a minimum standard of fitness?

a couple of things i didn't mention are and individual physical limitations. to be clear, physical limitations are things, genetic/accident/injury/disease related, that would prevent people from being able to participate in physical activities.

age is something that may include physical limitations, but those limitations may have been caused by inactivity over a lifetime. from a purely observational standpoint, i have seen many older adults who are capable of achieving the minimum standards i suggested. one of the reasons i see for this is their consistent particitipation in physical activity over the course of their lifetime. i think it's fair to say though that expectations may decrease as age increases.

and as Reductimat suggested it may be somewhat presumptuous to suggest minimum standards, but this is intended to be a open discussion of physical abilities wrt to health related outcomes.

i chopped it because one of the ideas of this sub-forum is to be supportive and understanding and a place where people can ask what may be personal questions without fear of getting mocked. there can be a number of different reasons beyond personal lifestyle that lead people to poor physical conditioning that may not be visible on the surface. as such, note the edit this time. same for Reductimat's post as well.

note - i may have been a bit quick with the delte so i've brought them back in an edited form. but in the spirit of the op and the question poised, do you really feel that being able to walk a few block's should be the minimum?

Generally,yes. Remember that most of us involved in sports like biking have fitness levels way abouve the normal people. I'd bet that a disturbing percentage of folks out there couldn't walk to the store without breaking a sweat or elevating their heart rate.

Generally,yes. Remember that most of us involved in sports like biking have fitness levels way abouve the normal people. I'd bet that a disturbing percentage of folks out there couldn't walk to the store without breaking a sweat or elevating their heart rate.

i'd tend to agree with you that a significant percentage of the population in seriously unfit. the shame of that is that it is relatively easy to build and maintain even a minor level (below what i would call the minimum level but above sedentary) of physical ability.

i woud also echo what you say and add that vancouver (metro van) is probably disproportinally fitter than many other places in north america.

What I really find disturbing is that I agree with TB but he is right, the vast majority of normal people are sedentary, not in good shape, a whole bunch of them are overweight or obese and they couldn't do the minimum let alone good and I wonder if you are overestimating the public so where did you come up with those goals?

NA is a car culture so a whole lot of people drive everywhere at a diabetic seminar the facilitator told me "we are just trying to get these people to walk around the block"

It's easier to stay motivated for fitness when there's a payoff. When I'm stronger, fitter and more powerful then riding and skiing is more fun. That directly cranks up my desire to train hard off the bike. That self-sustaining positive feedback loop includes some major side benefits besides having more fun on my bike (looking good, feeling good, disease resistance, looking young for my age, etc).

I can see how it would be hard to justify that kind of training when all you do is sit on the couch living vicariously through your screen. But the necessary shift in attitude starts with making a decision to choose differently.

What I really find disturbing is that I agree with TB but he is right, the vast majority of normal people are sedentary, not in good shape, a whole bunch of them are overweight or obese and they couldn't do the minimum let alone good and I wonder if you are overestimating the public so where did you come up with those goals?

NA is a car culture so a whole lot of people drive everywhere at a diabetic seminar the facilitator told me "we are just trying to get these people to walk around the block"

i agree that there are far too many people in poor state of physical fitnees adn don't think i am overestimating the public. in terms of how i came up with the goals i took a look at what the average human is capable of and set a minimum well below that. the minimums would not be that difficult to achieve if consistent effort was put into achieving those goals.

as an example i've had a guy in his late 50's go from being able to only do a total of 5 pushups to being able to do over 50 (in three sets) in a matter of 3 weeks.

It's easier to stay motivated for fitness when there's a payoff. When I'm stronger, fitter and more powerful then riding and skiing is more fun. That directly cranks up my desire to train hard off the bike. That self-sustaining positive feedback loop includes some major side benefits besides having more fun on my bike (looking good, feeling good, disease resistance, looking young for my age, etc).

I can see how it would be hard to justify that kind of training when all you do is sit on the couch living vicariously through your screen. But the necessary shift in attitude starts with making a decision to choose differently.

the physical activity involvement also pays benefits in day to day life, more so as we age. simple things like being able to walk up a few flights of stairs without getting winded, running a block to catch a bus, or even simple tasks such as being able to sit down or stand up from a chair without needing something for support are benefits of regular physical activity.

the physical activity involvement also pays benefits in day to day life, more so as we age. simple things like being able to walk up a few flights of stairs without getting winded, running a block to catch a bus, or even simple tasks such as being able to sit down or stand up from a chair without needing something for support are benefits of regular physical activity.

