“You haven’t aged a bit.” “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” “Young at heart.” “So when are you going to retire?” “Still skiing at your age?” We’ve all heard, read or experienced comments like that, because American culture is grotesquely youth-centric. The notion is that it is sad to be old, that wrinkles are embarrassing and so on. There is[Read More…]
Protecting your exposed skin, your eyes, and the rest of your body on the slopes in the strong spring sun is important at any age, and especially for us seniors who are more vulnerable to skin cancers, cataracts and dehydration. These tips and reminders are from the University of Utah Health Services. Snow can reflect up to 90% of sunlight and[Read More…]
Congratulations, your passion for skiing/riding has rewarded you. If you are reading this, you are a quinquagenarian, sexagenarian, septuagenarian, octogenarian, nonagenarian, or even a centenarian. That’s a lot of “-genarians”, and a question we all face is how long we want to or intend to ski or ride. A few seasons ago, I met a 91-year-old man who skis 120-130 days per season. He told[Read More…]
Originally published in the 2020-21 Masterfit Buyer’s Guide Getting fit for ski season doesn’t take a fancy gym membership. What it does take is general cardio training– biking, hiking, running, or even vigorous walking–with some specific strength training that will improve your performance on snow. Just ask Tyler White, who runs iSport, a training facility at Killington that’s a branch[Read More…]
A version of this article first appeared in 2015 in Huffington Post. I was hardly able to move; disoriented on terrain I’d skied for years. Other skiers seemed to be managing fine. But the light was flat, and my eyes could no longer pick up contours in the white on white. “Flat light,” a version of whiteout, greatly reduces the[Read More…]
This is my shortest ever blog, but it may have a significant impact on your next ski holiday. It’s your first day back on the slopes, and you want to hit the ground running. You don’t want to miss a thing, so you‘re up early, on the first chair, and skiing like a mad thing all day. It feels so[Read More…]
Something exceptional happened in our bedroom over the past several nights. Pam and I have been together for more than 50 years, and for at least 20 of them she’s had difficulty sleeping. It’s been made worse by my ability to sleep almost anywhere and at any time…a skill honed over decades on planes, in the back seats of cabs, and in[Read More…]
An Aging Athlete Becomes Enlightened [Editor Note: We are reprising this article from Nov. 2015 because it contains important themes of persistence and adaptability. And the book Staying With It was written by one of our favorite authors, the venerable John Jerome, a former editor of SKIING magazine.] What happens when a 50-year-old writer decides to fight aging by becoming[Read More…]
Four strategies make fitness simple When it comes to fitness, the old saw about “use it or lose it” is not only true, for certain age groups, it is a challenge of sorts. Why? Because, according to Dr. Frank Lipman, founder of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center, New York, muscle decline starts at age 40 and actually accelerates every decade[Read More…]
A Lot Of Us Are In The Best Shape We’ve Been In For Many A Year. Gasping for breath up a steep climb recently on the mountain bike with my riding friends, I thought to myself, “Where is the race? Nobody’s going to the Olympics, why are we racing on this ride?” Then it occurred to me that my group[Read More…]
Here Are Some Tips From A Two-Hip Skier. Your decision to replace any body part is a serious decision. Unlike a purchase from a retail store, you cannot return an implant! But when your “original equipment” wears out, it’s time to have it replaced. Overall, we’re living longer, we’re living healthier, and we want to enjoy life—and ski. As background,[Read More…]
How To Integrate Exercise Into Just About Everything You Do. SeniorsSkiing’s readers all know and appreciate the value of fitness and exercise. Our surveys have shown that when the snow season is over, out come the golf clubs, bikes, tennis racquets, kayaks, hiking boots, and the like. Active lifestyles are us and part of who we are. Enter the Corona[Read More…]
Ride More, Enjoy More With Properly Fit Bike. If you think your bike hates you, it’s time to schedule a bike fitting. If you hurt when you ride, there’s probably a mismatch between your body’s geometry and the geometry of your bike. Sure, all bikes look pretty much alike. They have wheels, pedals, handlebars and seats. And they come in[Read More…]
Among the thousands of reasons the abrupt end to the season is a bummer is this: Those of you who were planning to demo the Roam Robotics Elevate will need to wait until we’re back on the hill. Elevate is world’s first computer-assisted knee exoskeleton for skiers. I had the good fortune to try the device toward the end of[Read More…]
If You’re Going For A Walk, Bring Those Poles. Easy, Accessible Efficient. Staying active outdoors during the COVID-19 virus crisis is easy and very accessible with Nordic walking, which is a fitness activity that combines walking with specially designed poles to engage the upper body muscles. Like cross country skiing, the poles are used to match each step a person[Read More…]
“Start Slow And Taper Off.” The ski season came to a screeching halt as most of us are now staying inside with some socially distanced outings. As I look back on this shortened season, I can take heart in the fact that I made the most of it before cancelling my last trip. Skied a lot in the rain locally,[Read More…]
[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ Roam Elevate is a computer-driven exoskeleton that[Read More…]
Hydration and Stretching: Two Things You Must NEVER forget to do before you hit the slopes. If you’ve taken to heart the advice in a previous seniorssking.com article of Paul Petersen, president of Bear Valley Cross-Country in California, on the best way for seniors to get in shape for skiing, you’ve developed and faithfully followed a fitness regimen focusing on balance,[Read More…]
An amazingly simple and immediately effective DIY massage relaxes stiffness and removes pain The foam rolling technique of self- massage is exceptionally beneficial in increasing athletic performance, reducing pain, and helping with injury recovery/prevention —especially for older snow enthusiasts. The medical term for rolling out is self-myofascial release. “Myo” means muscle, and “fascial” refers to the fascia, a framework of[Read More…]
What Happened To Me And WhyYou Should Treasure Your Health And Fitness. As I get older, each ski season is more precious than the one before. I’m pushing 60+ years of skiing, and early in my life, I learned never to take one for granted. Except for being deployed overseas during Vietnam and Desert Shield and Storm, I haven’t missed[Read More…]
A banana a day goes a long way in keeping you fit. [This article was originally published in October, 2014. The message is still relevant and worth reprising. Put a banana in your boot bag!] We have recently discovered the magnificence of bananas which we long regarded as a kid food and something to by-pass on breakfast buffets. Wrong attitude.[Read More…]
More doctors may be prescribing outdoor recreational therapy instead of Xanax if the proposed Federal legislation entitled the Outdoor Recreation Therapy for Veterans Act (HR 2435) passes. Studies are showing evidence that outdoor recreational activities can be therapeutic. I met Veterans Ray Gilmore and David Binford recently at a ski industry meeting, and they were engaging anyone who would talk[Read More…]
Five Basic Exercises Ramped Up To High Intensity Levels. [Editor note: This is the third and final in our series of preparation exercises for senior skiers from Rick Silverman, physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist. We started with basic hip and leg exercises (Oct 25), raised the intensity of those (Nov. 7) and now present a more challenging level of[Read More…]
Revving Up Intensity For Our Five Basic Exercises. [Editor Note: Last month, we reprised a set of baseline exercises focusing on legs and hips as part of a get-ready strategy for this season’s snow sports activities that was originally published in 2016. This week, our exercise guide, physical therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist and teleskier Rick Silverman, shows us[Read More…]
Ease Into Shaping Up For Snow Sports With Five Basic Exercises. This is an archive article reprised from Oct, 2016. [Editor Note: It’s time to focus on strengthening legs and hips for snow sports. This year, we are going to offer three “flights” of exercise with increasing challenge and intensity for the same group of muscles. We’ll publish these about[Read More…]
