strength training
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Training for Balance
Balance depends on three sensory systems: vision, the vestibular system of the inner ear, and proprioceptors throughout the body (especially in the feet and legs) that sense position and movement. Your brain takes in these signals and chooses a strategy to keep you upright.
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Attitude and Age
Featured photo: Fall riding in Baker Park It is a beautiful October day for a bike ride in Minnesota. The afternoon sun sets off brilliant autumn colors lining the bike path. Cool, dry air, and light wind make for easy riding. My right knee, which has bothered me since my ski accident last winter, feels…
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Progress Not Perfection: Recovering from Injury
Each pedal stroke brings a shot of pain¬—behind the kneecap, medial side and back of my knee. It is March 2026 in Minnesota, a cruel month for cycling made worse by a February skiing injury.
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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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Burning Fat for Fuel
Photo: The early bird gets the worm: first tracks on the XX Face of Mt. XXXX, Teton Pass, WY 2025 The buried ski track winds through Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir, branches laden with snow. It is 7:30 am, January, 2025. The sun peaks over the Gros Ventre Mountains bathing Teton Pass Ridge in dawn…
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It’s War: 7 Strategies for Winning the Weight Battle
Photo: Losing the war: three months ago and six pounds lighter. U.S. Senior National Cycling Championships, August 2025. I know the bad news even before stepping on the scale. Over the last several weeks, my pants fit tighter, I feel heavier and my stomach is prone to bouts of indigestion; familiar signs of weight gain.…
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Get Ready: Pre-Season Training for Nordic Skiing
Photo: Ready to put the training to use on freshly groomed corduroy. Baker Park. Minnesota January 2021 It is early November in Minnesota. Winter is coming. In a few weeks, the county parks will begin making snow on the cross-country ski trails. Maybe we will get lucky and have some natural snow this year. I…
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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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Staying Fit as We Age: Lessons from One of the World’s Best
Photo: Staying fit to keep up with my daughter who is 40 years younger. Big Sandy Opening trailhead after a 7 day 50 mile back pack in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. 2023. The title of the article in the Washington Post caught my eye: At 77, she’s as fit as a 25-year-old. What her…
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The Road to Nationals: Training for Events
Photo: March cycling in Minnesota The sky is overcast and the temperature is in the mid-40s. Bucking a headwind, I lower my head and focus on maintaining a smooth tempo. Trees are bare, lakes frozen and piles of snow line the roads. This is March in Minnesota. You’d think after Nordic skiing all winter I…