Practical Fitness

[npaden]

I did most of the things on your list at a little over 50.

Haven’t ever trained for long distance swimming so didn’t swim a mile without stopping and I suck at pull ups. Don’t think I could do 10 straight.

Of course post covid I’m fat and out of shape. Working on fixing that but at 57 not sure I’m going to make those 5K or 10K times again.

 

[Treeshark]

10 pull-ups in a row is way harder than most people realize. I’m struggling at 8 and consider myself in decent shape.

Agreed. I can’t do 10 legit pull-ups right now.

 

[Treeshark]

I think your bench press goal is pretty modest.

I kind of thought so too at first, but then I considered what percent of American men over age of 40 could actually do it and also achieve the 5k/10k goals? But you’re probably right.

Regarding 40 not being old- I agree, more looking forward. I can say that I’m noticing that “getting back in shape” is harder now than it was 10 years ago, hoping to avoid that scenario to whatever degree is possible.

 

[Treeshark]

swim a mile…….Lmfao

I consider(ed) myself a “good swimmer” and damn near drowned my stupid ass swimming 100 yards one time. lol

I get it- that one is a bit specific.

 

[406dn]

Regarding pull ups. I go to the gym three days a week, consistently. Almost no one does pull ups. Why...because they are hard for most people.

Most people push more than they pull, when weightlifting. This is a reason the bench press causes sore shoulders, for many lifters. You should really be able to pull a decent amount more than you can push. Your lats are far stronger than your pecs. Too much of a strength imbalance will cause problems.

When I first started lifting 9.5 years ago, I could not do a single pull up. That put me on a mission. Presently, I do weighted pull ups with 50# hung from a belt around my waist. I can get six reps the first two sets. I would guess that doing bodyweight pull ups, I'd be somewhere around 10 to 12.

 

[X13]

Swimming a mile seems a little crazy, but can get on board with the rest of them

 

[Treeshark]

Most people push more than they pull, when weightlifting.

I agree with this, and it’s the reason I was sure to add something to the list that involved both pull motion and grip strength.

Weirdly enough, there appears to be a strong correlation between grip strength and longevity.

If you’re able to do x6 with a 50 hanging off of you, I bet you could do 10 non-weighted pretty easily. Only one way to find out

 

[westbranch]

I am 37 and have worked a desk job since 20 basically. I have had similar "goals" for a while and have met or been close to most at various points in last 5 yrs except for swimming.
I sink like a rock, can barely swim in salt water. So never going to be able to swim 1 mile let alone 100 yards. My bones are thicc.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I get it- that one is a bit specific.

Don’t mind me. It’s just that a bit of fear fell over me when I read “swim a mile” is all lol

 

[406dn]

Weirdly enough, there appears to be a strong correlation between grip strength and longevity.

From what I've learned grip strength is a combination of things that help predict longevity. For some time I thought it was just a proxy for overall strength. But, there is more at play. Our hands contain a very high concentration of nerve cells. Much of a person's strength is a result of how powerful a signal the brain can sent to the muscles.

As we age our nervous system begins degrading, from the extremities first, and moving towards the core. So, grip strength is a marker of how well your nervous system is performing out to the extremities, as well as your muscle strength. Another predictor is balancing on one leg.

 

[The_Jim]

Shorter arms are going to make you naturally better at pull-ups than long arms so be careful who you compare yourself too.

@Treeshark did you just start working out or are these some new goals?

 

[Treeshark]

@Treeshark did you just start working out or are these some new goals?

No, been fairly active. Just went down a rabbit hole of thoughts while out on a hike today and this came out the other end.

These were all things I could have achieved at some point in the past few years, but can’t do them all right now. I’m just trying to get a list for myself to keep a baseline level of fitness just for moving through life, but it does apply to hunting too.

 

[Treeshark]

Another predictor is balancing on one leg.

Agree- that’s the last one on my list in the original post.

I do wonder about if that’s a mere correlation (vs any sort of causation), but I can’t hurt so I included that one. You could “game the system” a bit and train just forearm and one foot balance and it probably wouldn’t be indicative, so I tried to think of functional excersize to address.

Sounds stupid, but re:balance- swimming is very underrated for improving body control imo.

