Practical Fitness

[WapitiScout]

Along wiyh the original post, I'm wondering how much a 48 year old fairly-fit flatlander like myself from 1,000 feet altitude will need to adjust estimated hiking times using Naismith's rule for hiking time estimates?

Naismith's Rule:

• Distance: Allow one hour for every 3 miles (5 kilometers) you plan to hike forward.
• Elevation Gain: Add one additional hour for every 2,000 feet (600 meters) of ascent.
• So a 2 mile hike with 1,000 ft gain should take about 70 minutes... but this doesn't account for whether or not one is acclimated or one's ability to deal with 10,000 ft altitude.
• Is anyone familiar with a general rule for adjusting for this?

 

[sclancy27]

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?

I guess since I'm almost 40, I can contribute. I am going to try to keep these standards as long as I can:

Squat: 315 @ 185 or so BW (so like 1.7 BW)
Deadlift: 2x BW (I do mostly RDL's now, but I can still do this)
Bench: 1.5x BW
Lunges: I do a lot more lunges now, sometimes I do BW lunges as many as I can for 30 min, others with 60-70lb DB in each hand and 3-4 sets of 10. Maintain that.
Pullups: 15-20x BW (my PR is 28 at a lighter BW, I haven't tried recently but I for sure can hit 15-20 straight, likely 20 ish)
Handstand Pushups: BW x5 is my standard. My PR is around 10. I haven't done these in a while.
Pack Hike: My local hike is 2.5 miles and 1200' of elevation gain, if I can get this around 80 min with 60-70 lbs I'm doing pretty decent. Round trip (~ 5 miles) should be just over 2hrs.
Continue shooting my 80 lb bow.
I don't swim, but swimming a mile is freaking impressive
I don't run, cuz I hate it
I mountain bike a fair bit, but I have no standards for it. Basically, my goal is to not crash and tear myself up
Continue to be able to stand up and paddle on a SUP easily, with a dog on the front

My standards/goals are dependent on BW, so that means I stay lean and strong. I've never sniffed 200 lbs @ 6'1"....

 

[SAJ-99]

Along wiyh the original post, I'm wondering how much a 48 year old fairly-fit flatlander like myself from 1,000 feet altitude will need to adjust estimated hiking times using Naismith's rule for hiking time estimates?

Naismith's Rule:

• Distance: Allow one hour for every 3 miles (5 kilometers) you plan to hike forward.
• Elevation Gain: Add one additional hour for every 2,000 feet (600 meters) of ascent.
• So a 2 mile hike with 1,000 ft gain should take about 70 minutes... but this doesn't account for whether or not one is acclimated or one's ability to deal with 10,000 ft altitude.
• Is anyone familiar with a general rule for adjusting for this?

Sounds about right. 30 min/mile with 1000ft elevation gain seems reasonable. Just did a hike and went 8m total, 2000ft (5500 to 7700ish) in 5hrs. Subtract 1.5 for “sightseeing” on the side of the mountain and a snack break. Lots of variables though. This was a well-maintained trail, pack is 20lbs, cardio, etc.

 

[Z Barebow]

I no longer obsess about numbers as a benchmark. I may check in once a while (Heart Rate, pace, weight lifted etc) My age is only a point of reference (I am 59)

I am an adult onset runner. (Started in my early 40's) I ran 3 sub 3 hour marathons (Including Boston).

Today (at my age) primary goal is functional fitness to hunt the mountains. I want to be healthy for remainder of my life. I no longer race, don't care about miles or pace, (Have not worn Garmin in 10 years) nor do I log crazy miles (Run no more than 3 days a week. I do HIIT for muscle retention/strength. Do pack training in summer to prepare for hunt. Shoot my bow almost every day, (but not about reps, focus on quality. Less than 30 arrows per session)

I care what I eat, but I don't obsess over it. I am enjoying the ride!

You do you. Good luck!

 

[cookchris]

Whoa, love that thread — lots of people talking about staying fit in real, useful ways rather than chasing numbers. I saw someone say they don’t care about race times anymore; just want to be able to hike, carry stuff, stay active. Totally get that. Btw, I've been reading through planet fitness reviews lately to see if joining a gym like that makes sense for someone who just wants function over competition. Might give it a try for strength + flexibility without all the frills.