Geez......even at 44 years old I'd class myself above average fitness wise for my age. I've not been in the water for a few weeks and today I was on a short life saving course in the sea. God, I felt sooooooo unfit and was out of breath way too quick. Need to work on the cardio fast as my breathnig was terrible and I found it knackering trying to rescue someone back in to the shore. Fair dos, that is normally a lot more tiring than you would think but I was totally wiped.
Any recommendations on building the cardio up fast. Suppose I can work on the swimming and do some cycling....I don't run as it kills my knees. What do you reckon?
I was experiencing something very similar awhile back... like you, I thought I was old and out of shape.
I bought a Polar brand heart rate monitor (nothing fancy) and decided on a cardiac training program. That's when I discovered my rate jumping as much as 40 points seemingly in one beat. (see my post from August on http://surfersover50.blogspot.com/)
I have symptoms similar to what you're describing when it happens. My pulse is basically absent or erratic at best during these events. Turns out I was and have been slipping in to a dangerous heart rhythm even after a pretty horrendous treatment that I was assured offered a "90% success rate."
I have been wearing my monitor in the water lately and discovering that I am vulnerable to it happening while surfing. I am currently awaiting insurance approval for round two of diagnostics/treatment.
If you don't have one, try wearing a heart rate monitor and see what your rate is when it happens. Learn to take your pulse and check it before and during these events.
There are any number of issues that you likely will never be able to 'work through.' People younger than you and me with similar problems have collapsed and died from over exertion.
As I have mentioned before on this site in regards to health problems, see a doctor.
I was experiencing something very similar awhile back... like you, I thought I was old and out of shape.
I bought a Polar brand heart rate monitor (nothing fancy) and decided on a cardiac training program. That's when I discovered my rate jumping as much as 40 points seemingly in one beat. (see my post from August on http://surfersover50.blogspot.com/)
I have symptoms similar to what you're describing when it happens. My pulse is basically absent or erratic at best during these events. Turns out I was and have been slipping in to a dangerous heart rhythm even after a pretty horrendous treatment that I was assured offered a "90% success rate."
I have been wearing my monitor in the water lately and discovering that I am vulnerable to it happening while surfing. I am currently awaiting insurance approval for round two of diagnostics/treatment.
If you don't have one, try wearing a heart rate monitor and see what your rate is when it happens. Learn to take your pulse and check it before and during these events.
There are any number of issues that you likely will never be able to 'work through.' People younger than you and me with similar problems have collapsed and died from over exertion.
As I have mentioned before on this site in regards to health problems, see a doctor.
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Hi John, glad to hear you have your heart issue under control. I've used heart monitors quite a bit as part of previous road cycling training. I'm 99 per cent sure I don't have any irregular heart issues...it's just I'm not as fit as I thought I was. Suppose it is hard when you used to be very fit and I was so surprised how I had lost it over a few weeks/months. I just need to grit the teeth and work at it harder for a while...no excuses!
I think a lot of time the mental drives the physical........particularly when stress is involved. I've noticed as I get older if I am stressing while exercising or surfing my heart rate will go thru the roof. When this happens I can literally feel the energy being sucked from my arms and legs. Its as if the blood isn't getting there. Its an odd and scary sensation that I have encountered about 4 times while surfing in the last few years. For me it can be the stress of daily life that triggers it or the stress of not being comfortable in the surf conditions on a given day.
The worst instance of this for me was a couple years back while surfing big waves on a day when the air was about 40 and the water was 36. I was not comfortable with the conditions to begin with and hadn't been in the water in a couple of weeks. Surf was borderline out of control with a bad rip running down the beach. After one of my waves I got caught in a rip taking me towards a rock jetty and was stuck in the impact zone. I got caught in a wierd spot where I couldn't go in or out. Once the heart rate got up it was if my arms were lifeless with no strength. I got lucky and caught a lull and climbed up on the rocks and got out of there without getting hurt.
I think the key is to stay within your limits, stay calm and get out in the water as much as possible. I've found that no exercise in the world prepairs you for surfing like surfing does.
