crazy good night vision, but I don't see any cat avoiding the kind bright sunlight that has me wearing sunglasses.
 

Bad Bob

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Our late hound Daisy would chase a laser for hours. How does that relate to this topic?
Dogs perceive light at different cycles but had always heard that a noncyclic light was seen about like a human.
 

Blue Streak

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Sorry for long wait. I know I promised you a reply. Took a while to get off the floor. Them Life Alert guys are running slow today. :nono:

I see all the advice on what and how to stay strong. All good advices. However, they missed the most important body part you should focus on. I'll give you a hint.

View attachment 120217

The way you describe your skiing. It sounds like you are having a cage match in the octagon with Mr. Gravity and Mother Nature. You have your hands full but holding them off OK. Then Father Time comes up behind you and pancakes you with the ubiquitous metal chair.

You are asking the choir what you have to do to beat them. They gave you the right answer to your question. Get stronger.
The real crux of the matter is your didn't ask the right question. The right question is "Why do I have to be in the octagon in a three on one beat down?" Just to be clear, you are the "one." The right question is "Why can't we bring the disco ball and dance?" Yup, dance.

Fix your head and the rest will fall into place.

A good reference for the journey.

View attachment 120221

Please note soft skiing doesn't mean dumbing it down. It means stop beating yourself up.



Dude, those are like ear plugs. Your body is trying to tell you something and you decided to put it on mute. Not a good thing.
@KingGrump, the book just came tonight, and it’s a wonderful read, replete with wisdom which will go right over the heads of those who see skiing as anything other than poetry.

Thanks for the recommendation.:golfclap:
 
Thread Starter
TS
chris_the_wrench

chris_the_wrench

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The OP said he bike 10-12 bones in his life.

My advice is drink milk and lift heavy, to strength your bones.

And get a bone density test.

Several of those breaks were me getting hit by cars while cycling. Couple times skateboarding, and once skiing. Not sure there is enough milk in the world that would of strengthen my bones to hold up against a ford excursion.

-Chris
 

Blue Streak

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Several of those breaks were me getting hit by cars while cycling. Couple times skateboarding, and once skiing. Not sure there is enough milk in the world that would of strengthen my bones to hold up against a ford excursion.

-Chris
:hail:
 

Bill Talbot

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Howdy all,

Looking for tips and advise. I'm 43 and I try to ski 100 days a year. I average to 'ski' 3.5 hours a day, if it's crowded and most weekends maybe 2 hours but if its puking around 5. I prefer to ski off piste fast and hard and usually do 80% of the time. I love the powder, who doesn't, but I have almost as much fun blasting the crud and bumps that follows. I usually only ski groomers to move me from one place on the hill to another, or if everything has gotten iced over in some kind of thaw/freeze combo.

I'm finding that at 40 my body started complaining to me abit more and every year its kinda louder. Ive broken 10-12 bones(skiing/cycling/skateboarding as a youth) and all those are coming back now and then as aches. But my biggest issue is my IT band tightness and the strain they put on my lower back, hips and down my leg to my knees. I stretch several times a day(everyday) and use a foam roller once or twice a day. Im usually able to stay ahead of the pains if I keep a strict routine of stretching and foam rolling. If Im traveling or somehow forget, I'm always paying the price for a couple days with tightness and soreness through my hips and back. Im also finding my body doesn't bounce back as quickly from a hard day. Sore and tired muscles seem more frequent....

During the off season( of skiing) I hike or ride pretty much everyday, but never do any 'strength training' or skiing specific prep work. My summers are filled with alot of farm/forest work, which is very physical itself. I maintain my IT band stretching and foam roller work. During the winter skiing is my only frequent exercise(nearly everyday). I snowshoe or hike maybe once or twice a ski month. I walk the dog everyday about a hilly-mile but then Im off to riding the lifts. During the winter I put on a couple extra pounds, but those usually come off in the spring on the bikes, but even then I still have a few lbs to spare but I love IPA's too much to really care. Im relatively healthy besides the IT bands and previous bone breaks. No medication except allergy pill and a dose of daily vitamins. I do take glucosamine(not sure it does anything). I tried yoga a couple times, and liked the activity but had a hard time with the yoga studio environment.

So long intro to my question, as you've gotten older what have you done to allow yourself to continue to ski as you want? Any tips for helping muscles recover quicker/better after a hard day?

