Endurance performance of the elderly mountaineer: Requirements, limitations, testing, and training

Abstract

Life expectancy has markedly increased during recent decades, resulting in a growing number of older individuals. Many of these elderly are turning to mountain sports activities in search of fun and new challenges. Although the scientific community has taken broad interest in the ageing process and how it affects physical and mental performance, little attention has focused on the elderly mountaineer. Mountain sports demand a relatively high degree of physical fitness and, because fitness and health decline with age, the risk of injury and death during mountain sports will increase. However, little information is available on fitness requirements for elderly mountaineers. This article mainly focuses on such requirements, and on performance limitations, assessment of individual performance, and training recommendations. A normal ascent rate of 300 meters per hour (up to 3500 m) requires an altitude-dependent relative oxygen consumption of 18-22 ml x min(-1) x kg(-1) or an ergometric performance of 1.2-1.5 watt x kg(-1) below the individual anaerobic threshold. Mild cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal diseases are not contraindications for mountain sports activities, provided the proposed fitness requirements are attained. A regular exercise-training program under medical and sports expert advice will help the elderly to achieve these fitness standards, enjoy the mountain environment, and prevent injuries and fatalities.

A demographic perspective on the spatial behaviour of hikers in mountain areas: the example of Berchtesgaden

“…This is in line with findings from sports medicine (Burtscher 2004). According to constraint research, the perception of a constraint to outdoor recreation, such as the perceived lack of skill, does not necessarily result in non-participation in an activity.…”

“…This was reasoned by the fact that studies on physical activity and ageing conducted in different contexts revealed the consistent finding that vigorous activities, like walking uphill (Ainsworth et al 2000), decrease strongly with age (Colley et al 2011;Troiano et al 2008). …”

“…This area has a unique position within the NP as it is an internationally known attraction which also offers cultural sights. The service arrangement and the primary motive of visitors to Lake Königssee often differs from that of other NP visitors and does not focus on sports and physical activity (Butzmann & Job 2016). Moreover, a significant share of visitors to Lake Königssee are from abroad, participating in fully standardized tours, which limits their time budget in the study area.…”

“…Manual counts, including randomly sampled short interviews (n 1 = 9 460) covering duration of stay and age were conducted on 20 days throughout the year at seven main access points. Based on these counts, we calculated the total number of visitor days per age bracket, interview location and season following the methodology of Job et al (2005) and Job & Metzler (2005).…”

Occupational Aspects of Work in Hypoxic Conditions - The New Recommendation of the Medical Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA MedCom)

“…This is proven by more than 4 billion people per year who are exposed to such hypoxia as aircraft passengers and for other reasons [15,16] and by billions of smokers with a CO haemoglobin concentration of 5% that corresponds to hypoxia of about 15%. An increased risk for altitude-respectively hypoxia-related disturbances arises above 3,000 m (<14.5% O 2 ) for persons without severe pre-existing diseases [15,17].…”