#more likely to go with 8 or 10cm or something. more reasonable size and still quite small. 8 and would also be around 100 with the same tube

[schadenfreudich]

How many small squares could I make a skirt out of before fucking hating myself before I'm even half the way through?

[puuta-heinaa]

Joker Out -sweater series Post 1 Post 2 Post 3 Post 4

Happy Carpe diem's birthday!

As promised, here's the chart now that I've finished the yoke! The four rows I added on the go (20, 22, 29, 31) are now part of the chart, so no need to knit any row twice. I did alter the most annoying cloud rows slightly.

There's "colours only" chart at the end of this post.

What you'll need:

Technique Ladderback jacquard/invisible stranding technique is a MUST, and honestly it makes following the chart easier as well! If you don't feel like learning it, you might want to mark the blue lines with stitch markers. Here's an EXCELLENT video of the technique in Finnish, it's very visual + auto-translated subtitles seemed to work reasonably well, so it might work even for non-Finnish speaking people! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtapBYocY80&t

Yarn I'm using Drops Alaska, 17s/10cm in color 15 and 58 and 3. It is widely available and affordable yarn. It's not soft but it's not worst either, somewhere around 29-33 microns I'd say.

In reality I'm using Drops Nepal 0501 for the grey, as I was going to use Nepal in the first place as it is a lovely yarn!!!! I'd say around 25-27 microns, and 35% alpaca, makes even warmer sweater! Colours are sold out in most places in Jan and Feb as it's always on big sale in Nov-Dec, but 6790 or 1709 would work for blue, and 2923 for the yellow.

I used one skein of grey, 1(2) skeins of yellow and as I'm making a crop version like I always do, about 8 skeins of main colour. If you want a regular sweater, you'll need 10-12 skeins of blue depending on your height.

Friendly reminder to check your local shepherd's and local mills' yarns before buying Drops, if that is something you financially can afford.

Needles 5 mm needles. I've recenlty fallen in love with addi's unicorn needles. They're easy for the hands as they are slightly shaped. No need to grip hard = more knitting time per day! And they're pretty! You want to use lacquered or metallic needles for this yarn, you will struggle with bamboo needles.

Some adjustments The chart is not scaled. It's one size. It makes size M/L. The widest part of the yoke is 150 cm, and I'm aiming for 100-105cm for the body. If you need a bigger sweater, use yarn that has 15 or 12 s/10cm and bigger needles, or add a few (blue) stitches on each side of the chart. If you need a smaller sweater, use yarn that has 18-20 s/10 cm and smaller needles. Do some math before choosing your yarn. And please swatch!! It's boring and annoying but you will thank yourself later.

+ stitch markers (you can use yarn loops)

I'll write up the whole pattern once I have energy to do that. I started with 86 stitches, knit rib for 5 rows, placed the stitch markers (17,17,17,17,18), did some shaping for the neck (5 short rows with 42 stitches in total) and moved on to the chart. 1-2 rows with just blue to cast off the ladders, and then I'll move on to sleeves. I don't promise my pattern will be any clearer than these quick notes right here, but if you know someone who knits or have already knit few sweaters, these should give you a decent starting point.

OK ON TO THE CHARTS.

One with only the colours. The numbers on the cloud are upside down when you're knitting, but they still help somewhat (I had put them in the same table/layer with the colours, and couldn't hide them easily, so we'll just have to live with them.)

Dark grey boxes are stitches that don't exist yet, but where will be a stitch later on on the chart. You add the stitches on rows where the boxes turn white.

And the second; what you might want to embroider on the suns and clouds as finishing touches.

And yoke part of the sweater for those who hadn't yet seen it yet and didn't click the links:

[shannrussell-blog1]

A 12V fridge is the ultimate in camping comfort. Menus can be expanded to include pretty much anything you can cook at home, as long as you can fit it in the fridge. These days, portable fridges are extremely popular additions to any camping and 4WD arrangement, and if you head out regularly they become well and truly worth the expense.

However, a fridge requires a fair bit of energy to run – it’s almost always the highest consumer and you need to get that power from somewhere. There’s a lot of focus on 12V fridge.

How much power does a fridge need?

There are a lot of different factors that affect the energy consumption of a 12V fridge. Size, compressor style, ambient temperature, insulation thickness, the temperature they are set to cool to, what you are using it for, and the list goes on.

However, most will consume in between 1 amp and 6 amps (with 2.5 amps being fairly average) an hour when running. However, a fridge won’t usually run 100% of the time, so it only pulls that current when the compressor comes on.

Most fridges are loud enough for you to hear them within a few metres. Again, the cycle time varies considerably, but on average they run about 50% of the time.

Using the above example, where the fridge draws 2.5 amps when the compressor is on but only runs for 1/2 the day, it will use 30 amp hours of the battery capacity.

What battery should a fridge run off?

Fridges should never run off the cranking battery that you use to start your vehicle. The only exception to this is while you are driving if you absolutely must. The reason behind this is simple – your cranking battery is imperative to start your vehicle, and if you run it flat you can be in serious trouble.

The most common way to run a fridge is with a second battery, which is isolated from the main cranking battery. The best option is a deep-cycle battery, which is designed (as the name suggests) to cycle from full to half empty and back again, anywhere from 1200 – 1700 times.

You can run them off a normal cranking battery, but they don’t like to be cycled and you will shorten its life substantially. Lithium batteries are also becoming more popular as they have several advantages, but they come at a pretty hefty cost.

Do not run your fridge off your main battery. Run a dual battery setup. 

How low can I go with the battery?

Far too many people think that just because their fridge is running, the battery has enough power left in it. This is not the case – you should not run your battery to below 50% of charge, which is normally around 12.2 – 12.3 volts.

A fridge will continue to run well below this until the low-level alarm goes off and cuts the power. Most fridges have a low-level cut-out, but it’s not usually until well under 12 volts. If you run your battery below 50% of charge, its lifespan will rapidly be decreased, and batteries aren’t cheap.

If you have a 100amp hour deep cycle battery, you should only be using 50Amps of its capacity, which in the above scenario is only 1 and 2/3 of a day (without any other consumption) before you start to damage your battery.

From that point on, you need to start your vehicle and allow the alternator to charge the battery, or arrange some solar input. However, get a couple of cloudy days and things start to get a bit desperate. Using your vehicle’s engine to charge the battery is a pretty uneconomical way to do things too.

So, how can you reduce the energy consumption from your 12V fridge? Well, in a similar way to keeping ice cold for longer in an ice box actually.

