I Need A Sport To Train For. What's The 'least Damaging'?

[AlexFergus]

Hi all.

I'm a very competitive individual, I love sport and physical performance. I have competed at the national and international level in rowing, powerlifting & bodybuilding and I also have experience in track cycling.

However - these successes came at the cost of my health - low T levels and sub par thyroid health, low energy levels etc throughout the second half of my 20's.

After taking a few years off from training and competing and totally revamping my lifestyle and diet, I'm feeling a lot better - but still far from perfect.

BUT I really want to scratch that itch again (competitive sport). I know I will never be at the same level as I was in my younger years (i'm nearly 30), and I don't want sport to take over my life again ( I want to have a family soon), but I do feel the need to do something...

So what is the 'best of the worst' in regards to sport?

I am really tempted to get back into rowing, I was really good at it, I enjoyed the culture, loved being out on the water, I have enough experience to coach myself and I have the resources on hand. BUT rowing races are 6-8minutes long. Full body, max intensity (and bloody painful). Sure you're not racing every weekend, but you need to train to be semi competitive...

I thought I could try and do a lot of true aerobic training (ie, 140bpm, conversation pace training) with the occasion week or two of anaerobic training (rowing is 80% aerobic, 20% anaerobic). This way I could hopefully minimise the damage while being on point with recovery, supplements, diet etc.

Or am I just asking for more health problems? I look at some of the most successful rowers and they all seem to have health problems in their older years (Sir Steve Redgrave, one of the most successful rowers in the world, has diabetes and colitis and he isn't even 50!)

The other option is track cycling - 20seconds - 1minute races. Pure sprint work. I have massive quads with a ton of leg power and I was always told I should be a sprint cyclist. The downside with this option is more around resources and coaches (it's a new sport, new skills, new things to learn etc). But the upside is less 'volume' and no need for lots of endurance training (A one minute max effort is about 70% anaerobic and 30% aerobic - the opposite of a 6-8minute rowing event).

If I took up track cycling I would do a lot of low rep strength work (squats etc) which I enjoy and can do with long rests, however I would still need to do some short sprint work on the bike - involving lactic acid build up (but nothing compared to the levels I would reach in rowing).

I know a lot of people will say 'give up sport for good', but I really do enjoy training and competing, it's a big part of my life (and job) and I really do miss it. So, what is the 'best of the worst' in regards to sport selection?

Appreciate your time and thoughts.

 

[Westside PUFAs]

Lifting weights without injuring yourself builds strength and helps bones. Peat once said "sprinting is probably ok" because its the long intense cardio that's damaging, not the short mild cardio.

“Concentric resistance training has an anabolic effect on the whole body. Sprinting is probably o.k. Endurance exercise is the worst. I don’t think martial arts are necessarily too stressful.”

Positive Peat Quotes On Exercise

There's three types of training; strength, endurance and flexibility. Only do versions that you enjoy. I have a recumbent stationary indoor bike and I go light on that for 1-2 hours in the "fat burning zone" which is very light. Going harder burns sugar and not fat though you can end up losing too much fat if you never take a break. I like the recumbent because I can watch YT videos and stuff while I work out. It goes by fast when you watch something that you're interested in.

.

 

[Mufasa]

yoga

 

[AlexFergus]

Lifting weights without injuring yourself builds strength and helps bones. Peat once said "sprinting is probably ok" because its the long intense cardio that's damaging, not the short mild cardio.

“Concentric resistance training has an anabolic effect on the whole body. Sprinting is probably o.k. Endurance exercise is the worst. I don’t think martial arts are necessarily too stressful.”

Positive Peat Quotes On Exercise

There's three types of training; strength, endurance and flexibility. Only do versions that you enjoy. I have a recumbent stationary indoor bike and I go light on that for 1-2 hours in the "fat burning zone" which is very light. Going harder burns sugar and not fat though you can end up losing too much fat if you never take a break. I like the recumbent because I can watch YT videos and stuff while I work out. It goes by fast when you watch something that you're interested in.

