Anyone Ever Heard This Before - Stamina Training?

L

lorajc

Cathlete
This was in an interview I read in a magazine recently by Michael Roizen, chair of the division of anestesiology and critcal care medicine at the Cleveland Clinc and author of the RealAge Makeover. Apparently, he consulted thousands of scientific studies and developed a formula to determine the wear on your body based on your health behaviors.

This is the question/answer that caught my eye:

How much exercise do you really need to stay young? And is it true that too much exercise can age you prematurely?

More than four hours of stamina exercise a week can damage cells, particularly your DNA, and destroy muscle tissue. The result is that you'll end up aged and hobbling around before your time. To stay young, you need 30 minutes a day of walking, 30 minutes a week of strength activity and 20 minutes 3 times a week of stamina training.

My questions - .......what exactly is stamina training? and what does everyone think of this?
 
My understanding of stamina training is that it is cardio - anything that increases your cardiovascular endurance.

I don't know about his theory about DNA, etc. But I'm living proof that too much exercise can cause you to start hobbling around early! I imagine a lot of it depends on how you're put together, and what sort of exercise you do. For example, I've always done high impact exercise on very unforgiving floors. So now I have bad knees and sore tendons.

But then I know a woman who is ten years older than me who is an adventure racer. The things she puts her body through are amazing. She's had some injuries, but all in all, she's holding up a heck of a lot better than I am - she's older and works out a lot harder. So go figure.
 
I would imagine that any form of overtraining will break down body tissue. From my understanding, the body is equipt to adapt to intense exercise and longer durations, provided that you train it to do so in an intelligent way. Also, I wonder how the "over exercisers" compared to those in the same age group who did little or no exercise at all.

I didn't read the study but I wonder if many of the 'over exercisers' didn't do enough strength training to counteract the stresses of intense and impactful cardio work. I can't tell you how many people I see everyday who focus solely on cardio.

C
 
I have done distance running for about 10 years...I do run sometimes over 4 hours....I also weightlift regularly for injury prevention. I think I have trained my body for the distance running. I ran 20 miles today and I am not hobbling...could be just an individual thing?....:)
 
I kind of think of it like investing. Men think they're great at it, but women do much better at it. Certain things do not benefit from all that testosterone. All the men I know who are "athletes" wind up hobbling around as they get older. Women, who tend to exercise more sensibly, are more respectful of their bodies. My mother and I have both been walking for over 20 years. My mother's doctor is amazed at what great shape she is in. I've never been injured. My boss, who is now 73 years old and has been an "athlete" his whole life, has a lot of physical limitations. Men always think more is better, and more aggressive is better, but it ain't so. Slow, steady and moderate wins in the end.

Hope that makes sense.
-Nancy
 
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