81-Year-Old Runner Breaking Records — ‘The Best Is yet to Come’ from Dr. Mercola
81-Year-Old Runner Breaking Records — ‘The Best Is yet to Come’ from Dr. Mercola
August 24, 2018
Story at-a-glance
It is never too
late to engage in regular physical activity, as it is a journey and one
of the most important things you can do for your health and longevity
At 81, Jeanne
Daprano, a retired elementary teacher, competes on the Masters Track and
Field Team, traveling around the globe, holding world records in
several age brackets at 1500, 800 and 400 meters distances
Daprano has
achieved these milestones using core strength training, flexibility and
interval training, often running no more than 10 miles a week, beating
the woman’s open record mile time on an age-graded table
While excessive
training may damage your heart, exercise contributes to a significant
number of physical and mental health benefits; you may draw inspiration
and motivation from those who continue to teach and compete well into
their senior years
By Dr. Mercola
Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you
can do for your health and longevity. Having been an avid exerciser
myself for decades, there's no doubt in my mind a comprehensive routine
is essential for optimal health. However, fitness is a journey, and
one which you may begin at any time in your life.
It is important to take stock of your current state of fitness and
to keep pushing yourself to new heights, no matter where you start. At
the same time, it is critical to listen to your body and be willing to
revise your routine as circumstances change. I was a long-distance
runner for many years, but as I got older I realized there were far
healthier and more effective forms of exercise through which I could
enjoy greater health benefits and fewer injuries, including the use of
interval training. Strength training, flexibility and aerobic activity are integral parts of a plan to help you to sleep better, improve your immune system, lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes and improve your brain health.
Foundational to your daily activity is nonexercise movement, and may
be even more so than a regimented fitness routine. Ideally, it's
important to have both, but if you're currently sedentary, I recommend
you start by sitting less. Jeanne Daprano, 81-year-old runner and world
record holder, has demonstrated it's never too late to start.1
81-Year-Old Runner Believes Better Things Await Her
Retired elementary school teacher Jeanne Daprano may be redefining
your idea of aging. In this short video interview with CNN, she shares
her perspective on fitness and the passage of time, from which she
prefers to wring every bit of life out of before she dies.
Daprano started breaking records after she turned 50 and believes
the best is yet to come. She began her fitness journey in her 30s when,
as a third-grade teacher, she recognized her students needed to remain
active in order to learn better.2 After retiring, she began participating in international track meets and quickly discovered she loved them.
Once she got serious, she qualified for the U.S. Masters Track and
Field Team. In 1999 she met her current husband, Bill Daprano, at the
meet in England. Nine years her senior, Bill Daprano was an avid
fitness buff and head football coach for nine seasons in Georgia,
compiling a winning record.3
Due to health reasons, Bill has recently stopped competing, but
Jeanne is training for this year's meet in Spain and also runs with the
Atlanta Track Club.4 She says:5
"The thing I'm learning about aging is, it's inevitable. I'm not
going to escape it. There are two ways to go: You can either press on
or give up. Do I want to go back to 50, 40? No. Because I think the
best is yet to come."
Jeanne holds the current world record in the women's 70-year-old age
group mile and women's 75-year-old age group 400 and 800 meters.6
But she was capturing world records in her 60s in the tough middle
distance 1500 meter — in both 60-to-64 and the 65-to-69 age groups. Her
record times in both age groups was under six minutes for a distance
just 200 meters short of a mile.7
Daprano Runs Quality Not Quantity Miles
July 21, 2012, Jeanne broke the listed woman's 75-to-79 age group
mile record by 49 seconds. This came just after setting a pending
record the previous month at the Carolina Classic championships. Daprano
talks about her training schedule, which calls for no more than 10
miles of running each week, including her warmup miles.8
“It's not something you'll find in any of the running books, but
it works for me. I'm running less than I was five years ago, but I am
strengthening more.”
Her two running workouts each week take place on a track or on the
grass and usually consists mostly of sprint intervals. Daprano picks up
her endurance from the rowing machine and stationary bike
and is content to run middle distances at this time in her life.
According to age-graded tables, her time at age 75 is equal to a
4:00:23-minute mile in prime running years.9
In comparison, the current world open record is 4:12:56, set in 1996 by Svetlana Masterkova,10
12 seconds slower than Daprano’s age adjusted time. Daprano works out
with a fitness trainer and averages 50 minutes of squat jumps, deadlifts, wall sets, planks and a number of other resistance and flexibility exercises, as well as running various routines in deep water with weights on her ankles and wrists.11
She believes this routine has helped her avoid injuries and might be
the reason she's lost only 10 seconds in her mile time during the
first half of her eighth decade in life. She stumbled on to a routine,
taking full advantage of strength training while reducing excessive
cardiovascular activity that may actually jeopardize heart health.
