CARL GROVE - POWERING THRU' AGED 80+

Carl Grove entered the USA's Cycling Masters Road National for the first time aged 82... and won!

Grove captured the age 80-84 division of the 20K time trial in 33 minutes, 49 seconds, then returned the next day to win the 80-and-up 30-mile road race with a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes. In between, he also competed in a 30K tandem race.

For more details check out http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=520113 (credit for the story to Anthony Anderson).

There are some interesting things in the story to think about, a little beyond the amazing achievements of this extraordinary athlete. The first, of course, is that the gentleman has the genetics - apparently his ability to maximize his oxygen use is unusually good. Second, he got back into cycling quite late in life (for an aerobic athlete) at aged 40 and only really got serious in his late '70s. Which shows that it is NEVER too late and it's just a question of being serious about something. The marvellous thing is that Mr. Grove stays young at heart and super fit (for any age) through his intention and spirit to succeed. He is able to tap into the force or the will that keeps us all alive, and this is something that we can all do irrespective of the genetics and in all walks of life.

Another interesting comment by his coach is that Grove kept adding muscle with training. The conventional wisdom is that after 60 you can't no matter what you do. I disagree, and I'll prove it (albeit not through cycling - I'm a bit too big for that!). But in my chosen area, body building (something I started at 50), I still put on muscle and strength regularly - I have the numbers to prove it. Also check out my push-up challenge (previous post)... I'm not at 100 yet, but I'm getting there slowly.

True, it is harder to keep it all there as you get older, but my experience (now aged 60) is that the body has a remarkable capacity to grow - and no "juice" either! You just need to understand how... and most of that is a combination of mind and body - clearly something that Mr. Grove has grasped.

Truth Photo by Ryan M.L. Young: Carl Grove poses for a portrait at his home Tuesday, August 10, 2010.

ONE HUNDRED PUSH UPS CHALLENGE

This is a neat little web site... www.onehundredpushups.com.

It's very simple. Just a short training program to get you from where you are - if you are over 50 and you can do more than 20 push ups you are about in the middle of the fitness range - to 100 push ups (press ups we English say) in 6 weeks of training. Nothing needed except yourself and the floor.

I like the idea, and the challenge. I'm pretty fit for a 60 year old and a weightlifter but 100 push ups is a serious number and I'm way off... 30 is about my current mark. The fact is that push ups sound simple but the exercise uses a range of muscles including those in your core that are very important as you get older (back pain etc...). Well worth the effort to strengthen them.

So I'm taking up the challenge and will be reporting it accordingly.