The value of pushing your body physically at any age
It is difficult to stay fit and healthy in the sedentary world we live in today. When I see someone who has managed to stay fit, especially in their later years, I do not take it for granted. I know it is a major accomplishment. Oh sure, for some – based on great genes – it’s easier than for others, however, that only applies to a very small minority. I know this because the experts are predicting that by the end of 2010, eighty one percent of American’s will be obese. Ouch!
To maintain your fitness you must set a goal, and then work diligently (I maintain daily) to make that goal a reality. It takes desire and commitment. And when achieved, it is quite an accomplishment. Mark Twain said, “There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”
If you need to get-in-shape but are finding it difficult to whip up the desire to accomplish that goal, one of the best things you can do is to make an appointment with yourself to do something physically that you really want to do but cannot achieve unless you’re fit. And, I’m not talking about losing 15 pounds for the wedding you’re attending next month! Losing 15 pounds on some fad-diet has nothing to do with fitness, the proof of which comes only a month after the wedding when you discover you’ve gained all the weight back.
Recently, a friend of mine (Charlie Ehrmann) set out to do something that would test his status-quo level of fitness, as well as push him to new levels of physical accomplishment. At 67 years of age, he climbed Mt Whitney – the highest mountain in the U.S. – in only 18 hours! I interviewed him, hoping that his accomplishment will motivate you to step out and achieve something out of the norm. Something that will challenge you physically, and teach you what your body is capable of, at any age.
Q: Charlie, what inspired you to climb Mt. Whitney at age 67?
A: The challenge and an adventuresome spirit I guess. I knew a Doctor in Oregon that has led a group of 15 to the summit for several years. After about 13 seconds of consideration, I asked him if I could join them if he had an opening. While waiting for a slot to open up, believe me, I had cold feet many times wondering if at my age could I really make it to the top. I felt I was in great shape at 67, but was it good enough? After extensive online investigating, I came to the conclusion that I could do it if I focused the next few months on getting my lung capacity increased and increase my workouts. After several weeks of waiting, word came that there was an opening. Now there was no turning back, I was committed. I was even more inspired to make the trip when my son Vick was also able to join the group of 15.
Q: What are some of the unique particulars of the climb?
A: Base camp was at 8,300 ft. This is about a 13 mile drive into the mountains from Lone Pine, Calif. We spent Thurs night camping, took a six mile warm-up hike on Friday to a beautiful lake 3 miles up the Whitney Trail. We then spent Friday night camping, going to bed at 8 pm in order to get up at 2 am and start hiking at 2:30 am. The first 4 hours of the hike was in total darkness using headlamps to lead us along the narrow trail. It is necessary to start this early in order to reach the top by approximately 12 noon and start back down to reach base camp before dark. Vick and I actually reached the summit at 1 pm and completed the round trip in 18 hours arriving at base camp at 8:30 pm – hiking the last 30 minutes in the dark with headlamps. It is a very long extreme hike that covers 22 miles round trip.
Q: What was the most difficult, or unexpected, thing you encountered?
A: The physical aspects of the climb was not our greatest challenge. What we were not prepared for was the effects of altitude sickness. We had studied online what altitude sickness was and how to prevent it, however, even with some preparation we still had several episodes of headaches, nausea and vomiting that slowed our climbing and descending pace tremendously. It was difficult to eat or drink anything without that nauseating feeling. The second thing was the narrow path and the fear of loosing your balance, with a 20 lb pack on your back, and falling off the side of the mountain.
Q: What do you normally do to stay fit, and what did you do differently to prepare for the climb?
A: For the past 15 years I have been doing a regular daily workout called FIT10 that takes approximately 10-minutes. This regimen provides an excellent cardiovascular workout, a strength training workout and a stretching workout. There are obviously many ways of getting in a workout and I own various other pieces of equipment, however, I have found that this 10-minute program works for me. Additional benefits of this form of exercise is that it puts no stress on my aging joints; my muscles do not get sore by working out every day, and there is no pressure placed on my back or spine.
In addition, for a month or 6 weeks prior to the hike, I started hiking a local mountain that only has a 500 ft elevation gain. However, it is rather steep and rocky for several miles and I would do power hikes to increase my oxygen intake. It was obviously not as good as preparing at higher elevations would be.
Q: How do you think your particular regimen of regular exercise helped you overall on the climb?
A: Not only was my regular exercise regimen extremely beneficial for the stamina needed for the hike, it provided all the strength I needed in my legs, back, and arms to carry a 20 lb pack 22 miles over 18 hours. Ascending the 6,000 ft from base camp was like climbing 2 steps at time up your house stairs for 9 hours. But I must tell you, my regular exercise regimen helps me do all sorts of other things besides climbing an occasional mountain. It allows me to do other things such as play 8 rounds of golf in 5 days and not feel wiped out except for normal tiredness. I recently played a couple of hours of tennis without any side effects.
Q: How did you feel “the next day”, so to speak…were you as sore and wiped out as you thought you’d be?
A: This was the real puzzler. Neither my son nor I had sore joints or muscles at all after the hike. We were obviously exhausted and crashed immediately upon reaching our room. In fact, while I was waiting in the drivers seat with the engine running for my son to load the car with our gear after the hike, I fell asleep at the wheel.
Q: What did you learn about your body?
A: I was astounded that my body held up as well as it did. I had experienced a lower back problem for several weeks before the hike due to lifting heavy objects helping friends move. I was fearful that this would flare up again as I could still feel the aftereffects. However, it was only slightly felt during the hike and never a factor in completing the climb. Obviously, keeping yourself fit on a daily basis is well worth the effort when you are thinking about stepping outside the box to do something like hike Mt. Whitney. If I had to get my body in shape in 4 to 6 weeks to make this climb, I don’t think I could have done it.
Q: What did you learn from this adventure as it relates to the rest of your life?
A: No one is limited by age from setting this type of goal. The key is to start thinking outside of your comfort zone. The only limiting factor for many is their health. Personally, I refuse to allow my body or my health to deteriorate to the point where I cannot do the things that I do now or would like to do in the future. My motto when it comes to the nutritional aspect of staying healthy is this; “Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels”. That makes it easy to turn down things that look and taste good, but you instinctively know are not good for your health.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: As we were coming down the mountain, I would look back up the trail and vowed “never again”. However, the old adage about “out of sight, out of pain”, or something like that, then comes into play. My son and I now talk about how we would do it differently to avoid the nausea and headaches, and cut the time by a couple of hours.
I would love to do it again. But honestly, I think that there are other challenges are out there that I would like to accomplish before hiking Mt. Whitney again – such as hike the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail; ride a bike across the US from coast to coast; take another bike ride around Europe. In 1956, I rode a bike with 7 others for 3 weeks around Europe between my junior and senior years of high school and it has always been a desire to repeat that trip.
Q: Why would you recommend that people set a goal and do this sort of thing?
A: It is an exhilarating experience that builds your confidence to go accomplish other goals. Whether it is an fitness workout, climbing Mt. Whitney, losing weight, or whatever else you might have in mind. You must set a goal and commit in order to accomplish that goal. Once you make that commitment, it does something psychologically that forces you to do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal.