According to one study,12
the rate of sudden cardiac death during a marathon is 0.8 per 100,000
participants — rare, but not unlikely. Excessive cardiovascular training
may pose a sevenfold increase in cardiac risk13 as it places extraordinary stress on your heart your body was not designed for.
Exercise Adds Quality Years to Your Life
Many studies have demonstrated exercise reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Regular physical activity may also reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a condition in which you have demonstrable insulin resistance.
Increased physical activity may reduce your risk for certain
cancers, strengthen your bones and muscles and increase your longevity.14
While the prevention of these hold significant benefits, it is the
quality of life improvements that may give you the greatest pleasure.
Physical activity can improve your brain health and keep your
thinking, learning and judgment skills sharp as you age. It also
reduces your risk of depression and helps you to sleep better. Physical
activity reduces your functional limitation and may prevent your loss
of ability to do everyday activities.
Lyle Ungar, researcher in the department of computer and information
sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, studies the data defining
longevity15
and finds exercise is one of the factors impacting life span the most,
and over which we have the most control. According to Ungar:16
"The first 20 minutes [of exercise] a day probably buys you two
years [extra] life expectancy. Clearly a win. The second 20 minutes per
day probably buys you about one more year. What I really like about
exercise is, not only do you live longer, but you die faster in the
sense that once you finally start to fall apart, you fall apart
quickly. Exercise is good that way."
Daprano agrees with the philosophy of fitness as a means to an end. She says,17
"When I get to the final finish line, here on Earth, I want this body
to be worn out, there's not a thing left in it. I'm not doing this to
live to be 100. I'm doing this to be the best I can be, today. Period."
Consider Adding a Personal Trainer to Your Regimen
Whether you're just starting out or trying to make improvements in
your current fitness regimen, consider consulting with a personal
trainer who can instruct you about proper form and technique and coach
you through a particular challenge.18
A trainer can also help you develop a plan based on your unique goals
and one working safely within any medical conditions you may be
suffering.
At the start of any program, it's important to start slowly and
gradually, increasing your intensity while still listening to your
body. Be sure to give yourself ample time for recovery as well as the proper nourishment
to build your muscles. Both rest and nutrition are important to
fitness as your muscles grow stronger faster when given the proper time
to rest and the nutrition needed to build strength.
If you are elderly, infirm, have balance issues or have otherwise
been injured in the recent past, and you decide to try exercising at
home, be sure you have a “spotter” next to you in case you lose your
balance. Even when your fitness routine does not require balance, such
as riding a stationary bike, it's important to have someone at home in
case you get injured.
Personal trainers are also educated in teaching others how to
exercise, along with proper nutrition and lifestyle changes to improve
your potential to reach your fitness goals.19
Trainers can demonstrate proper form, help with your unique
requirements as you set realistic goals, help to hold you accountable
to your program and encourage you to form good habits, while breaking
bad ones.
Draw Inspiration From These Seniors
Starting a new program or increasing the intensity of one you
already use may require inspiration to get over the initial challenge.
Consider the lives of people who have gone before you, and draw
motivation from their actions and their goal-oriented lifestyle
choices. Bill and Jeanne Daprano are just one example of a husband-wife
team who have brought home gold to Georgia after retirement.20
If you're an older adult, you have a lot to gain from strength training, including range of motion, balance, bone density and mental clarity. It's important to remember without strength training your muscles atrophy and you lose mass. Age-related loss of muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, occurs if you don't do anything to stop it.
You may expect to lose nearly 15 percent of your muscle mass between
age 30 and your 80s. However, strength training will improve your
ability to perform daily tasks, give you relief from joint pain as it
strengthens the muscles, tendons and ligaments around your joints, and
will improve your blood sugar control.
Strength training also increases your body's production of growth
factors responsible for cellular growth, proliferation and
differentiation. Some of these promote the growth, differentiation and
survival of neurons, which helps explain why working your muscles also
benefits your brain and helps prevent dementia.
In my previous article, “Shot of Inspiration — Superstar Seniors Exercise Well Into Their Golden Years,”
you’ll find stories about a 77-year-old powerlifter, 93-year-old WWII
veteran who ran across the U.S. and the world’s oldest yoga teacher.
For those who are starting to get in shape or maintain a fitness
routine, Jeanne Daprano offers this advice:21
"Listen to your body. What are you passionate about? How are you
going to keep physically fit and mentally fit? Start where you are.
Don't look ahead or compare yourself to somebody else. I'm still doing
it, and I probably have a greater passion now than ever, because I'm
understanding who I am."
No comments:
Post a Comment