.

Thanks Westside.. I'll take a look at that link.

yoga

Haha, not going to happen :P Plus I don't know of any yoga competitions?!

 

[SolidSteele]

Lawn bowls. It's competitive and skills based. You spend most of the time standing with a few lunges every now and then.

 

[Mufasa]

Thanks Westside.. I'll take a look at that link.



Haha, not going to happen :p Plus I don't know of any yoga competitions?!

The competition in yoga is with yourself. Do hot yoga if you want some more intensitiy (40 degree room warmed with infrared light). The challenge is to have your full attention on your body, on the postures, on your breathing for 90 minutes.

 

[milk_lover]

Table tennis and soccer are perfect sports in my book. Such joy to play them.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Here's my pick:

- Table tennis
- Tennis
- Cricket
- Squash
- Wrestling
- Baseball
- Surfing
- Skiing/Wakeboarding

Most of those involve some injury risk, but are a bit more adrenaline inducing than yoga or lawn bowls(not hating).

 

[X3CyO]

Kyokushin

 

[amethyst]

Hi all.

I'm a very competitive individual, I love sport and physical performance. I have competed at the national and international level in rowing, powerlifting & bodybuilding and I also have experience in track cycling.

However - these successes came at the cost of my health - low T levels and sub par thyroid health, low energy levels etc throughout the second half of my 20's.

After taking a few years off from training and competing and totally revamping my lifestyle and diet, I'm feeling a lot better - but still far from perfect.

BUT I really want to scratch that itch again (competitive sport). I know I will never be at the same level as I was in my younger years (i'm nearly 30), and I don't want sport to take over my life again ( I want to have a family soon), but I do feel the need to do something...

So what is the 'best of the worst' in regards to sport?

I am really tempted to get back into rowing, I was really good at it, I enjoyed the culture, loved being out on the water, I have enough experience to coach myself and I have the resources on hand. BUT rowing races are 6-8minutes long. Full body, max intensity (and bloody painful). Sure you're not racing every weekend, but you need to train to be semi competitive...

I thought I could try and do a lot of true aerobic training (ie, 140bpm, conversation pace training) with the occasion week or two of anaerobic training (rowing is 80% aerobic, 20% anaerobic). This way I could hopefully minimise the damage while being on point with recovery, supplements, diet etc.

Or am I just asking for more health problems? I look at some of the most successful rowers and they all seem to have health problems in their older years (Sir Steve Redgrave, one of the most successful rowers in the world, has diabetes and colitis and he isn't even 50!)

The other option is track cycling - 20seconds - 1minute races. Pure sprint work. I have massive quads with a ton of leg power and I was always told I should be a sprint cyclist. The downside with this option is more around resources and coaches (it's a new sport, new skills, new things to learn etc). But the upside is less 'volume' and no need for lots of endurance training (A one minute max effort is about 70% anaerobic and 30% aerobic - the opposite of a 6-8minute rowing event).

If I took up track cycling I would do a lot of low rep strength work (squats etc) which I enjoy and can do with long rests, however I would still need to do some short sprint work on the bike - involving lactic acid build up (but nothing compared to the levels I would reach in rowing).

I know a lot of people will say 'give up sport for good', but I really do enjoy training and competing, it's a big part of my life (and job) and I really do miss it. So, what is the 'best of the worst' in regards to sport selection?

Appreciate your time and thoughts.

I used to be a competitive swimmer as a child. It is great exercise. Haven't read Peat's opinion on swimming as an athletic pursuit tho.

 

[paymanz]

Why not doing all of them?!

But no "maximum strength" powerlifting,that damages for sure!do it just a bit lighter.

Do whatever sport you enjoy the most.

Also I think ray likes passive stretching of muscles, i think forum member "such saturation" posted a study showing it can increase ATP synthesis in muscles.

 

[WestCoaster]

From experience, stay away from rowing. Even when done properly, training or participating for extended periods of time will cause injury from joint deterioration and can cause abnormal build up of muscles on whatever the dominant side is. Power lifting if done correctly probably is the safest, but I emphasize correctly

 

[sprinter]

Sprinting. But I'm biased.

