Thanks for posting. I hadn't seen this.


I am finding this also. 25 pound loss and a pretty much corresponding drop in systolic numbers.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

when i saw the various polls i figured a write-up like this was coming out.

thanks for pointing out it was up. its a great read and reflects my personal story.


i was a runner in high school and college, but not competitively.

due to work lifestyle after college i got up to 220 lbs. im 5'11'' and i felt horrible. the sad thing is for the average american 220 isnt horrible. i changed my life style and became adamant about staying in shape if for no other reason than i wanted to feel good.

ive since found tri and at 38 years old im fitter than ive ever been and feel great all the time. i sleep better. my sleeping heart rate is in the mid 40s.

i never like to get preachy because i hate preachy people, but if im given the opportunity i always take it and share my lifestyle change and exercise habit story and how its changed me for the better.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

i don't need to. you're doing a great job of it! ;-)

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Agree that this was a great article that really hit home for me last week.

Being 2/3's of the triathlete (run and bike) has been great for maintaining my weight, health, and mental wellbeing. In fact, if I was in the typical shape for a middle-aged American male, I would likely not have made it to the emergency room last Tuesday as I had a 105 fever (surprisingly high at 57 yrs old) associated with a bacterial blood infection. The ER doc was amazed that someone with such a high temp could be cogent or even conscious. I attribute it to having the aerobic capacity, endurance, and mental strength from training. I think fitness from endurance sports also sped my recovery to the point that I am back biking already.

I agree that it's an awesome piece. I have experienced much of the benefits as outlined by Dan, and I'm a fair amount older than he is. Years ago many people snarled "you damn runners think you'll live forever....look at Jim Fixx". (for youngsters Jim was a writer/runner who dropped dead during a run with heart issues but lived longer than he would have with his previous history, genetics and lifestyle before running. He came a poster child of sorts for the "anti-runners") Trying to explain that the motivator was QUALITY of life instead of a guaranteed more years fell on deaf ears. Oddly many of my fellow runners are not able to run any more due to the wear and tear they did to themselves with poor training methods or bad luck. I'm so thankful that I found the sport 35 years ago, and while I hurt seeing it struggle as of late I am every day thankful of being in the right place and time to benefit.

Dan, great post.. and I agree 100%. Everything you had to say really speaks to me and my journey. I had no real athletic background (no high school or collage sports... unless chicken wings and computer games counts) I was a mess health wise and at age 24 I had my doctor tell me I was slowly killing myself (he was actually sad to see someone so young in such bad shape.) I was 80 pounds overweight and already had surgery for bad knees (from just walking with all the weight... surgeon told me not to become a runner because my knees were to bad (ha!)). My doc wanted to put me on all kinds of meds for high BP, cholesterol, pre diabetes, etc all of which he said I would have to be on forever if I didn't change my life. Just about ever part of my body hurt for one reason or another. I did finally start trying to get healthy and lose weight but I hated the gym and knew that wasn't sustainable long term. A friend talked me into doing a sprint tri with him which was the next morning... I agreed and showed up in the morning without a clue what I was doing (didn't even know the swim was first.) I swam on my back and walked most of the run.. but I finished and it gave me the spark I needed... and I was fully hooked. I feel I can now call myself "an athlete" (something I didn't think was every possible and just wasn't something that was inside me) and I'm somewhat competitive at this crazy sport but most importantly I know I am healthy and doing my best to be here for my kids and my wife. I train hard all year and most people are inspired by the dedication I have to staying fit and eating right but a few crazy people will make comments about how I am wearing out my body, that much exercise isn't good for you, and "you are really going to pay for all this when you are 80." .. I just laugh since I was in such bad shape before when I did nothing(And had youth on my side then!). I'm on zero meds and have no health issues or risks today. A few years ago I was rushed to the ER with a Staph infection in my bloodstream (very serious) and during my 8 day stay at the hospital the docs kept repeating that it was my fitness and overall health that saved me and kept things from being far worse.

Yes, there is risk as mentioned (I worry most about training on my bike out on the roads) but I'd happily take the risks Triathlon brings with it over the reality I was facing with my sedentary lifestyle. I would have just been a statistic loaded up on meds if I had stayed on my previous path. I'm 44 now and healthier then I have ever been and I plan on doing this crazy sport as long as my body is willing to give it a go.

Me at 24:



Me at 44...

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Team Zoot

^ that is the best before and after I ever did see.

