performance
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High Intensity Interval Training: A Fitness Regimen for all Ages and Abilities
Photo: ready to rock the Minnesota Senior Games Time Trial. Perhaps you’ve seen them or participated—group fitness classes at the gym. I mean the ones called cross-fit, boot camp, or alpha. The participants generally range in age 20 to 40 moving from exercise to exercise, sweating and breathing hard. These classes are based on principles…
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Turning 70: Reflections on the Blue Zones
Photo: Looking forward. Roaring Fork Pass, Wind River Range, WY Skiing the last 100 yards to the parking lot I was feeling my age. My son Charlie and his friend Aiden were waiting at the car; just as they waited for me earlier at the top of Mavericks, a 5 mile, 3000 foot vertical backcountry…
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Fasting: Critical for Weight Loss
Photo: Pronghorn Peak from Bonneville Pass 5 days into an 8 day through hike in the Wind River Range, WY. At age 65 made possible by strength training, interval training and intermittent fasting. Mark was frustrated. He was out of shape, thirty pounds overweight and pre-diabetic. He came to me for strength training and help…
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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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Last Tracks
Featured Photo: My “last tracks” to the right of center, Edelweiss Bowl, Teton Pass, Wyoming 2014 The only sound is the hiss of my skis moving in the deep ski track. Week sunlight filters through giant Ponderosa pines. Light gusts of wind pitch snow crystals into the air sparkling against the blue sky. I am…
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When Muscles Lock: Understanding and Preventing Muscle Cramps
Featured photo: Fertile ground for muscle cramps… high intensity criterium racing. Bent over our handlebars, hearts pounding, the spectators on the shoulders are a blur. There are four of us in the lead breakaway pack; our bicycles inches apart. Seven hundred yards ahead is the finish line for the 2020 Minnesota Senior Games Men’s 40…
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Feeding Your Fire: Nutrition for Training, Competition, and Adventure
Featured photo: Bob riding the world famous Slick Rock Bike Trail, Moab, Utah. The heat from the rising sun activates the sweat glands on the back of my neck; drops of sweat snake down the center of my back. It is 6 am on a clear June morning. The deep blue sky outlines the desert…
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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…