So true. My dad was an active Person all his life, "proper" Labor, some gardening and just being outdoors. Then a few years before he died, he simply stopped taking walks and being active - literally from one day to the next he was no longer able to go to the restroom alone. He spent his last two years in a wheelchair, and needed help just to stand up.

THis is what really terrifies me, and I often tell other People, who are not active, about it when they ask me why I have kettlebells in the living room, why I ride my bike as much as I can, why I try to Keep up a Routine of stretching and all the other stuff I do.

The human Body has a tremendous ability to adapt to physical challenges, the older you get the harder it is to Keep up the Progression without getting too greedy.

At first I thought that the posted "Standards" were a Little on the low-end of any possible scale, but then I thought about them a bit longer, and it makes sense from a reasonable and healthy perspective. To try and stay active as Long as possible, I think it is a good idea to start with a Sound base before trying to go wild.

If People put in the work in a reasonable way that is in tune with their bodies, the Minimums really are a good start.

i'd tend to agree with you that a significant percentage of the population in seriously unfit. the shame of that is that it is relatively easy to build and maintain even a minor level (below what i would call the minimum level but above sedentary) of physical ability.

i woud also echo what you say and add that vancouver (metro van) is probably disproportinally fitter than many other places in the world.

fixed it for you ;)

It's easier to stay motivated for fitness when there's a payoff. When I'm stronger, fitter and more powerful then riding and skiing is more fun. That directly cranks up my desire to train hard off the bike. That self-sustaining positive feedback loop includes some major side benefits besides having more fun on my bike (looking good, feeling good, disease resistance, looking young for my age, etc).

I can see how it would be hard to justify that kind of training when all you do is sit on the couch living vicariously through your screen. But the necessary shift in attitude starts with making a decision to choose differently.

I agree with you - but not only do I for example feel better, feel a tad "springy" and elastic, but rather - life feels better, getting the groceries, getting firewood from the backyard into the living room, picking up my son (heavy and strong for a 4 year old), helping others out, all those things and situations life can throw at you can feel easier, and are easier.

There have been times when I sort of could not really Train properly, call it slight depressions, too much going on, etc.
And I felt like crap - I started working out again, going for walks, riding my bike, Lifting some weights - and the General Feeling about me and my Environment changed.

Anyone who says that they get all the fitness they need just from riding has clearly never done anything else supplementary. It's incredible how much more fun riding is when I'm super physically strong. The irony is that when riding is that good I want to do it more and more and eventually spin off the muscle and get weak and suddenly it's less fun again even though my cycling/metabolic fitness is really high. Or I spin off the muscle and lose that measure of crash resistance and get hurt.

You don't get slow because you're old. You get old because you allow yourself to get slow.

Anyone who says that they get all the fitness they need just from riding has clearly never done anything else supplementary. It's incredible how much more fun riding is when I'm super physically strong. The irony is that when riding is that good I want to do it more and more and eventually spin off the muscle and get weak and suddenly it's less fun again even though my cycling/metabolic fitness is really high. Or I spin off the muscle and lose that measure of crash resistance and get hurt.

You don't get slow because you're old. You get old because you allow yourself to get slow.

Just a question - how strong is strong in your case? The reason I am asking is that I feel that I have to (and want to) take it slower this year if I want to Keep up all the things I am doing right now. And I realised when I focused too much on strength Training, then my riding ability deteriorated simply because I did not give my Body the time it took to compensate. I was too greedy getting to the point where I could lift and squat my Bodyweight on the bar for clean and smooth reps.

I think that having some muscle and a properly prepared Body takes the sting out of crashes and falls, and since the Body can handle a higher load, the muscles and the brain can stay active for a lot longer.

In 2013 I went to the Italian Alps, and as preparation I did a lot of riding, and four weeks of kettlebell swings and snatches - I felt great and rode about 250 km in a week, without getting sore. Tired yes, but not sore. That felt really great. I do not think that only riding would have prepared me as well as the additional work.

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You don't get slow because you're old. You get old because you allow yourself to get slow.

I believe this^^ I think one should go for speed as they get older … speed work is good

Beat me up the hill or around the block and you are fit. If you don't beat me, then we're both unfit. ;-)

Anyone who says that they get all the fitness they need just from riding has clearly never done anything else supplementary. It's incredible how much more fun riding is when I'm super physically strong. The irony is that when riding is that good I want to do it more and more and eventually spin off the muscle and get weak and suddenly it's less fun again even though my cycling/metabolic fitness is really high. Or I spin off the muscle and lose that measure of crash resistance and get hurt.

You don't get slow because you're old. You get old because you allow yourself to get slow.

Yes and no. You do lose some when you don't to the weights and such. But you still lose strength and such if all you do is spin and cruise while you ride. Use easy gears all the time instead of making yourself work a bit.