 

[npaden]

I’ve never been good at weight training but they say squats and weighted lunges can do more to help with hiking than running does. Probably better to do both.

 

[Gellar]

On the backside of 40, I’m starting to think of fitness more in practical terms vs performance/race type measurable data. I’ve been brainstorming metrics/goals to track my old/guy “lifestyle fitness”:

I’ve come up with the following checklist:

Sub 24 minute 5k
Sub 50 minute 10k
Swim 1 mile without stopping
Carry a 50lb pack 6 miles sub 1:50 (terrain a huge variable)
Pull and hold a 70lb draw modern bow
Bench body weight
30 legit pushups nonstop
10 pull-ups nonstop
Stand on one foot for at least a minute

Anyone else have any personal goals like this?

Sub 24 minute 5k
Sub 50 minute 10k
No, i don’t run. I can walk all day long but can’t run.
Swim 1 mile without stopping
I like to swim but I’m not going to the pool so I’d have to swim an open water mile in the river.

Carry a 50lb pack 6 miles sub 1:50 (terrain a huge variable)
No problem on medium grade terrain
Pull and hold a 70lb draw modern bow no problem pulling or holding back, 80% let off helps. Full disclosure I think my bow is at 68.
Bench body weight probably not. When I dislocated my elbow my bench never recovered but I haven’t been to a gym in 20 years.
30 legit pushups nonstop 60 nonstop is my current max. I’d like to get to 100. Probably not happening.
10 pull-ups nonstop I like to do pullups. 10 is about it.
Stand on one foot for at least a minute I still have good balance. I think I’d do ok in a field sobriety test.

Anyone else have any personal goals like this?

At 40 I’m most concerned with flexibility/range of motion and maintaining my strength while lowering my body fat. I try to think about movements I use when hunting and everyday life and replicate those with light dumbbells or bands. I’m not real concerned about getting jacked at this point of my life.

I can still start drink all day and get up fine the next day. I don’t drink lite beer.

 

[cgasner1]

I’ve never seen a bear run 5k so you’ll never see me do it either.

 

[WapitiBob]

I packed an Elk out in two trips at 65, that was just stupid.

 

[Treeshark]

I can still start drink all day and get up fine the next day.

Man, I can still do the first part but the ability to do the second part left me long ago. A normal night on the town from my 20s leaves me bedridden these days!

 

[Skguinn]

I’m basically 50 next week and I workout 6 days a week with a 1 hour minimum each time. I got diagnosed with MS 7 years ago and as I aged I have to come to realize it’s more important for me to stay injury free so no more max bench presses or squats. I like to add more mobility exercises into my routine especially after ripping my bicep last spring( wrestling calves). I spent years running half marathons and doing trail races so my right knee has just worn itself down lol. But I kept my cardio up with exercise bikes and hit workouts. I can’t say for sure I could hit your benchmarks 1 cause I’m a crap swimmer lol and I tend not to think of fitness in finite terms. My motto is I’m always going to hurt with MS might as well make worth something.

 

[Nameless Range]

I think those are all good goals. I could do some, but not others. I think there’s probably some virtue having a goal around squatting. It’s cliché, but it’s the one associated with getting up off of a lot of things - like a toilet. Because you will lose muscle at some rate by the time you achieve some age, it would be good to have as much as you can by the time you reach that age. Not sure what that benchmark would be.

One I think about is BMI/body fat percentage. Though BMI is imperfect, and I’d have to dig up the studies, it seems to be a fact that there’s just no such thing as a fat person that’s in shape insofar is they are sitting themselves up for longevity. There are tubs who could achieve many of the things on that list, but statistically they are still at risk for a lot of the complications of older age if they are carrying around too much weight.

Aside from nutrition being on point,I used to think that just being active and living an active life would kind of take care of itself for someone’s fitness. A couple older guys on the fire department, one of which is in his mid 70s still cut multiple cords of wood a week and sells them. Just a savage. But an outlier who’s also on his 3rd knee.

What I’m getting at is that if you want to maintain those practical fitness goals in the spirit of living better longer, I think you have to pointedly train in the gym. Lift weights, do cardio, etc. Just living an active lifestyle probably won’t be enough.