 

[JohnA]

I prefer "ball" sports, such as tennis and basketball, to "race" type sports, such as rowing, cycling, running, swimming, etc. In the race activities, you're performing the same repetitive motion for minutes to hours at a time. Ball sports require frequent direction changes, more social interaction, occasional moments when you're moving at full speed followed by rest periods, and more hand-eye coordination than race sports. You also get to transfer some of your excess energy to the ball through dribbling or striking the tennis racket. Basketball also gives a nice moderate level of physical contact, which I think is missing from most guys' lives today.

Professional basketball and tennis players aren't super healthy because they exert themselves for 2+ hours every day and excessively mouth breath. Once you've retrained yourself to mainly nose breath, I think you can play these kinds of sports for a few hours a week with limited damage. I benefit from drinking something with calories, such as Gatorade with added sugar, throughout the games. When I see 50 year olds on the tennis or basketball court, I'm usually pretty impressed with their health. They have good lean muscle mass and solid heads of hair relative to most other people their age.

Of course, these sports won't really satisfy your itch to competitively "train" to improve your times, etc., but after a few hours of casual pick-up basketball, my competitive itch is always scratched.

 

[AlexFergus]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
I probably phrased the topic poorly - really I am trying to decide whether to focus on rowing (6-8min races) or sprint cycling (15-60second races), and was wondering which would do the least damage to my health.

From experience, stay away from rowing. Even when done properly, training or participating for extended periods of time will cause injury from joint deterioration and can cause abnormal build up of muscles on whatever the dominant side is. Power lifting if done correctly probably is the safest, but I emphasize correctly

If I were to row I would scull (single scull) so you remove the left/right imbalance.

I don't want to get back into powerlifting due to the high stress on the body. I squatted 250kg under 90kgs (raw) and I'm still paying the price with dodgy hips and back 8 years later. When it comes to a meet, form often goes out the window in order to claim top spot or break a record :P

I'm leaning more towards the short sharp track cycling as a focus. Though I really do enjoy rowing, I also enjoy training for the cycling sprints and I think the sprint training is going to be less damaging than the hours spent training for a very intense 7 minute race!

 

[Syncopated]

Stress free walking is best.

 

[A.R]

I have a recumbent stationary indoor bike and I go light on that for 1-2 hours in the "fat burning zone" which is very light. Going harder burns sugar and not fat though you can end up losing too much fat if you never take a break. I like the recumbent because I can watch YT videos and stuff while I work out. It goes by fast when you watch something that you're interested in.

.

This very interesting. Could you please elaborate on what is the fat burning zone? And could a person achieve similar results with any other exercise/machinery?

Thank You

 

[Westside PUFAs]

This very interesting. Could you please elaborate on what is the fat burning zone? And could a person achieve similar results with any other exercise/machinery?

Thank You

Going slower/lighter burns mostly fatty acids instead of glucose. If you eat low pufa then it's fine to burn your body fat this way. It's an average heart rate of 113-140 depending on your size etc. It's temping to go harder/faster but the key is staying slow/light which is good because not only do you burn fat but you make exercise non stressful. If you can talk, then you're doing it right. It you can't talk because you're out of breath then you're going too hard.

"Resting muscle burns mostly fatty acids, and the amount of glucose used increases with the intensity."-RP

 

[A.R]

Going slower/lighter burns mostly fatty acids instead of glucose. If you eat low pufa then it's fine to burn your body fat this way. It's an average heart rate of 113-140 depending on your size etc. It's temping to go harder/faster but the key is staying slow/light which is good because not only do you burn fat but you make exercise non stressful. If you can talk, then you're doing it right. It you can't talk because you're out of breath then you're going too hard.

"Resting muscle burns mostly fatty acids, and the amount of glucose used increases with the intensity."-RP

Thank You very much

 

[Erowin]

What about martial arts?