Your fitness and mine must be on holiday together in mexico or somewhere. Surf in the last few months has been crap, and i've missed the few decent waves. I think i've been surfing twice a month the last 3 or 4 months, whereas i'll usually get twice a week. Definately notice it, even on my midlength im huffing and puffing. Makes you less keen to go out in the junk, which in turn, makes it harder to keep the fitness levels up. getting to the point where i havent had what i'd call a "good" surf in months, just been surfing messy small junk, just coz im desperate. Although, just that half turn on a half decent section will get me back the next morning!.
Need to get on my bike a bit more, or swim some more though.
Mako - interesting observations. A few times since passing 50 I've experienced panic attacks, where my heart races and my adrenaline goes through the roof - one time while driving in heavy L.A. traffic taking my daughter to the airport (LAX) I had to pull over and take my jacket off, it felt like a strangling straightjacket for no logical reason, - but its never happened while surfing, thankfully.
I've only been back to surfing just under a year after a many year hiatus. Recently, I went surfing in S.L.O. county Calif. The waves were overhead and real steep and ledgy, borderline makeable, but not huge. I still felt slightly out of my league, since I'm working myself back into surfing condition while dealing with the ageing obstacles (I'm 55). I suited up, and sat on the beach watching the waves for the longest time, feeling a hundred years old. It was an odd sensation. I finally paddled out, and got hammered on some vertical takeoffs which didn't surprise me since my 9'6" longboard just wasn't the right board for those conditions, but it was all I had with me at the time. I was still glad I went out, but age does bring some new and not always pleasant experiences, doesn't it?
“Any recommendations on building the cardio up fast.”
You can’t do this long term without significant vacations from it as it will fry your nervous system due to intensity but Tabata intervals or some similar high intensity interval training (HIIT) will boost your fitness more and faster than anythning else known. Below links will tell you more than you ever wanted to know:
Mountain biking is really good for cardio and easy on the body. Use a pair of kettlebells for strength and core work. Plus plenty of situps & pressups.
You can get crazy good cardio along w/ the core and strength work all in one with even just one kettlebell. Start w/ basics and learn proper form so no injuries then work up to high reps of snatches or clean and jerks (use maximum amount of large muscles all at once). Use VO2 Max protocols example: work hard and fast for 15-30 seconds, rest same, repeat for many cycles.
Howzit flexor, The fact that you feel out of shape may not mean you are. There comes a time when our bodies have problems not easily explained and couldbe some thing else happening inside of you. About almost 2 months ago I started getting terrible headaches and was tired and sleepy all the time. Now I naturally thought it might be something to do with the health problems I have had to deal with the last year and 3/4. Come to find out I had low red blood cell count and I have no idea how this came about but am trying to fix it with B12 and lots of protein in my diet.But when I was diagnosed with cancer back in 09 I was feeling great so I would say it might be time for a physical exam and some blood work. I don't know what kind of life style you live or if you even try to do the healthy thing but I know I am wha we refer to as a high miler due to the wild lifestyle I lived most of my life and now that I am in my 60's ,it seems to be catching up with me but I wouldn't change many things in my life except for the cancer which has really done the damage and the cure has been a big part of the damage. Take care of yourself and have a check up yearly just to be safe. Some times wecan't blame it on getting older. Aloha,Kokua
At 50 and surfing once a week while sitting at a desk most of the rest of the time, I think my fitness has disowned me! I do about 15 min of Yoga each day and it certainly has helped keep things alive (the magic of promoting blood flow to all muscle groups, rathen than the “stretch like crazy” philosophy popularly promoted).
Anyway, on the breathing/heart rate thing. Try pulling air into your stomach (let it all hanggg out!). This will use the bottom of your lungs and limit tension in the chest area. This will help keep your heart rate down. To speed up your heart and feel anxious, then hold your stomach tense and breath quickly into your collarbones.
On breathing, the less you breathe during exercise the better. You get a better exchange rate of CO2/O2 at the lung interface if you’re not panting and gulping air. Take half a breath into the base of your lungs, hold, and a full breath out. Pretty freaky to do during exercise, but a good discipline during rest periods to get your heart rate down.