Fitness, for me, was always just a happy by-product of my cycling routine. The more I rode, the fitter I became. Throw in some occasional High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which we just called “intervals” years ago, and some serious mountain climbing, and I would be in race-shape in no time.

Then age began to settle in and things began to change.

The miles in the saddle no longer provided all of the necessary improvements to my physiology. I had to quit being lazy and actually work at fitness. And what an interesting journey it has become.

Changing the Definition of Fitness

Fitness, biologically speaking, is defined as our ability to survive our environment in good enough shape to reproduce. As human beings, the survival to reproduction is certainly present but it is probably not the priority as our bodies get older. Then fitness is more broadly defined as Health.

Being healthy is not just an absence of disease but a dynamic energy with which we conduct our lives. Of course, being spared so many of the colds and bugs going around each year IS a happy side-effect.

Finding and retaining Health comes from our attitude and everything we do.

• Eating nutritious food
• Participating in regular exercise
• Constructively coping with stress
• Getting sufficient sleep/rest
• Staying hydrated

So, as we age, we advisedly change our bad habits and adjust our lifestyles to activities that support Health and provide for an optimal quality of living.

That’s the theory anyway.

Changing Fitness Activities

Back in the day, fitness activities were called cross training. Heading to the gym to lift weights and participating in other different forms of exercise that were designed to give your body greater balance. Idea being that things like cycling were great for muscle groups in the legs, while the upper body was pretty much ignored. Hence the bird-like appearance of the arms and chests of many climbers.

To redefine the Healthy athlete, whether amateur or professional, a new philosophy Is beginning to appear. Looking at the individual holistically and addressing the different aspects of the same person at the same time.

I found that after a winter of cross training, I would start very strong each Spring, only to be dragging in at the end of the summer. Cardio fitness was terrific but all of that extra snap in the legs was muted after a season of just riding.

Then I did the unthinkable and began sacrificing some of my revered mileage to work on the upper body each week during the riding season. Paradoxically, I am riding stronger at the end of summer though putting in fewer miles.

Funny how that works out.

Quality vs. Quantity

Maybe it is because our cycling computers are primarily odometers, much of cycling revolves around mileage. How far and how fast are the primary points of conversation amongst many enthusiasts. And I was with them for many years.

Now that my racing days are behind me, barring those informal competitions that occur whenever two or more cyclists are gathered together, I am more interested in aging gracefully. Being fit now includes a newfound appreciation of what gravity and some free-weights can do to my competitive psyche and older body. I also include my first love, running but only to the extent that is fun.

I still enjoy competing against myself and my Garmin computer numbers but it is usually speed over known climbs or interval segments. My days of racking up miles for the sake of recording miles are over. Now I want to see improvement for time and effort.

There is just something comfortable about getting older wherein you no longer feel compelled to push beyond your boundaries. Someone younger already has that record that you have no chance of beating, so why stress?

Now I’m working on being comfortable in my own skin and enjoying every minute.

A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise. 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh