Category Archives: Fitness

The End of an Era (At Least for Me)

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It sounds somewhat egocentric to talk about a time in my life as an “era” but other words do not seem to adequately describe my relationship with road cycling. I could call my passion for riding a “phase” or a “stage”. But those terms seem to trivialize the experience that became so prominent during my empty-nesting years. The pull of the road reached out and called me to put myself into situations that were more dangerous (and simultaneously thrilling) than my conservative nature could have planned. I am not sure I can pinpoint why it became important, just that it did. And it is time to leave it behind.

Perhaps it is because my passion for it did not come until mid-life (it did not come until I was in my early fifties). Or possibly it was because of the beauty of our southern Indiana backroads system and easy access to quiet, peaceful rides that could show the beauty of a warm summer day. Maybe it was the outlet provided after long days in the office giving me both a mental and physical respite. Whatever the reason for developing the love of the sport, it has become obvious that the time has come to give it up. And that decision has come with all of the normal responses to grieving a loss.

I started riding as part of recovery from a broken leg and complications that came after surgeries to repair the injury. In a shift to non-weight bearing exercises (I don’t swim well) I picked cycling as something to try. I quickly went from a hybrid bike and riding around the neighborhood to finding a carbon fiber (extremely lightweight) bike with all of the gadgets and technology that allowed me t throw myself into the sport as fully as time allowed. I had the GPS monitors that tracked my mapping, calories, cadence, power output, and much more. I would put the data into apps and track training. I bought one of the early Tour de France indoor training bikes to give me something to do during cold-weather or rainy times. I was “all in”.

Cycling also offered the opportunity to ride socially as well as on my own. Riding with friends became part of a weekly routine that would see us riding 20-25 miles once or twice during the week and then 40-50 miles on weekends. The miles added up and the addiction to the road pulled us in. I would take my bike with me every time we traveled. Some of the riskiest decisions I have made have involved heading out by myself on my bike through unfamiliar roads and traffic patterns. Whether it was an urban ride through Louisville, a mountain ride through West Virginia, a beach ride through Florida, or scenic rides through Traverse City or Savannah, I was ready to go wherever the road led me.

Over the past few years, the cycling landscape has been changing. There have been external factors that have become alarming while at the same time, I have seen some physical changes that have made me less comfortable while riding. Distracted drivers have always been concerning. While states have laws protecting cyclists, those laws don’t do you any good when a 4000 pound car contacts a 200 pound bike. While the laws of the states provide protection the laws of physics do not. The number of times I have barely missed contact with extended truck mirrors is difficult to track. Car drivers on phones, cyclists playing music (instead of listening for cars), and road debris in safety lanes are just a few of the issues that have worsened over the past few years.

Getting older has not helped. Reaction times are slowing. Hearing, which is vital to cycling safety, has been decreasing. Dog chases have become more common (yes, I have been taken down by a large dog and chased by many). With the placement of a pacemaker a couple of years ago, I had already gotten to the point that I would not go out alone. Now, with a new-onset seizure disorder I have doctor (and common sense) directives to avoid outdoor cycling. After thirteen years of a hobby that I passionately pursued I am at the point of quitting.

The good news for me is that over the past couple of years, I have found a replacement. I have been using Peloton classes as a substitute and find that, while not quite as enveloping, the experience is close and getting better. I can pivot to becoming an indoor cyclist and still get good workouts in a much safer environment. But I don’t get the experience of walking into a coffee bar in the cool biker get-up of shorts, jerseys, and those “oh so comfortable” shoes. Maybe sparing others that visual is the greatest benefit of it all.

Fitness Requires Adjustments

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‪Nine years ago today a two-story stumble off a ladder changed me physically forever. The day started as a normal February morning, although the forty-degree temperature and sun made it feel much warmer coming out of a cold January. I had been to the hospital to make rounds and had done a couple of procedures. Gena and I had eaten lunch and decided that it was so nice (relatively) outside that we would replace the window screens. The screens had been taken down in early December to allow for the placement of large Christmas wreaths by suction cup onto the glass. After taking down the wreaths early in January, we had waited for better weather to replace the screens. Even though it was only in the low forties, we had an inkling that someday soon we might want to open the windows and let some fresh air into the house.

I carefully positioned the extension ladder against the brick of the house for the last screen placement. I went up and tried to work the screen into place in its guide so it coud be locked down and we could finish our outside chores. But this screen was stubborn. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get it to lock into place. I told Gena (who had been holding the ladder) to go inside and up the stairs to pull from the inside while I held the screen in position from the outside. She was only gone a minute or so. But while she was walking up the stairs, I decided to try to re-position the screen one more time on my own. As I was looking up at the track through the lower part of my bifocals, I felt myself losing balance. As I slowly tilted backwards, I felt myself reach a point when I realized I was going down and doing so without the help of the ladder. Gravity was the only assistant I had at this point.

As I began to fall, I was able to kick away from the ladder and spin around, much like a swimmer does when they make a turn off of a wall. I pushed with my legs, twisted, and tucked my arms under my chest hoping not to break my wrists. Well…I didn’t break my wrists. My twist (or spin, or whatever) overshot by a little and I did an almost perfect two point landing using my left leg and my head. There are many who think the crack in the sidewalk came from my hard head, but the only cracks there are by design. My head was okay. My leg…another story. I had an open fracture of both bones in my leg. I was not able to stand and the only way to get to the hospital was by ambulance. So Gena dialed 911.

The first-responder who arrived was a paramedic I had worked with for years. His first question was, “Dr. Lyell, are you going to to tell me what to do, or are you going to let me do my job.” I let him do his job. I was initially taken to the emergency room, had xrays, was given some IV pain meds and transferred to what is now Baptist Health Floyd hospital for surgery later that night. Because of the open wound, I had to have five days of IV antibiotics afterwards before being sent home with a second surgery scheduled ten days later.

Having been somewhat of a runner before the fall, I didn’t realize how much being immobile would affect me. Due to the second surgery and some complications, I did not walk for six months and was not cleared to be on uneven surfaces for another year. That is eighteen months with little exercise other than walking around the house, the office, and the occasional trip to the store. One night, eighteen months after the fall, Gena and I were eating dinner at a local restaurant and somehow began discussing exercise and activity. We left the restaurant and went to a bicycle shop where I bought my first bike. I began riding in the neighborhood, but got bored with that quickly. I joined the Louisville Bicycle Club and went on a few group rides out of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and got some good advice on riding on roads. The journey had resumed.

My appetite for riding was insatiable. I read every article I could find about riding. Soon, my neighbor developed an interest and we started riding together. We would do long rides on weekends and one or two days during the week we would leave after work and ride the back roads of southern Harrison County. We would travel to ride and developed a great love of simply seeing the countryside from a bicycle seat. From 2013 until 2017 we road every chance we could find. One year, I logged over 3,000 miles on the bike. I love riding and am glad I found that as an option for fitness. But I am truly a fair weather rider. I do not like to ride when it gets much below sixty degrees. So what do I do during the months when it is cool? What do I do when it is raining? What do I do when I travel and can’t take my bike?

And along came Crossfit. I started going to CrossFit Enapay in September of 2016 with the express purpose of bettering my posture and becoming a better cyclist. Two and a half years later, it is hard to tell if I am a better cyclist or not. I haven’t ridden much because I don’t want to miss CrossFit. I have been bitten by the bug and LOVE it. I have noticed such a change in my overall fitness that I have not yet gone back to cycling. I plan to ride more this spring and summer but want to incorporate the total body fitness I get from CrossFit with cycling.

As I approach 60 (years of age, not miles per hour) I have finally learned not to try to keep up with the younger people in the gym. I am happy to compete only with myself. But I want to get back on the road. I want to hear the clank of the chain and derailleur as I change the gears. I want to hear the hum of the road slicks on the pavement. I want to hear the whistle of the wind through the side of my helmet. I want to feel the leg burn going up a steep hill and the exhilaration caused by the wind on my face going down the other side.

Had I not fallen and broken my leg, I do not think I would have found cycling. And as a result of the desire to be better at cycling, would not have found CrossFit. As I look back, I was upset, and even depressed, during the months that followed my accident. Now I am thankful for opportunities that have arisen out of that.‬ I am grateful for the new friends I have and also for the chances I have had to cheer and motivate others to expand their interests.

I am passionate about fitness and encourage everyone to be active. The best thing you can do for your mind and your body is to get off the carbs…and get off the couch. Get out there.

Benefits of CrossFit

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A year ago, my wife talked me into trying a CrossFit Foundations class. She had recently completed her first (and ironically last) marathon and sustained an injury that prevented further distance running. She had searched for an exercise option that would allow her to participate freely and limit injury while improving cardiac endurance and building strength. I was skeptical, but was willing to try it just to appease her. I told her I would go through the foundations class and see how it went. Initially, I was not that excited about it but agreed to give it a six-month trial. Having also sustained an injury that prevented running, I had become an avid cyclist and decided to use the CrossFit as a way to become better at bicycling. I wanted to improve my posture, minimize back pain on the bike, and try to maintain some of the cardiac fitness level through the winter months. Well, a year later, I have been back on the bike three times but participate in CrossFit activities five to six times a week.

I am not wanting to suggest that CrossFit is for everyone. There are a multitude of options for staying fit. In fact, when I discuss physical activity with patients, fast walking is the activity I most commonly recommend. I rarely encourage adults to start running unless they use a run-walk-run technique to start (I.e. Jeff Galloway program). When discussing fitness with teenagers I usually highly encourage them into incorporating any type of activity in school that will carry over into adulthood. The major options of school sports that can be continued throughout a lifetime include swimming, tennis, golf, and cross-country/track (running). Developing habits early is important to keep an active lifestyle and help in the cross-cultural fight against obesity and inactivity (but that’s another issue altogether). The point is, you have to find something that fits your lifestyle, limits exposure to injury, and can be maintained over time.

It’s difficult for me to describe what CrossFit is. My initial superficial impression was that it was weightlifting, designed to add muscle without much cardio activity. I quickly found out that I was SO wrong. Using high-intensity training and several body-weight exercises, it attempts to improve overall muscle tone and strength. This includes the tone and strength of the body’s most important muscle- the heart. Earlier this year, as part of a medical work-up, I had to wear a heart monitor for thirty days. With the monitor connected, I continued to participate in CrossFit classes and found that while my resting heart rate stayed in the 40-50 range, for the daily hour of CrossFit my heart rate soared into the 170-180 range and stayed above 150 for about an hour.  This provided me with the evidence I needed that short-term, high intensity training can push the heart rate into training and “fat-burn” zones.

One of my favorite aspects of CrossFit is the programming that comes with it. Having a coach set up an exercise routine that cycles though muscle groups and activities makes it so easy to avoid focusing on one set of muscles or another. Left to my own, I tend to avoid different sets of exercises, always resorting to movements that do not push me as I need to be pushed. With CrossFit, I don’t have to think or plan out what I am going to do. I show up, TRY not to complain, and just do it!  There are occasionally activities that I can not do (some due to physical limitations, others due to age and lack of flexibility), but our coach always has alternative exercises or regimens that are scaled back to allow me to participate at the maximum level my body can take.

Over the past year, I have noted remarkable improvements in strength, endurance, flexibility, and most importantly, attitude. While I have not lost much weight, I have lost pant sizes. The lack of weight loss is more related to my nutrition that activity (abs are, after all, made in the kitchen). I did not take pictures before starting, but have seen changes that did not happen in my young adulthood. Yes, I ache and hurt constantly. But it is a good hurt. It is the hurt of using muscle groups that need work and the ache of strengthening required to become more fit. Because of the intense focus on technique, the incremental improvements can be slowed somewhat. This limits the potential for injury while insuring optimal sustainable gains in strength, balance, and endurance.

Having participated for almost a year, I have watched improvements in several benchmarks, seen changes in the fit of my clothes, and developed a family-type comraderie with people of all ages that I might not have otherwise. Being the fifth oldest member of our “box” (the CrossFit term for gym), I have to fight the urge to try to compete with others. I am learning to compete with myself only, while working alongside people less than half my age who are encouraging me, pushing me, and helping me become stronger. I will never be “the fittest”, however, I will always be fitter. As my coach told me recently, “You’ve got the rest of your life to get there. You don’t have a deadline.”

The CrossFit family cares for each other. They are supportive, challenging, and fun. They cheer each other on. Frequently the one who finishes last gets the loudest cheers and support. We also want to share what we have with others. In a society that needs to strive for better nutrition and fitness levels, CrossFit is filling a large gap. There is an adage we have recently picked up. It asks, “How do you know if someone does CrossFit Talk to them for five minutes and they will tell you.”  Not because those of us who do CrossFit are better than anyone else. We are just excited about what we are doing, the results we are seeing, and the fun we are having. I have not only sipped the CrossFit Kool-Aid, I have gulped it down and crave more.