1. Cool your items before leaving home

If you can avoid it, don’t put room temperature items in your fridge. It only makes it work harder, and use more power. If you are still plugged into 240V this doesn’t really matter, but we normally make a habit of pre-chilling items before putting them in the fridge.

Obviously, if you are on the road this is unavoidable, but where possible, pre-chill your food and drink.

2. Crack the lid slowly

If you unlatch your fridge and yank the lid up, the rapid movement draws a huge amount of cold air out of your fridge and sends it into the atmosphere. Once you close the lid, the fridge has got to cool down the hot air that you’ve filled it with.

The trick is simple – crack the lid gently until it’s open about 10cm, and then open it normally. This will stop most of the cold air escaping, and save you a fair bit of power consumption.

3. Keep the fridge full

A full fridge works much more efficiently than an empty one. If you are running low on food and drinks in the fridge, bottles of water work very well. Once they are cool, you’ll save a heap of energy as they don’t immediately change temperature like air does when the lid is open.

4. Keep your fridge as cool as possible

The difference between a fridge operating in an ambient temperature of 25 to 40 degrees is huge. The hotter the air outside of the fridge, the harder your compressor has to work. Obviously, you can only control the ambient temperature so much, but you can control where your fridge is stored.

Parking under a tree, for example, will keep your vehicle much cooler, and reduce the amount of work the fridge has to do to keep your food and drinks cold. If you are parked up, open the back of the vehicle so it doesn’t heat up.

A fridge slide is a good way of keeping your fridge secure in the 4WD, but popping it out like this, when you’re at camp, ensures airflow. 

5. Airflow is imperative

It’s all well and good having your fridge packed in tight, but if it can’t breathe freely you are making it work hard. Ensure the compressor has ample room to suck clean, cool air. If you have the fridge mounted in an enclosed area, consider the use of a little vent or computer fan, to aid air circulation.

Toolboxes on the front of camper trailers are popular for mounting fridges, but on a warm day, they can easily get to 65 degrees inside. While it probably won’t kill your fridge, it isn’t doing it any favours in terms of longevity, and most certainly will cause it to consume more power.

6. Fridge covers

You’ll see a lot of fridge manufacturers sell covers for their fridges. These help to protect the fridge, but also improve their insulation properties. The better insulated your fridge, the less heat that can get in and the less cold air that can get out.

Next time you are at your fridge, touch the outside of it when the fridge is running. If it is noticeably cooler than the air around you, the insulation is allowing the cold to escape.

Snowys sells covers for Waeco, Engel and Primus fridges.

Fridge covers help insulate the fridge so that it runs cooler. 

7. Time and number of times opened

The longer you leave your fridge open, the more it has to cool down when you shut it again. Make a habit of grabbing what you need quickly and shutting the lid.

If you know you are cooking something up, have a think about what you need before opening the fridge. I’m not saying limit yourself to only opening the fridge a few times a day, that’s silly. But anything you can do to limit the number of times you open the fridge the better.

As mentioned in the piece on keeping ice from melting, perhaps have a small icebox at your disposal to keep drinks nearby to save you from having to open the fridge too often.

Our trusty Evakool 12V fridge.

8. Shut the lid properly

While it’s easy just to drop the lid and not do the latches up, if any air can get in or out, it’ll make the fridge work harder. Take the extra 2 seconds to latch it closed.

9. Check the wiring

The power supply to your fridge needs to have adequate sized wiring. If it is too small, you lose efficiency quite quickly. Usually, this is an issue from your battery to the fridge power point, especially if it’s running from the front of the vehicle to the rear. It’s recommended you run 6mm square cable, minimum.

Keep an eye on your voltage usage.

10. Use a quality fridge

Lastly, if you’ve bought yourself a cheap fridge and you find it’s chewing the power, it might be time to upgrade. A quality fridge, like an 10 Ways to Reduce Energy Use of a 12V Fridge appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[albasko]

Set & Prop Design

These are the sets and Props I needed for each Scene/step:

STEP 1: RHYTHM IS EVERYTHING

The first step does not require any set building, however it does require lots of different props. I will need antique film editing equipment: Film splicer, film reels, film cannisters and film strips. I did some research into what equipment was used in the silent era to splice and patch film strips, so I am familiar with what equipment is needed. I tracked down a Prop hire company (London Prop Hire) that has all of these props:

As for the metronome, I contacted the National theatre and the only one they had was this:

I’m not a fan of this metronome, it looks cheap and tacky and I don't like the colour of it - it just won't match the dark colour palette of the opening sequence. So I resorted to going on amazon and seeing what they have; I came across this pretty decent looking one for a reasonable price. It’s made out of plastic but it looks the part and can pass for an antique on camera:

STEP 2: LOVE EDITING

Step two mainly involves set building. There are two sets that I needed to build for this scene. I managed to build the sets using thick grey-board from the school shop; the main challenge I faced when building the first set was fixing the boards together. First I stapled them using a staple gun - this didn't work, they soon fell apart; I then resorted to using a glue gun which just about managed to keep the boards fixed together. Instead of painting the grey-board I glued coloured card onto the surface for even colouring. For the square hand holes in both sets, I first cut different sized holes into the paper in my sketchbook to see what size is best for the hands. I decided a 10cm x 10cm square worked best:

[this is the sample cut I did in my sketchbook to see what size works best]

The tunnel set turned out pretty good; I used two different shades of plum to make give the set more depth, and it seems to do the trick. Providing its lit correctly, it has the potential to look pretty good on camera. The only downfall of this set is it’s stability - as mentioned previously, I struggled to assemble the boards together, and even after I glue-gunned it, it still struggles to stand up right. I could put brackets on the outside of the joins but I don't have time to do this.

I’m happy with the way this set looks. The colours need to compliment the previous set so that the transition between the two is pleasant to the eye rather than jarring. I think the bright orange and the pink go nicely with the plumb - the transition is meant to be like going through a dark tunnel and into the bright and creative community of editing.

STEP 3: LEARN ON YOUR OWN

No set-building is required for this scene, only props. The only additional prop I will need (on top of the props already stated in step 1) is a watch. I haven't found a decent watch to use yet, but I will keep looking; if I don't find a watch I’ll take out the part with the watch in it. Actually there is one more prop I will need for this as well as the opening scene, and that is a table. I want to avoid hiring a nice table out, so my solution to this is to use the crappy fold-up tables at uni and drape the colourama over the top so that you can't see it. This will also make the set look a lot cleaner and less cluttered with props.

STEP 4: KNOW WHEN TO CUT

For this step I would need to hire out quite a few film cannisters; I can get these from London Prop Hire. No set-building will be needed for this scene.