Well done mate, well done.

im loving this thread so much.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

Great article and reinforces my drive.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I agree......possibly one of the best before/afters ever. Good job, and I love the attitude. Fortunately I was influenced early on as parents were athletes. Mom had all 4 of us grow up in swimming as it was her love. She had done lifeguard competitors in Illinois against Ronald Reagan and still taught kids to swim into her mid/late 80's. With activity lived to the ripe age of 92 and started lifting weights at 80 (Her words were the body starts to go). I was so lucky to be on the front line of the sport and have lived it since. I'm hoping to start a Team Medicare one of these days!

Thanks for the awesome story!

fuck yeah it is!

Hmmmm....

So do I HAVE to be a triathlete to earn the benefits that are discussed in this article?

Or can I simply just find an activity: Triathlon, CrossFit, Hiking, Rec Sports etc. that allow me to set goals, maintain a good active lifestyle, at a that I can sustain for a lifetime

I am not disagreeing with what Dan wrote, but it seems almost as if I need to be a triathlete to distance myself from prescription drugs, high blood pressure, etc.

I would be a bit more interesting to see how triathlon compares to other active life ventures and where the percentages lie with regards to whats mentioned in this article. That would be a bit more persuasive rather than comparing against the sedentary public.

Furthermore the timing of this article on back to back weekends with 3 deaths in races. With 2 of those being in the swim, older athletes, yes we can say that there time was near. However, this article fails to bring in the risks of being a triathlete and exposing yourself to situations of higher risk (open water swimming), though with the intent of this article I understand why. But it doesn't dismiss the notion that the benefits of health in this article can be done in activities that reduce your risks of swimming in open water, cycling on open roads with vehicle traffic, etc. Yes every activity has its share of risks, but I would argue that triathlon has more open risk then other sports/activities that can be done by the general masses.

Great before/after transformation! You are an inspiration to others!

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DFL > DNF > DNS

great job. You also went from looking OLD for your age to looking young for your age.

Damon LeBeuf: you've got some talent (we both did Cypress a few weeks back). Keep at it, you can maybe podium at these large local races (swim more!).

Did you actually read the whole article? Because, Dan does touch on those points. Yes, you CAN do something else. The main points are: 1. Do enough, 2. Do it hard enough, 3. Have some variety. There's nothing special about Tri, except that it encourages both #1 and 2, and of course demands #3.




You really need to learn about publication bias. Just because you hear about it more, doesn't mean its happening more. Also, just because there is a short term cluster of events doesn't mean its a long term trend that requires swift and decisive corrective action.

The article address this, as well. It really seems like you didn't read the whole thing, or skimmed it really fast. The death rate in triathlon is somewhere between 1 - 1.5x that of other endurance sports...depending on which stats / study you put the most stake in.

As my Physician likes to say, "Life is dangerous, almost nobody gets out alive." The ODDS are much better that you will live a longer, and have higher quality of life as an athlete (even a "high risk, thrill seeking, death defying" triathlete) than not. But, there aren't any guarantees. BTW, I've decided that I'm going to be in the "defiant" group that DOES get out alive.

PS: people die doing everything...including sitting still on the toilet. But, if you aren't comfortable with your risk swimming in open water, then don't.

you're my new hero.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Have never seen an old cross fitter, but I suppose I will some day. As other have said, the article addresses other sports, but IMO the variance of muscle groups used in 3 sports as opposed to 1 is huge. When I was only running, injuries were always there and nagging or worse.Most of the group of 40 are not running any more as a result. While the deaths in your opinion in swimming is higher, in reality swimming is a far safer sport than the others.

my story is similar but fatter...still

Never active and always heavy as a kid. IT job, kids, quit smoking and eventually was well over 400 pounds. Started walking daily and went on a diet. bought a recumbent exercise bike and could do 10 minutes if I took 2 breaks. Kept at it, eventually joined a gym, did a 5k, then a 10k...you know how it goes. I got down to 240 at one point but have been 260 for about 11 years. Did my first IM in 2005, in training for wisconsin this year. Not setting any records and I look like a before picture but this is my 12th year of doing tris.

Seriously honoured to just be part of the same thread with some of you guys. I'm one of the fortunate ones who was 138 lbs graduating high school and 139 lbs today at 52. My weight may have fluctuated as high as 148 a few times in my off seasons but generally never much more than 143/144 and never lower than 136 lbs. Thanks to triathlon and endurance sport training it has generally been straightforward to stay in a certain weight band, which I THINK is part of the side benefit of training (whether we race or not). It is amazing the journey some of you have been through and the discipline it must have taken and thus training is almost the easy part vs all that weight reduction.

Best of luck at IM Wisconsin. That must be an amazing feelingg each time you cross an IM finish line!

