Ever since I moved to California my personal goal was to ride home to Hammond, Indiana. Just before turning 50 an opportunity to achieve this presented itself. This 2,800-mile bike ride became a major turning point in my life. It taught me about the resilience of my body, how little is really needed to enjoy life, and what is really important to me.
To maintain a healthy cardiovascular system I ride at least 100 miles per week. These are broken down into 2 to 3 rides per week.
This sport requires outstanding concentration with excellent upper body strength while remaining very relaxed.
Archery provided me with a way to better understand my nervous system and the associated nutrition. Turning 50 I started developing some shaking in my hands and my brain had a difficult time focusing. Some days were better than others. To me this is a good sign. I just needed to figure out what changed. It turned out the caffeine in cola, coffee or tea caused the most nervousness. I could actually quantify this on the archery range. On days I had drinks with caffeine I was lucky to hit the target. Whereas if a couple of days passed since drinking these, I could keep the arrows in the target area.
However, bull's eyes were not consistent. My arms were still shaking too much on some days. It turned out after eating at a Fresh Choice salad bar my arms would be rock solid. I was able to regularly shoot 4-inch bull's eyes at 70 yards. Next was to determine the missing nutrient. It appears to be in dark green leafy vegetables. I will speak more of this on the nutrition page.
My primary equipment is a simple latex rubber tube or band I purchased for $5 at a local exercise shop. This simple device together with a few floor exercises completes my workout. I used the very compact latex band with me on my bike ride across the US and called it my "universal gym." The cost/performance can't be beat.
The floor exercises are fundamental pushups, crunches and leg lifts.
This is all for now. I am continually refining my routine as I learn more.