STEP 5: CUT FILM LIKE POETRY

This scene will not require any set building or props.

STEP 6: READ THE SCRIPT

For this step I’ve designed a prop that looks like a film script. I have done this by taking my flat mate’s english literature notes, which are spiral bound, and changing the front page to the front cover of a film script that I designed. This is the page I designed:

In tribute to Booth’s contribution to the film industry, the script I designed is of the film Mutiny on The Bounty 1935, which was Margaret Booth’s first big break as an editor. 

STEP 7: KNOW WHAT THE DIRECTOR WANTS

For this step I want to integrate the work of other female editors who may have been influenced by Margaret Booth. There will be three references to three different editors; the reason why i’ve picked these films in particular is because the directors of these films have very specific styles and this step is all about respecting what the director wants. The three films being referenced are: 1) Jaws 1975, edited by Verna Fields; 2) Psycho 1960, edited by George Tomasini, but Alma Reville was instrumental in the production of the film; 3) Pulp Fiction 1994, edited by Sally Menke.

I have designed a set of puppets which I will reenact famous scenes from the three films, this is what I've designed:

The puppets will be printed and cut from card and mounted on kebab sticks. A gilded frame will be held up into shot and the puppets will be held in the frame. I haven't found a gilded frame yet, but I want something that looks a bit like this:

when I go to London Prop Hire, I’ll keep an eye out for any frames I could hire.

STEP 8: WORK AT A STUDIO

This step involves building a set, and requires one additional prop. The prop I will need is a pair of vintage heels; unfortunately I haven't found a vintage pair which are affordable, so instead I found a fairly cheap pair of boots from H&M. They look like this:

The set was fairly easy to build; again, I used grey-board mounted with coloured card. I wanted slightly cooler colours for this set, so I chose a purple and beige colour. This is what it looks like:

The set doesn't look very flattering in these photos but I think it’ll work well with the style of boots I bought. The set will sit on top of a lilac coloured backdrop so that you don't see the floor.

[kashmir-box]

10 tips for growing saffron

Saffron (Crocus sativus) has constantly captivated me, being both delightful and costly, two powerful characteristics. The blooms are intense and wonderful. They fly out of the ground in fall like enchantment, lilac or mauve with darker shading veins. Yet, the genuine centerpiece is the three blazing red marks of shame which convey the 'fragrance of ambrosia'. Kashmiri Kesar brand and blossoms were the image and explanation of riches and the world's costliest zest. They were applauded by artists, the petals stuffed into the pads of the high and grandiose, and saffron water was utilized to aroma dinner corridors. The yellow color was considered the 'flawlessness of excellence' and saffron-yellow shoes were just worn by Persian rulers, divine beings and goddesses, fairies and vestals. Kashmiri Saffron tea was a warming beverage utilized as a stomach related, however customarily saffron is likewise utilized in cakes and buns, paella and rice dishes, in fish soups and stews, for example, the French bouillabaisse, a rich fish dish from Marseilles. Today it will in general component regularly in colorful dishes in up-advertise cafés. Why the publicity? Maybe, similar to me, you have had saffron in a dish and not been dazzled. To be straightforward I couldn't taste anything much at all and put it in a comparative class to whitebait – over-appraised for the cost (sorry to learn you white baiters!). Presently, because of a little home experimentation, I have altered my perspective and I trust you do as well. To the cook's embarrassment, up to this point, we have never delivered any in our nursery. In any case, presently, on account of a liberal peruser (thank you Ian!) and an obliging, great depleted soil, we planted our absolute first saffron corms a year ago. There was extraordinary energy when Ken got an initial couple of blossoms from our own plot and organized them cautiously on paper towels to dry. A couple of petals were a little creepy crawly bitten however who's grumbling? Be that as it may, when I requested that he explore different avenues regarding them he said he needed something more yet and they were very valuable to squander on me! Luckily the cook didn't get the keep going state on that issue. The principal dish that Ken thought of was a heavenly saffron rice serving of mixed greens and it was far superior following a night in the ice chest. In the wake of eating a bowl I felt amazingly eager and ate seconds evidently, saffron is a craving stimulant and helps to process too. Like the Moroccan charge we investigated in the last two issues, the flavor is difficult to put a finger on, portrayed by some as looking like nectar, however, different portrayals incorporate feed like and metallic hints with somewhat severe notes. Since it is a water solvent, an exceptionally little amount in cooking will give an exquisite brilliant yellow, which carries us to Ken's subsequent examination, a dazzling yellow saffron orange cake. This subsequent investigation uses ground almonds rather than flour and is by a wide margin the best sans gluten preparing I have ever tasted, with its additional advantage being beneficial for you. 10 TIPS FOR GROWING SAFFRON 1. Fortunately for us here in Canterbury, we have what saffron likes: winter chill and warm, dry summers. Sorry to learn of you in Auckland and Northland, however, you may be in a tough situation. Research by Crop and Food during the 1990s discovered this Mediterranean local developed well in regions south of the Waikato in the North Island and on the east of the South Island (where we are). Great ices down to - 10°C and periodic snow were no issue for it. 2. Saffron price in India leans towards light, friable soils with a sandy or loamy surface and a high supplement substance, yet the most significant criteria are that the dirt is well-depleted. Corms are frequently developed in raised beds to improve seepage. 