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Run to Stay Young

well.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: Run to Stay Young

#51

Post by suprgeek »

We need to be wary of drawing the conclusions drawn here - the big tip-off is this sentence from the paper: "...Runners self-reported running for exercise three or more times per week for at least 30 minutes per bout and for at least six months prior to the study. "

A self-reported group of old runners can apparently walk more efficiently than a self-reported group of old walkers...but the runners were fit enough to run and sustain running to begin with!!

So older people who were fit enough to sustainably run for 6+ months were fitter than older folks who (were possibly not as fit) but choose to walk?

Horrible study...randomly assign fit older people to one or other group, let them run or walk for 6+ months - measure. Reverse the groups again measure.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#52

Post by kazinator »

SCAQTony wrote: post #40

NOPE - Show me a runner who is 50 and he looks like 70. Show a swimmer who is 70 and he looks like 50. At late middle age running is dangerous.

Ah, the 70 at 50 problem is due to years of roaming around outdoors without using sunscreen, not due to running.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#53

Post by ams6110 »

soperj wrote: post #16
TulliusCicero wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the distinguishing factor is intensity, so it's likely you could substitute in some other higher-intensity workout that may be easier on the joints, like swimming.

For my money, skating is easily the easiest on joints for high intensity exercise.

Falling on the ice is pretty rough though. If you're starting out, wear hockey pants and elbow pads. And maybe a helmet.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#54

Post by CapitalistCartr »

pc2g4d wrote: post #46

The conclusions drawn in the article don't seem to match the study in question. The participants were not experimentally assigned to be either walkers or runners; rather, they had themselves already selected whether or not to be walkers or runners. This implies that the large proportion of older adults who are neither walkers nor runners are not represented in this study. It also makes it impossible to determine the…

Or neither; people who run regularly tend to practice other healthy habits. Or maybe it's mostly genetics.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#55

Post by pc2g4d »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #54
pc2g4d wrote: post #46

The conclusions drawn in the article don't seem to match the study in question. The participants were not experimentally assigned to be either walkers or runners; rather, they had themselves already selected whether or not to be walkers or runners. This implies that the large proportion of older adults who are neither walkers nor runners are not represented in this study. It also makes it impossible to determine the…

Or neither; people who run regularly tend to practice other healthy habits. Or maybe it's mostly genetics.

Good call---confounders lurk!

Re: Run to Stay Young

#56

Post by lightcatcher »

suprgeek wrote: post #51

We need to be wary of drawing the conclusions drawn here - the big tip-off is this sentence from the paper: "...Runners self-reported running for exercise three or more times per week for at least 30 minutes per bout and for at least six months prior to the study. " A self-reported group of old runners can apparently walk more efficiently than a self-reported group of old walkers...but the runners were fit enough to…

I think the study is assigning health benefits to "being a runner" rather than just "running". It's likely that the selected group of runners who had been running regularly for 6 months had been running regularly for much much longer, perhaps 10+ years. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but I don't know how many people are in good enough shape at age 60+ to start running, and I imagine most people running at age 60+ started running no later than their mid 50's.

The real thing you want to control for is the health of the runners and the walkers at the time the runners started running.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#57

Post by dustingetz »

melling wrote: post #4
Nicholas_C wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is great if you're older and have the physical ability to run. I suspect that some of the non-runners can't run.

I tried jogging over the summer for the first time in years, but my feet started hurting. It would take days to recover. I gave up after 2 months. It feels good but I seem prone to injury.

Try a couch-to-5k program that will ease you into things without getting you hurt: http://www.reddit.com/r/c25k

Re: Run to Stay Young

#58

Post by redgrange »

dazc wrote: post #14
chatmasta wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ran 4 years of D1 cross country. Can confirm. The oft-repeated trope is "concrete is 12x harder than soft surface grass." Not sure how true that is or how the physics work, but stay away from roads. Run on the dirt on the side of them.

And also avoid running downhill.

why? downhills are free.

Re: Run to Stay Young

#60

Post by qubitcoder »

nicklaf wrote: post #48
melling wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried jogging over the summer for the first time in years, but my feet started hurting. It would take days to recover. I gave up after 2 months. It feels good but I seem prone to injury.

According to Wikipedia, 10% of all people get what's called "Plantar Fasciitis" at some point. In my late teens, I began to have very bad bouts of this syndrome, whenever I sprinted. The more I ignored the pain, the longer it would take to heal. In my early 20's, I suddenly took up running--eventually ratcheting up my route to 7 miles--after being somewhat sedentary for a couple years. The result of this was perhaps…

I can also recommend Asics. Even after going to high-end running stores with video profiling, Asics are still the best running shoe for me. With every other brand, I get shin splints shortly after running.
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