CU - While i'm sure there are a few hikers, tennis players, golfers, etc, there are in really good shape and stay that way into their 60s/70s, my impression is there their numbers are very few. Most "hikers" only go for a hike 1 day a week and maybe walk 2-3 mi/day maybe 4 other days per week; i don't think walking/hiking, unless done really hard as in race walking pace or literally hiking up a 6000 ft mountain starting from 1000 ft, is strenuous enough to keep a person in top shape. Similarly, most rec sport guys are not really killing it, e.g. you'd need to play 2 hrs of singles tennis, 6 days/wk, to be in top shape, vs most adults maybe play 2-3 hr of singles/wk and 3-4 hrs of doubles. And golf is hardly a workout, even if you walk and carry your bag.

Having said all of this, i will say i don't think a person HAS to do all three, but rather could just do 2 out of 3 tri disciplines, and further they could expand their repertoire to include rowing, stair-master, elliptical, weight training, etc, just to give further variety, but in a very safe manner.

Also, regarding Cross-Fit, i'm not voicing any opinion since i've never been to any CF classes.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

:) thx. and thanks for giving us a place to come and learn and share our successes and failures. I’ve certainly learned a lot from the ST over the years.

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Team Zoot

You certainly don't have to be a triathlete to get the health benefits of being fit and not overweight. I do think that triathlon offers some advantages over other sports that maybe make people more likely to reap those benefits:
- having 3 disciplines means you can nearly always keep up some kind of training even when injured, travelling, fitting in training around kids and work, etc
- the sport is based around doing events, which helps people set goals and makes them more likely to stick at the training when motivation is low. I know I struggle to train if I don't have an event in the diary even if it's months away, friends who just "keep fit" often go through cycles of not doing much
- conversely, races are very much participation events where everybody is welcome. It's not an elitist sport where you have to reach a certain level of proficiency
- 2 of the 3 disciplines put a strong emphasis on power to weight, which helps to stay lean and not just fit

To give an N=1 example, I used to row. Rowing gives awesome health benefits, but as a sport it's very hard to do unless you commit fully to it. You need to live near a river with a good rowing club. Very difficult to fit it in with a lifestyle where you travel a lot - with planning you might be able to ensure you have access to a Concept rower but you'll still be missing out on water training and will struggle to hold down a place in a crew. And the racing is pretty elite - it's about winning, not taking part. I have dozens of friends who rowed at college and in their 20s, the few that still do it have built their lives around it (spouses who row, etc), the vast majority now do some combination of bike, swim amd/or run.

To your part in bold, what you are actually hitting on is the ability to do the activity at reasonably high intensity every day and have it easily accessible. If you can do the activity every day with ease of accessibility and push the cardio and strength, the same benefits as doing tri will be achieved. I would count myself in the latter category of not doing tri, but doing all that other stuff (weights, rowing, elliptical, core work....to compliment swimming), totallying around 1.5 to 2 hours per day every day and staying very fit and lean (as mentioned above I am back at 139 lbs at 52, which is a pound over my high school weight and 2 lbs over my Kona race weight). It's all just happening by being an exerciser, but being an exerciser with a "performance" mindset. I can't help myself trying to push harder all the time.

Good stuff. My anecdotal "data"... ;)

After being involved in endurance sports since HS, I had a heart attack at age 55. One artery was 100% blocked and 2 others had 50%. My cardiologist credits my fitness with limiting the damage done - although it was bad enough in my book*. Prior to that I had never been on any long term prescription meds, but now I have a handful. I've discovered that when I take a high enough dosage of my BP meds to get me where they want me (<120/80), I feel tired much of the time and have pretty severe orthostatic hypotension (I get dizzy when I stand up). To the observation that athletes may expect a slightly higher than recommended BP, I've experimented with my beta blocker and ACE inhibitor dosages and find that when I can keep BP around 130/85, I feel better. I'm still having a hard time building up my run endurance to get comfortable going much beyond 4 miles at a time. (I can do more, but it becomes very difficult.)

Where this really ties back to the article is that my maternal grandfather died of a sudden, unexpected heart attack at age 48. He was not overweight and worked a physical job. My father had multiple bypass surgery in his 40's and died of diabetes related issues when he was 63. He also was not overweight. My younger brother had heart issues and a valve replacement in his 40's. So, I may not live forever, or even particularly long, but I happy that I can still move pretty well and recent blood tests look very healthy.

I'm very confident that if not for my sporting background, I would be overweight and struggling with more serious heart disease and possibly diabetes - if I was even still living.

* People often ask me if my hear attack was a bad one. All I can say it that I don't know how to quantify that. It was the worst one I've ever had - and that was bad enough in my book. :)

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Happy trails,
Chris