3. Saffron is sterile and doesn't set reasonable seed so yields must be developed by corm augmentation. 4. Plants corms in late January or early February for reap in April and May. Spot 10cm separated and 10-15cm profound, ideally in raised beds for expanded seepage. 5. Planting profundities and separations differ economically however more little girl corms are created in shallower plantings. Furnish a free depleting soil with a lot of natural issues. You can side dress them with manure as well however don't try too hard. 6. Contingent upon the size of the mother corm, every corm will be supplanted by 1-10 new cormlets. Every unique corm above 30g will deliver a normal of six new corms in its subsequent year. This expansion in weight every year and develop over the old ones, crawling towards the dirt surface by 1-2 cm every year. Inevitably corms become packed bringing about diminished yields so cultivators normally lift them intermittently, about like clockwork in business plots in Spain. 7. Beds ought to be kept sans weed – on the off chance that you are a lethargic weeder like us, a layer of sawdust assists with weed control. 8. Saffron blooms in its first season, around 40 days in the wake of planting, and proceeds for 30-40 days relying upon climate. The mauve blossoms regularly show up before the leaves, yet may come simultaneously or after. Each plant may blossom for as long as 15 days yet once-blooming beginnings you have to watch out for them, picking blossoms toward the beginning of the prior day they wither. 9. Downpour (or water system) 10-15 days before blossoming brings about high creation; the dry season will cause little blooms and marks of shame. 10. Collect blooms by squeezing off at the base with the fingernail, or with a slight winding development. They are best collected in the first part of the day after the dew has dissipated. In Italy, blossoms are reaped promptly toward the beginning of the day while still shut and the marks of shame are simpler to disengage. It is conceivable – however dubious – to gather the disgrace without picking the blossom. Step by step instructions to HARVEST AND DRY SAFFRON ● Flowers ought to be dried as quickly as time permits subsequent to picking. On the off chance that you can't dry them straight away keep them in shut holders in the cooler. The point is to accomplish about 10% dampness. Drying time will differ with the mugginess, amount of strings, dehydrator model (in case you're utilizing one). With a little household dehydrator, around three hours at 48°C ought to be about right. ● The brightness of shading is helped by snappy, high-temperature drying. With consideration, you can utilize a broiler, as we did. Tests demonstrate that disgrace can be evaporated at 110°C as long as the planning is ideal (at 110°C, only two minutes is required). ● Well-dried saffron ought to be a shiny, dim red shading. On the off chance that you chomp on the string, it ought to have a waxy vibe. Over-drying makes strings weak with a severe persistent flavor. Not dry enough and they will be inclined to spoil. ● Dried marks of disgrace ought to be put away quickly in a water/air proof compartment in obscurity to abstain from dying. IS YOUR SAFFRON GOOD OR BAD? ● Saffron quality relies upon its shading power (crocin content), scent (safranal), and taste (picrocrocin). ● Crocin is the significant shade, a water dissolvable carotenoid that gives saffron its incentive as a yellow-red color. ● Picrocrocin, an unpleasant tasting standard, hydrolyzes on drying to glucose and safranal. The best quality saffron has a high safranal content. ● Good saffron is a crisp, splendid orange shading and scents unequivocally sweet and sharp. It tends to be substituted with comparative shaded herbs, for example, safflower, turmeric, and marigold however it totally changes the flavor. At the point when old it ends up dry and smelly so don't spare it up for a really long time! For what reason IS SAFFRON SO EXPENSIVE? ● Weight for weight, saffron is more significant than gold, making it effectively the world's most costly zest. In a Minoan culture (1900-1600BC) similar loads to gauge gold were utilized to quantify saffron. ● Once you start picking and trying different things with saffron you rapidly observe why it is so expensive. Our first year's collect from two plots yielded not exactly a dessertspoon of marks of shame. ● Each dried shame weighs between 0.3-1g. To make up a kilogram of dried saffron requires the penance of somewhere in the range of 70,000 and 200,000 blooms, contingent upon their quality. Put it another way, a kilogram of blossoms may yield only 12g of marks of shame. ● Yields shift enormously in various developing conditions running from 2-2.5kg per hectare (Morocco) to 29kg per ha in Spain underwater system. Research in NZ (in Clyde) demonstrated yields of 24kg/ha. Step by step instructions to utilize it ● Less is more to an extreme and the harsh taste overwhelms the unobtrusive flavor. ● Just a spot of saffron will shading and flavor 500g of rice. ● Generally, the dried strings are implanted first by adding to warm water, milk or cooking alcohol. They can likewise be disintegrated dry into nourishment.

