Well I am 46 Bob and seem to be "middle for diddle" on the age front...and my fitness is needed for what I love to do...it takes some doing coming back from illness to the level of fitness I need but it can be done...I have a mate over here who is 65 and can leave me in the dust in the hills...and working with him is getting me back on top...he is retired now and has time on his hands and we are off to Switzerland next week for some training in the mountains...

I don't do a gym etc...I just put a pack on my back and head for the hills...my arm strength comes from carrying a heavy rifle whilst walking miles and miles...I do what I would call specific tasks which need to be done to get the job done...I have seen ultra fit guys fail "selection" because there is a certain type of fitness needed for each type of endurance activity and they had'nt got what was needed for these "tests"...I only cycle and swim when my feet are too beat up to keep walking on...although it is running down the hills which primarily damages your feet...you need to "run" when you can to make up time as the 60 miles is as the crow flies and does'nt allow for gradient distance.

If you can put a "house on your back" and do 60 miles in one stint in 18 hours then that's the job done and you have the level of fitness for it...bench pressing your body weight or being able to do circuit tests etc does'nt give you this stamina...marathons would...but you won't get used to carrying a pack...the only thing specialised which you do need is good nutritional skills so you can eat what is needed to let your body repair itself and give you the "fuel" in the tank to keep going.

All this aside though...if I was wanting to use a Waki well...which is a bit of a skill thing ...a martial art like Aido would be a good option...as would simply chopping wood with an axe. I economise with my heating by using two wood burning stoves...my chopping/sawing and log splitting then save me money...and keep my eye in on hitting where I aim. Loads of videos I see have guys going at chopping like it is a frenzy...a good eye on improving an existing cut will be far more effective...and gives a great sense of satisfaction. Enjoy that Waki and top marks for getting fit at 57 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />...my mate at 65 did just that and he is now a "legend" in certain circles for how he can "destroy" us young uns! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I figured you would be in pretty great shape Peter <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />. I know exactly what you are saying about some guys at 65. Last year in the Grand Canyon we had some folks that were getting on with age- Good Gawd they kicked my [censored] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />!!I am doing pretty well for being down all of March with that [censored] virus. I rather enjoy that most of you guys really take your fitness very serious. Gives me more faith in folks. Thanks Guys !! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We have developed what I like to call "real world" training, and it works very well for what I/we do. Every day starts out with extensive stretching, and then, five days of the week we do a 3-5 mile run with a semi-loaded pack with anywhere from 15-40 pounds in it. The run is done on trails of varying terrain instead of on a track. On Mon, Wed, Fri,& Sun we do pull-ups (10 sets of 12 reps), push-ups (10 sets of 20 reps), sit-ups (5 sets of 50 reps), on Tues, Thurs & Sat, we do an "all out" 1000yd swim. On top of that we do weight training five days of the week as well.

One thing I also think is VERY important is NOT putting JUNK in your body! By that I mean things like artificial sweeteners, MSG, and bad food in general. I am a believer in eating lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, brown rice, and lean meats. If you put junk in, you will build a junky body.