Getting Cold As You Get Old

I managed to glance at the NY Times before taking my son to school this morning. The article that caught my attention was Is Aerobic Exercise the Key to Successful Aging by Gretchen Reynolds in the Health subsection of the Science section. There has been a lot of discussion about whether cardio or weight training is better for the aging body. I like to hedge my bets and do both. I know a lot of people don't have this luxury (of time) but as long as I'm unemployed, I might as well make the best of it. From today's article: 

"These results would seem to indicate that exercise needs to be aerobically taxing to extend telomeres and slow cellular-level aging, says Dr. Christian Werner, a cardiologist and researcher at the University of Saarland in Germany, who led the new study."

Some people can work up a sweat moving weights, but lately I find that I'm cold by the end of my workout session. It's not like I'm resting a lot or standing around chatting either. This observations coincides with the realization that my hands and feet get painfully cold when I'm not actively moving. If I'm reading or typing at my computer, my hands are invariably freezing. Cold hands and/or feet have woken me from a deep sleepl. I don't think it's just the Raynaud's syndrome, which attributes this phenomenon to contractions in the small blood vessels of the extremities. That seems so simplistic. 

My personal belief is that "cold extremities" is linked to issues with tissue structure. It isn't just my hands that go numb with pressure. My whole body is sensitive to compression, so something in the body's internal scaffolding isn't quite up to par. (I suspect it's linked to my IV skin condition, but there's no actual research to support my personal theories.)

The standard answer to why older people feel the cold more seems to make sense: loss of elasticity in the blood vessels; loss of insulating body fat; decrease in metabolic activity. It would explain all the seniors bundled in their puffy jackets walking the treadmill. It doesn't explain why I need to do some light cardio at the end of my workout just to feel warm enough to stretch. I've seen other middle-aged gym rats put their hoodies back on after working out, but only because they're standing around chatting. 

I don't remember getting cold to the point where I had to do more cardio just to get warm enough to stretch. Maybe the gym is colder than usual? Maybe my metabolism is slowing down? I upped my weights for the last movement today, Rip Skulls, and it was only the threat of a nasty failure that kept me from finishing the last rep of the last set. But I was still cold when I got done. Luckily, 15 lazy minutes on the cross-trainer, watching SuperNatural on the attached TV, got me feeling limber enough for basic Mat Stretches. 

In general it was a good workout. I woke up with my left elbow sore for no apparent reason. Must've been battling dragons in my sleep. But it didn't bother me during Smith Inclined Presses. What started to twinge was my right glute, because it's my right foot that I plant to brace myself during the heavier lifts, while my left foot sits tip-toe on the floor. A short-leg problem. Couldn't get into any of the inclined benches as suddenly there were a lot of guys in the gym all wrestling with BBs and DBs, so I did my DB super sets with Bent Over Flyes. The Rip Skulls felt pretty good all the way until the last set, when the left elbow made itself known again. And failure is not only not pretty, it's dangerous so I let the last rep go. 

Push Tuesday (Wonky Left Elbow)

30 min elliptical + 5 min cd
Program 3
Calories 305
Miles 2.78
HR 148-180 (80)

Push Ups 50
Crunches 30/40
Bicycles 50

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 12
90 x 12 x 3 (rt glute)
65 x 25

DB Laterals s/s Bent Over Flyes
20lbs x 12/15 reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40lbs x 12, 12, 11 (left elbow)

15 min LISS
X-trainer Manual 1
Calories 100
Miles 0.90
HR 125-131

Stretch