[alivurun]

Robert Norcross, Stage IV Kidney Cancer

I was diagnosed with stage IV Renal Cell Carcinoma on June 27, 1999. At the time I was too stunned to be amazed, but the insidiousness of this disease is amazing to me now. It crept into my otherwise healthy body, leaving a 10cm tumor on my right kidney, a 2.5cm tumor on the right Adrenal, a 5cm and a 2cm tumor in my left femur, and "numerous" lung tumors, the largest of which was 3cm. Only weeks before I had been playing basketball in a senior's league, scrapping for rebounds with a left leg that was almost ready to snap. And I did not notice any decrease in lung capacity despite a chest full of tumors. In short, I was very active and unaware that I was about to get a death sentence. Much has happened in the last three years. I am still alive, contrary to the predictions of a prominent Urologist. I am tumor-free at the moment, but my lifestyle and general mobility has changed immensely. My main reason for writing this piece is to provide hope for someone newly diagnosed, as I derived hope from reading Steve Dunn's web page back in July 1999, when the specialists were getting me ready to die in 6 to 12 months. And also I would like to put forward the things that I would do differently if I were to be able to do it over again. My first warning that something was wrong was about mid-June 1999 when I had a pain just above my left knee. It was a persistent pain and very different from any normal knee injuries that I had had in the past. My GP arranged for an X- ray. I was not satisfied with the first X-ray and ordered another, and this second radiologist report confirmed that it was indeed a tumor. A further chest X-ray revealed a 3cm tumor in the right lung. Here's where I started to learn the meaning of the word Metastasis. Now that we knew it was a cancer of some kind, it remained to determine where the primary tumor was. My GP was sure that I was too old to present with Bone Cancer and he thought that Lung Cancer was unlikely for me as well. The type of cancer was confirmed the following week when a CT scan revealed the large mass on my right Kidney and so it seemed likely that I had Renal Cell Carcinoma. The confirming biopsy was done later when the leg was "nailed" (a metal rod inserted to give the femur strength). Dr. Lee recommended me to the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA). This organization has many talented and devoted cancer professionals as well as volunteers and researchers. I first met a Radiation Oncologist whose advice was to stabilize the left femur with a "Nail", then to have some radiation treatment to reduce the pain. He found an orthopedic surgeon at Lions Gate Hospital who could do the operation quickly and it was done. This had an immediate effect. First the pain at the tumor site disappeared, but unfortunately it was replaced by pain at both screw sites because the surgeon used screws that were too long and they were abrading the flesh next to the bone. I opted to live with the new screw pain for a while. About this time, my friend Brian had found several web sites for me to explore. One of them was Steve Dunn's web page . When I read Steve's story and others that I could relate to, it had an immediate effect on me as far as hope was concerned. If they could do it, I could do it too. I had three radiation treatments to the left femur. These treatments were to complicate the future orthopedic legwork. In retrospect I would not do this again, as it had no effect on the tumor size. I found out at this point that BCCA, despite its size and resources, is restricted by protocol on how it is allowed to treat Kidney Cancer. Basically they were suggesting palliation. I wanted to fight, so the radiation Oncologist recommended me to Dr Klimo, a medical Oncologist on the north shore who was not restricted by any protocol. Klimo told me frankly that there was no treatment for Renal Cell Carcinoma available in Canada. Interleukin-2 is not an approved drug in Canada, and he referred me to Dr. John Thompson in Seattle, who was involved with a number of Clinical Trials at the University of Washington. Many things were happening simultaneously at this time. I had met Dr Thompson at UW, and I had to consider the different treatments and the different clinical trials available, that conventional medicine had to offer. It was becoming clear that immuno-therapy was the only approach worth taking, but I was curious as to why my immune system would stop working in an otherwise healthy body, and if it could be made to re-start with a simple change of diet or addition of supplements. After trying a well-known Naturopathic Doctor, I heard of a group of Doctors and Health Practitioners that were well acquainted with the Alternative Therapies as well as traditional ones. So I decided to visit the Centre for Integrated Healing in Vancouver. The Centre for Integrated Healing(CIH) is a non-profit society, which provides integrated complementary cancer care for people with cancer and their families. There I had an interview with Dr. Hal Gunn. I explained to him that I was thinking of going into a clinical trial in the US, one that would either involve Interleukin-2 or Interferon. But I was very interested in attacking this problem in a broader way than just simply the clinical trial. He encouraged me to make a number of lifestyle changes related to stress and diet, and he gave me a list of Vitamins and dietary supplements to include with my daily food consumption as well as some complimentary medical therapies such as their MRV Vaccine. All of these new habits and dietary change were considered to be complementary to the Clinical study, which I was about to embark upon. In September 1999, I was accepted into the Clinical study at U of W Seattle which involved a phase 2 study funded by Roche (a European Drug Company), of a drug called Pegylated Interferon alpha-2a. The study involved a once-weekly subcutaneous injection of the drug which would ultimately last (for non- progressors) for 16 months. I had been warned that there would be flu-like symptoms accompanying this, but I had no such discomfort, even at the very beginning. So from September 8, 1999 to March 15, 2001, I self-administered a once weekly injection of PEG-IFN and during this period the kidney tumor shrank and became "largely necrotic", the lung and chest tumors disappeared and the leg tumor appeared unchanged in size. When it was clear that a response was underway, the doctors changed their opinion of the usefulness of a Nephrectomy. For the sake of "good house-keeping" the kidney and tumor remains should come out. And in November 2001, the diseased Kidney came out, with no trouble at all. From this description it may seem that I had a successful and problem-free treatment . From the standpoint of the cancer treatment, this was true. But the complications arising from the leg metastasis still bother me today. The leg metastasis first had a sloppy nail job, which was later cleaned up in another operation but ultimately failed when the nail snapped at one of the screw holes. This dictated a knee replacement operation, which failed because of a Staph infection picked up in the hospital. Another knee replacement operation followed, which failed because the knee now would not bend from the surplus of scar tissue. Ultimately this led to an amputation above the knee, but not until eight leg operations in total had been performed. During this knee surgery marathon, there was a pathological test done on the tumor, which revealed that the there was no remaining malignancy, and indeed there was evidence that there was bone rebuilding going on at the time of the surgical removal. The lesson to be learned from this is that I should have had the Femur pin operation done by a surgeon who was not of the opinion that I would be dead in 6 months (I needed a good job done in other words). Then I should have behaved more like an invalid during this period and taken care not to fall off my bicycle and other activities which would give the leg time to heal. In spite of the fact that I am still having trouble with the amputation, I am very grateful for the disappearance of the RCC tumors with virtually no side effects. It's very difficult to attribute the success to any one item. Technically I was on the Roche study for 16 months. But in fact, during that time there were many weeks when I was unable to take my weekly shot of PEG IFN because I was in the hospital having my left leg altered and thus unable to take anything but antibiotics and morphine. And ever since my visit to the CIH, I had deliberately altered my lifestyle with the emphasis on low stress and good diet, and I continue the style to this day. During all of this time, I was very fortunate to have had the total commitment of my loyal life partner Cathy and the support of all my family and many friends; an irreplaceable component of a fight against this awful disease. At the moment I am tumor free and keeping a close eye on my body to catch it early if it does come back. I have a CT scan coming up in 4 months. I plan to fight again if it does return. In the meantime, my hope is that I can keep it at bay until someone discovers that genetic silver bullet. As a Canadian, I am of course disappointed that it is necessary to go to the US for treatment. The Canadian Federal Government is being disingenuous in their loud and frequent pleadings that Canadian Medicare is pure excellence. Medicare is excellent if you get a cold, or break a toe. But if you have a serious medical problem such as Kidney Cancer, it is nice to be able to access the American system. I am sure that the reason that IL-2 is not approved in Canada is not because the drug itself is so expensive, but mainly because the Liberal Government does not want to pay for the associated ICU time. Of course they will hide behind the excuse that Medicare is administered by the Provinces, but most of the money and all of the drug approvals come from the politically astute in Ottawa. Kidney Cancer is not a highly visible disease. For me, and many other Canadians with serious disease, access to the American Clinical Studies is very important. They are usually funded by the drug companys. For those who can afford to pay for treatments in US centers, this is important too. I am beginning to be concerned that the rise in American Xenophobia since Sept 11 may affect this vital access. Meanwhile, I will be presenting the case to my MLA that the Province should fund the cases where no treatment is available in Canada. Hope and the Will to Live are the foundation of the Healing Pyramid. Perhaps someone newly diagnosed with RCC will read this someday and derive the same hope that I did when I read Steve Dunn's story.

Update: June 12, 2003

I have just been given another "No Evidence of Disease" verdict by my oncologist. This comes almost 4 years from the date of my original RCC diagnosis, June 17, 1999. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear the news; so thrilled that I was speechless; speechless to the extent that I forgot several of the questions that I had planned to ask during the meeting. I must try to control my anxiety before these meetings (next one just before Christmas). I would like to correct one thing that I included with my original story; that is, Interleukin-2 has been approved for use in Canada. This was not the case back in 1999 when I was researching. But as far as I can determine at this time, there is only one location in Canada that will administer the Bolus IL-2 treatment and that is the Jewish General hospital in Montreal. This will progress as time moves on and more medical oncologists become familiar with the protocol. I have had many people ask me where they can get pegylated interferon, which is the drug that I had on a phase 2 trial starting back in September, 1999. To date, this drug is not approved for RCC but it is approved for Hepatitis-C, and I believe that we can reasonably hope that in time it will be approved for RCC as well . I am encouraged by the many new clinical trials that are available now, and would encourage anyone who has been recently diagnosed with the demon RCC to have hope. Hope is an absolutely essential part of any Cancer battle.