Thanks
-Chris


Some of this has been said but...

43?! Write back again when you are at least 60.
My dad skied into his 90's and was still skiing FULL days @ 80.

Weight training is very important if you want to keep some muscle mass on you as you age. Core work should be at the center of your program (;)
Diet becomes much more vital as you age (if it hadn't been already). You truly are what you eat (and drink). Manage stress and get all the sleep your body requires.

Side note skiing 3-4 hours on 100 days is NOT skiing 100 days in my mind. That's 50 days of skiing at best.
 
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geepers

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Several of those breaks were me getting hit by cars while cycling. Couple times skateboarding, and once skiing. Not sure there is enough milk in the world that would of strengthen my bones to hold up against a ford excursion.

-Chris

The Na'vi had carbon fibre bones. Sometimes wonder if the skiers dropping incredible lines in those big mountain vids have the same.... :cool:
 

Big J

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Pretty much. Glucosamine never really did anything for me. I started taking Wobenzym back when my foot was getting bad; after two operations, it's finally "ok" -- but the main reason I tapered off on the W is that it was hard to remember to take it on an empty stomach. It ended up late at night and early in the morning, which aren't that far apart lol. But the PS version really has helped during these past few months.
I bought the 800 tablet N version from Amazon. I just started taking them last night before bed and again this morning. Three tablets each time. I will update what I think of them in the future after I have given them some time to work. I thought I would start them a few weeks before my first total knee replacement. I read lots of reviews on these and they seem to make so many different things better so I feel I will most likely benefit from taking them. My wife also started taking them.
 
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AmyPJ

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Nobody has brought up the visual part of aging, which for ME has proven to be as big a frustration as anything. It can be downright debilitating in flat light. It gets more challenging every year. I am still progressing as a skier since I learned as an adult, but I also ski with some fabulous skiers--instructors, PSIA examiners/L3s/former racers, and all of them are over 50, many over 60, and every one of them has been slowed down by their vision as much as anything. I also ski with a former world-pro mogul skier who's in his 60s who doesn't spend much time in the moguls anymore. He's got a lot of aches and pains from those days that make it pretty painful. That being said, he is still a fantastic skier who is out there having fun. My unscientific observation is that woman are more affected by the decline in vision than men, as it relates to skiing at least.

Aging can be rather depressing at times, for sure. The mental aspect of learning to accept the inevitable fact that your body is slowing down, your reflexes are slowing down, your vision degrades, is an integral part of a good mindset of gratitude as it all occurs. I mean, you're not the life-long couch potato who has debilitating arthritis simply due to being overweight, who as they age lose their ability to balance, their ability to even walk down the street, so pat yourself on the back for that. Skiing is good exercise for our balance skills, our reaction time, and that's all very important for quality of life as we get older. Mountain biking provides the same benefits, in addition to being a kick ass cardio workout, too.

So yes, we can all commiserate with getting older (I'm still a "young pup" at almost 52) and that it's pretty frustrating at times as our bodies flip us the bird when we try to do the things we used to do with ease, but we are still in a better place than many who are half or even 1/4 of our age, which should be celebrated! Menopause makes it happen all within a year for women, too. It's like this light switch turns off in so many ways. We also must remember that 100 years ago, many of us would literally be working ourselves to death.
 

martyg

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At 11 grams of added sugar per cup milk is more harmful to health than good. Strength training and density test on the other hand, great advice.

Well. It depends. Do you measure your insulin response with a gloucose meter to see how your body reacts? The fats and proteins will slow the absorption of sugars. In my case eating a pint of our local home made ice cream is about like eating a piece of salmon. Conversely I know people who experience a spike eating a bowl of plain stone ground oats.

We are each a study of one.
 

AmyPJ

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Wise words from Marshawn Lynch. As a Seahawks fan, he was/is always good for a laugh. I think he's certifiably nuts, but he gives back to his community in spades, and dishes out nuggets like this:

Marshawn words of wisdom.jpg
 

martyg

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Wise words from Marshawn Lynch. As a Seahawks fan, he was/is always good for a laugh. I think he's certifiably nuts, but he gives back to his community in spades, and dishes out nuggets like this:

View attachment 120970

Check out Finding Mastery. It is a podcast series by a performance psychologist who is also the Seahawk's performance psychologist. Great for road trips.
 

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