Recovery
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Getting Back to Strength Training — or Making What You’re Doing Actually Work
STRENGTH TRAINING — AGES 40 TO 80 What the research supports, what changes after 40, and how to build a program that fits where you are right now. Steven Markusen CPT Featured Photo: Buck Mountain and Avalanche Canyon from the Ullr Ridge, GTNP, February 2026 FOREWORD The sun makes a fleeting appearance between waves of…
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Stretching Muscles: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Photo: The author all stretched out between a rock and a hard place 3000 feet above the floor of Yosemite valley. Lost Arrow Spire, Yosemite, CA. May 2001. Credit Paul Gardner. The pain between my left shoulder blade and spine comes and goes. The last several weeks it is back with vengeance. I press on…
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Are You Getting Enough Protein in your Diet?
Photo: Climbing mixed alpine terrain to the summit ridge of Gannet Peak on a marathon 18 hour round trip from high camp. Gannett Peak, Wyoming, 2024. Credit Paul Gardner I look down at my feet planted on the scale. The digital screen reads 161 pounds. Good news? Kind of. Over the last 6 years, I…
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My Aching Back: Managing Lower Back Pain
Featured Photo: The origin of my lower back pain: backcountry telemark skiing. Berthoud Pass, CO 1979. Credit Dale Anderson It’s 5:30 AM. Turning off the shower, I grab the squeegee to clean the glass door. Lifting it over my head, I feel a twinge in my lower back— red light. My lower back muscles spasm.…
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The Longest Day
His Father Died At His Feet. 50 Years Later The Accident Still Haunts Him. The author lost his father in an accident at the crag nearly 50 years ago. He’s taken that long to be able to write about it. Featured photo: David Markusen (left) and Steve Markusen on the summit of the Grand Teton…
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Balancing Act: Common Overuse Injuries and Muscle Imbalance
Photo: Paul Gardner and I balanced on the Hindu, Fisher Towers, Utah 2004. Credit: Zeke Over the years I have had clients with common injuries such as tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), knee pain (patellar tendinitis), and heel pain (plantar fasciitis). I have found through my practice these types of injuries are most likely due to…
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Pain: The Body’s Call to Action
Photo: Credit Paul Gardner 2009. The view from Jackass Pass looking back at our rock climbing route which ascends directly up the classic 1200 foot Northeast Face of Pingora in the Wind River wilderness, Wyoming. Note my knee brace. Six weeks after our trip I had a total knee replacement. It was a memorable, but…
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Spring Forward: Prep for Renewal
Photo: Lake Independence, Minnesota, March 2022 The pedals rotate unevenly— my left foot loses contact with the pedal for a brief arc over the course of a full revolution. My triceps ache. My lower back hurts. For the last fifty years this is the right of spring: back on the bike after the northern winter…
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Recovery: The 50+ Athletes Secret Weapon
Photo: On the podium with a silver medal in the distance time trial, 2021 Minnesota Senior games I feel the adrenalin surging as the timing judge counts down the seconds: three, two, and one. The starter judge drops her hand. I stand on one pedal, push off, clip in the other foot. Gaining speed, I…
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Interval Training: Live Longer, Live Healthier
Photo: Steve taking the inside line to a third place podium finish at the 2008 Hopkins Raspberry Criterium. Like the namesake chariot races from Roman times, riding the fine line between control and mayhem. Interval training is not just for competitive athletes. A number of years ago I took on a client in his early…