Update: January 14, 2004

Something changed in October 2003, and what I noticed first was a kind of morning sickness, which would gradually diminish as I got food into my system and I got active during the day. Later on into November I started to have periods of dizziness, then full scale nausea, which often ended in vomiting. I followed up on all of the usual culprits first, such as gastritis, possible ulcers, etc, with my doctor, and finally I requested a brain scan, which I had on December 10, 2003. The brain scan indeed showed a single 4cm tumor on the cerebellum; my worst fear come true, a met hiding behind the blood/brain barrier that is invulnerable to the treatment that dispensed with all of the other tumors I had in 1999. I was very lucky to get it operated on within one week, and I was home for Christmas with nothing more than a sore neck and headache.Today, three weeks after the operation, I am pretty much back to normal, with the exception that my eyesight is not quite what it used to be, but it is not a serious problem to me, and the Doc says that it is the muscle control of the eyes that is affected, not the actual optics part within the eye. How did all of this happen? That's a good question. I do not have any tumors in my body, this confirmed as recently as one month ago by a CT scan of the entire abdomen, and this has not changed for nearly 3 years. And I did have a brain scan 18 months ago which showed clear. So I guess one must assume that the seed for this tumor (which turned out to be 2.5cm RCC) must have separated from one of the many tumors I had in 1999, lodged in the brain, and remained dormant until recently. Then decided to go into action within the last 18 months. Oncologists that I have talked to seem reluctant to order up brain scans (the two scans that I have had, I had to insist upon). According to them, brain mets from RCC are not very common. But they may just be un-documented, because most metastatic RCC patients are not long-term survivors. I was at the 4 1/2 year post diagnosis point when I found the brain tumor. My suggestion to anyone who is a survivor that in addition to the regular body scans, that you have a brain scan every 12 months.

Update: November 2004

It is now 12 months since I was diagnosed with the brain tumor in my Cerebellum, and nearly a year since the successful surgery. I have just had an MRI brain scan done, which showed no evidence of disease return. Needless to say, I am especially thankful for this clear test, because there was an issue over Whole Brain Radiation(WBR), that I took a stand on, with the Radiation Oncologist, which was supposed to have left me vulnerable. To put the confrontation in short-form, the Radiation Oncologist thought that it was advisable for me to have WBR to mop up any miscellaneous RCC seeds that were too small to see with a scan. My opinion was that radiation kills good cells as well as malignant cells, and I didn't want to be alive if I couldn't think. The Onc said that the choice was up to me, and I agreed that I would take responsibility for the decision. I refused the WBR and to this point anyway, I have been lucky. My vision, balance, and brain function are now totally back to normal, and the only residue from the brain surgery is that my scalp behind the left ear is numb, where they cut into the skull.

Update: March 2010

(from Robert's daughters) Robert Norcross passed away on Jan 8th 2010. Kidney cancer finally got the best of him – but only, I imagine, because a tumor in his hip went undiagnosed (despite frequent scans) until it was 14cm. Following his last post in 2004, he had so many more “close calls” and “miraculous recoveries” – for example a second brain tumor (that resulted in a massive aneurism) removed during a 12-hour operation, after which he recovered nearly completely again, with only slight decrease in coordination of his left arm and hand. 25 operations in total over the 10 years from his diagnosis. After attempting 2 more drugs with no success at the cancer clinic at Lions Gate Hospital for the hip tumor, and being in unbearable pain, he finally gave up hope, and succumbed to the disease a few weeks thereafter. Our dad was an inspiration like no other, and truly embodied the power of positive thinking. This incredible guy could still score an 84 in golf with only one leg (no prosthetic!) – and would grin cheekily and say “yeah, just imagine what I could do if I had NO legs!!” My sister and I are so grateful that the extra 10 years he lived beyond his original death sentence allowed him to see both of us married, and the birth of his four grandchildren. There is a deep ache that persists for us now, we miss him like crazy. We hope that many others continue to take inspiration from his story – and remember what he always reminded everyone – “hope is an absolutely essential part of any cancer battle”. Read the full article

[rmkhealth]

Is it just your age?

Age is the destroyer of youth, eerily creeping up on us and stealing our joyous life energies, age makes our joints ache, our minds slower, age piles on the lbs around our waist and leaves us feeling more and more knackered until eventually it takes us to a cold dark and damp grave.

Or are we wine? Could we get better with age? More knowledgeable and experienced of the World and how it works and appreciative of what we have? Could age be the substance that makes people have a better time?

If age is to be accused of such treacherous crimes against our bodies, let’s us consider the evidence.

Does ageing make you fat and weak?

As I sat on my in laws couch and tried my best to pretend I was watching T.V rather than engage in conversation with my brother in law my view was obstructed by a large gut followed by his apple like soon to be diagnosed with diabetes shape.

He patted his belly and told me that I too, could expect to be fat in ten years’ time, it’s just age he told me, it’s what happens.

That was 10 years ago, I’m still waiting for age to add on the lbs as I sit here wearing the same size trousers I could fit into then.

Of course, there is still time, I’m only thirty-five, other people tell me it’s all downhill from here. Perhaps I am not even the right person to write this article? It’s easy for me to generalize on something I haven’t yet experienced, but then as a Personal Trainer I must have worked with hundreds of people older than me over the last 12 years, including clients in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s.

What follows is a mixture of what I believe to be solid facts, my own personal opinions and general advice based on my own experience. I wrote this article for myself, because I’m curious about the future, I hope that in reading this people might gain a better understanding of aging and how to manage this process like a boss. Let’s start with some of the processes that occur as we age that may affect our weight, muscle and fat.

Sarcopenia affects all adults from about the age of 30 onwards. Up until that point, our muscles are still growing and getting stronger. From then on, we can expect to lose around 3 to 5 % of muscle mass per decade, which means at some point you’ll struggle opening jam jar lids.

From about 75 onwards it really speeds up, leading to the fragility and weakness often associated with the elderly and dramatically increasing the risk of falls and fractures with much more devastating effects than when this happens in younger people. Autopsy results from eighty year olds have shown a 25% reduction in Type II (strong type you would use for sprinting) muscle fibres in the quadriceps compared to sedentary younger people.  

In case you’re wondering, this also affects active people, most athletes are in their prime in their twenties and retire around their thirties.

So, what impact does this have on weight gain?

Lean body mass (muscle) burns calories without you having to do anything.  Muscles need to be fed, which means more muscle, more calories you can consume without getting fat (to a point)

Here is an example of how this works,

Sarah and John are twenties somethings who don’t work out, they enjoy the weekends as they are blissfully free of children and whilst they eat mostly healthy, they have a fair bit of junk from time to time.

Sarah can pull of skinny jeans and John likes to put on tight T-shirts (even though he has puny arms)

Sarah consumes about 2500 calories a day, John about 3000, neither of them know this as they don’t track their intake (which is fine btw)

The fact that neither of them are overweight, and their weight is stable, suggest that they are burning roughly the same number of calories each day as they consume.

Fast forward a lazy inactive decade and they have now lost 5% of their lean mass, which means instead of burning 2500 and 3000 respectively their bodies are now burning up about 2375 and 2850.  It’s only a marginal decrease, but it’s enough that in a month they are consuming an extra 3500 to 4500 calories above their needs.

Add that up over a year and factor in a further reduction in lean mass and subsequently lower level of metabolism and it’s easy to see how the weight begins to pile on year after year.

Even if a person’s weight doesn’t go up, most likely their body fat will. So instead of being 10 stone and 12% body fat John might be that same weight and start to develop flab around his waist as his body fat increases to 18%

In addition to this your hormone system begins to shake, shudder and splutter like an aged car that just wants to rest up its final years in the scrap yard with all its friends.

In men, we see a decrease in testosterone production, think lower sex drive and less able to gain muscle.

In women, we see a much more complex change that brings with it potentially higher risk of osteoporosis, disrupted thyroid and mood swings that would be enough to scare Putin into handing back Ukraine so long as you agree to stop throwing plates at him.

In both sexes, there is a decrease in growth hormone, which plays a significant role in metabolism, brain function, energy levels and muscle growth.

Depressed yet? There’s more!

Does age cause increased joint pain?

Arthritis affects people of all ages, but is by far more common the older you get, meaning more swollen, stiff and painful joints.

Flexibility is reduced year on year, especially in the hips, spine and shoulders, one study on loss of range observed around 8 to 10cm of reduced hip flexibility in the sit and reach test in 50 to 60 year olds.

Also, there’s stenosis, the age-related narrowing of the holes in the spine where the nerves pass through causing increased pain sensitivity, in other words, everything hurts from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.

The body is breaking down year on year, disc in the back dry up, they become thinner, bones become more brittle, ligaments and tendons suffer with long periods of strain and muscles get tighter, alongside this people get more grumpy and intolerant. It’s hard to be happy when you hurt most of the time.

We’ve already mentioned the loss of muscle, naturally this is accompanied by more unstable joints leading to higher risk of injury and lower ability to balance.

That lack of balance means more likelihood of falls, and the decreased muscle means less ability to handle that fall and impaired recovery.

Here’s a cute Labrador slowly falling asleep, thanks for reading this section, watch this before the next section, things only get worse.

  Does age make you more tired?

Ever noticed that childlike energy that… well children have.  My kids have so much energy they insist they must literally jump up and down constantly whilst shouting for three straight hours whilst their Mum and I smash our heads hard against a wall.

There are plenty of good reasons for this, for one thing my kids don’t have the energy draining life issues we have such as paying bills on time, cooking meals, keeping the house clean, earning a living, raising kids, pretending to friendly to people etc etc.

My kids also get plenty of sleep, the youngest goes to bed about 7pm and gets up about 6am.

That’s 11 straight hours of sleep compared to my usual 7 hours! I think if I got that much sleep I too would be buzzing with energy!

But adults don’t just get less sleep because night time is the only chance they can catch up on the Walking dead, as we age we experience a decline in sleep inducing melatonin levels which corresponds with a disruption in our circadian rhythms, meaning we have less quality deep sleep, the kind of sleep which completely revitalizes you. My son can literally fall out of bed and carry on sleeping whilst I wake up when I hear a mouse quietly turning the page of its Library book in the next room.

There’s more too, remember that loss of muscle mass I mentioned earlier?  That makes everything more fatiguing. Suddenly going up the stairs becomes an effort, as does everything else that isn’t sitting down watching television. That muscle you lost contained Mitochondria, a little energy factory that gives you a big dose of fuel when you want to move more.  The loss of mitochondria is also a factor in decreased energy.

Now factor in any of the issues that people older than me must face, most of my friends and family are still alive, whilst I have had a few occasional tough times, I haven’t had more than a few decades of them, and then there is the respect that diminishes with age. Some see old people as a burden, many fear them, they don’t want to even look at the wrinkled skin or hair loss because it reminds them what is coming.

Many old people when interviewed say they feel invisible, they get ignored at the makeup counters, advertisers have stopped trying to sell them sexy clothes and now bombard them with funeral financing plans and home mobility help.

If you’re ready to start googling Euthanasia clinics in Switzerland rather than face all this peril then read on, because there is hope, so much hope!

The good News!

The truth is far from the bleak picture I have thus painted so far. Although to some people getting older it might feel that way, because perception is crucial in how we perceive life.  

As a Personal Trainer, I may hear “it’s my age” from clients aged 30, 50 or even 80, and conversely, I have worked with clients in their 70s who are strong and go through workouts that put many younger people to shame.

It’s easy to see age as the terrible stealer of youth if we are not actively engaging with life as we age.

Whilst there is no escaping sarcopenia, it seems likely that active people are less affected by it and those who train later in life can still regain muscle or even experience gains they have never known.

I wrote earlier that most athletes retire in their thirties, but that isn’t always the case

“The Iron Nun” sister Madona Buda is a 86 year old Nun who has completed 360 Triathlons and 45 Ironmans (an event which consist of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride finished by a full Marathon)

She says

“The only failure is not to try, because your effort in itself is a success.”

You might have seen her in the Nike advert, if not check it out below.

Aerobic training such as running, walking, Zumba or just anything that gets a person out of breath, is important for the heart. This means less risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain kinds of cancers. It’s also going to improve sleep, which in turn means more energy.

Aerobic exercise can even make dramatic changes to your brain, in this study fifty-nine sedentary people aged 60 to 79 took part in a randomized 6 month trial, they found that the group who did cardiovascular work showed significant improvements in their brain volume with increases in both white and grey matter.

It’s never too late to start either, just this year Fauja Singh ran the Mumbai Marathon aged 104. He ran his first one in 2000 aged eighty-seven.

These are cardio examples, but there are plenty of strength examples too, another British athlete Dr Charles Eugster looks pretty good as a ninety five year old bodybuilder, but then I suppose he should be, he’s being doing it for 8 years since he took up the sport up at age 87!.

If elderly people start lifting weights, they have the potential to gain more muscle than that of a twenty something who just sits on their arse all day. Lifting weights also lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, and has a greater impact on strengthening bones than cardio.  When people build muscle, they need more calories, which means they burn more calories too, on top of this a total body resistance program will produce muscles with higher insulin sensitivity which will massively help reduce risk of diabetes or help those with diabetes control it better.

Another elder athlete who’s holding his own is British Competitor Mark Felix who’s been a regular in Worlds Strongest man for the last decade, he competed this year aged 50.  He set a deadlift record that wasn’t beaten in for seven years, here he is setting another record.

What about flexibility?

Do joints get tighter? Perhaps age does have some impact for sure, but there isn’t really such a thing as a tight muscle.  The range that any person has in any given movement is determined by the comfort that persons brain has in allowing them that movement.

The brain is naturally cautious, it wants to protect you, it won’t allow you to squat deep if it doesn’t think your strong enough to stay stable when you get there or to get yourself back up again.  If squatting deep isn’t something you often do (why would you?) then over time the brain will feel less and less confident about allowing you to go to such depths.

This is kind of a use it or lose it phenomenon. Most kids can do cartwheels, but few adults can even attempt them, and it isn’t because of age, it’s because they haven’t even tried to do one of those things for years.

In 2015 ninety-six year old Tao Porchon-Lynch appeared on Americas got talent with this amazing dance routine. (which starts around 3:30 into the vid)

 What about injuries?

The longer we are around on this earth, the higher the probability that we will experience pain.

If you exercise you’ll most likely experience an injury at some point, and if you don’t exercise then it’s also likely. At least with exercise you stand a better chance of a quicker recovery, stronger muscles and tendons with a good cardiovascular system means less time to heal.

Exercise reduces injury risk by several mechanisms such as enabling better balance, therefore less risk of falls. Also, when you put your body through rep after rep of tough exercises, you get better at being able to handle pain, which means you’ll have an increased pain threshold.  

Research has shown that even when people have painful conditions such as chronic arthritis, exercise helps to manage that pain much better, even though the exercise itself is painful.

Let’s also consider the affect that a phrase such as “arthritis” or a “slipped disc “might have on a person’s psyche. Not to diminish the very significant impact that medical conditions do have on a person’s life, but note that where there is a lack of understanding between what a phrase means between the patient and the doctor there is an increased likelihood of fear and subsequent movement avoidance and physical degradation.

I have arthritis, most of us do, every day thousands of people walk around with slipped disc (which isn’t a disc poking out the back in case you’re wondering) without even knowing it. They have no discomfort, they feel fine, many of them are athletes.

Any injury should always be assessed by a qualified physio therapist, they can advise on the best treatment and help get you back to climbing trees and swimming in lakes in the quickest time possible.

Health, Nutrition, Exercise and aging

Here are just a few thoughts on how we should approach exercise as we age.

First point of consideration is activity, a gym session may just be an hour or two a week but activity is something that can be done every day.

Everything from taking the dogs for a walk to cleaning the house plays an important role in maintaining or even improving the function of our bodies.

When it does come to exercise, simple principles apply, seek a professional, make sure you find someone who can help you exercise safely and in a well-structured progressive manner.

If your keen to just get started then a simple gym program is a machine based leg press, chest press and lat pull down. Do 10 to 15 reps of each, 2 to 3 sets. Do that 2 or 3 times a week and in a month you’ll begin to see a difference. Add in some cardio in the form of walking or swimming or playing knock door run and you’ll be getting both strong and aerobically fitter.

I believe the following are of primary importance to be addressed in a program to help keep us living well into old age.

Good movement through whatever the body will allow and progressively and sensibly trying to achieve more movement and range.  Exercises such as squats, lunges, lifts, presses and pulls in various forms.

Balance movements such as 1 leg work or even practising falls.

Power movements such as jumps, hops, throws. It’s amazing how many people are scared to jump onto a low height step having never had to do such a thing for a long time. It’s always a case of building confidence using a safe environment to practice and progress.

When I was a Teenager and throughout my mid-twenties I trained like a mad man. I would push myself hard, past pain barriers and then some. Plenty of people couldn’t keep up with me.  As I get older I’ve began to realize I get more out of taking a step back, leaving one or two reps in the tank instead of pushing to failure. Starting with just a few sets and adding more in over a few weeks.  It’s a long term sensible and sustainable approach to exercise.

Because inflammation becomes an issue as we age, we should try to lower inflammation through diet by reducing the amount of processed foods we eat (although not necessarily eliminating the tasty stuff!), eating plenty of vegetables, and consuming foods naturally higher in omega three such as oily fish, nuts, seeds etc. It’s also worth adding in natural anti-inflammatory foods such as ginger, turmeric and blueberries where you can.

In addition to anti-inflammatory foods, it becomes even more important as we age to ensure we have enough protein, since muscle loss is of primary concern, any net deficiency in protein will result in wasting away.

So regular consumption of meat, fish, dairy, eggs, tofu, soy, quinoa etc is paramount.

Studies have also shown that elderly people lose muscle much quicker than younger people, so there is a need to ensure training frequency, getting at least 2 to 3 sessions a week may be necessary to not just gain but keep muscle mass.

An important way to look after yourself as you age is to regularly check in with the doc, if you have a pain, it could be nothing, but get it checked out, because if you leave it too long and it is something, you may have lost crucial weeks to treat it.

It’s also super important to have a social group, join a gym, go on group walks, make sure there are people who regularly ask how you’re getting on and help you out when you need it. Isolation can sneak up on people and lots of elderly folk get forgotten about.

 In Summary

I believe that age is a feeling, people feel old, they think they are weaker, they put themselves down in the mind and the body follows suit.

Along with the elderly athletes you’ve seen in this article, there are other examples of achievement at an older age. For example, philosopher Emmanual Kant did most of his best work between 60 and 80, Kernal Sanders didn’t start his KFC chain till he was 65.

Other research has shown that people get much happier with age, the New York times ran a great piece on this. Other research has shown the elder people have better sex lives, happier marriages, more job satisfaction and sharper minds!

From the moment, we are born we are dying, every day on the march towards death our bodies will go through changes, we never wake up two days running in the exact same body!

Age might well be tough, no doubt there are many challenges ahead for us all to contend with in our lives and in our bodies.

But it my opinion, age is a blessing, we all know people who never get to receive the chance to grow old and there are too many daily tragedies involving the loss of life to speak off. whilst I may only be thirty-five I have already seen the passing of many people I knew who were either my age or much younger than me.