A.

1.  Year of birth: 1936

 

2.  Height & weight (now and at younger age):

At age 18, my draft registration shows me at 5’ 7” and 125#.  I grew a little in college to 5’ 8 ½” and 135#.  I have stayed at that weight not varying more than 3#.  I currently weigh 135#

 

3.  Year you began Gymnastics: 

I started gymnastics in the 9^th grade at Hughes High School in Cincinnati.  That would have been 1949.  They had a very good team that had not lost a meet in 17 years.  I worked solely on the side horse (pommel horse now) but wanted to do high bar.  I lacked the strength, so I began doing a lot of pushups and chin-ups.  I started doing handstand pushups against the wall and learned a handstand that next summer.  We moved to Atlanta when I was in the 10^th grade where there was very little gymnastics in the schools.  I started going to the YMCA at night where a small group of guys met 3 times a week.  I started working all of the events which included side horse, high bar, parallel bars, still and flying rings, rope climb, vaulting horse, floor exercise, tumbling and trampoline.  My senior year in high school I started practicing at Georgia Tech.

 

4.  Are you retired? Still working?:  Retired.  My wife of 48 years and I do a lot of hiking and skiing.

 

5.  Is your family supportive of your athletics:  My wife thinks I am a little nuts to put my body through the pain of still trying to do gymnastics.  My children think it is amazing that an old man can still do some things.

 

6.  How important is the social aspect of the activity for you?:  I wouldn’t say it is important, but it is refreshing to be in a class with younger people who can do lots of things I can only dream of.  Even the 10 and 12 year kids can do more than I ever could, and the Olympians (there are two where I workout) do things that would have seemed impossible when I competed. 

 

                                                             B.

1.  Type of bodyweight athletics you now enjoy:  I do gymnastics twice a week.  It is frustrating not being able to do many things I would like to do.  I have been doing it for four years now, and have made very little progress.  I run and do weight machines three times a week.  I am not sure I can say that I enjoy it.  I do it to keep muscle fitness and to try to help me with gymnastic skills.  I do daily pushups and chin-ups.

 

2.  Type you enjoyed at a younger age?:  When I was younger, I really enjoyed all  types of gymnastics.  I did very little weight training except when I needed more strength to do a certain skill.

 

3.  Do you engage in auxiliary training or associated athletics?: I run, hike up to 20 miles and ski both cross country and downhill.  I bike a little.

 

4.  How often do you exercise now? At a younger age (<65)?:I do some form of exercise every day.  I have increased the frequency but shortened the duration of exercise except for hiking.  I can still hike as far as when I was younger, perhaps not quite as fast.

 

5.  Length of exercise sessions now?:  Most sessions are about an hour.  I will hike for about 6 to 8 hours in the summer, twice a week.

 

6.  How long does it take for fairly complete physical recovery?: About two days if I am totally exhausted and for muscle recovery after strenuous workout.  I find that even after a short time without doing a particular exercise, my muscles are sore for two days..

 

7.  At what level of difficulty do you now perform or what are the most impressive bodyweight exercises you now do? Past levels or performances?:  As far as gymnastics, there is no comparison between my current performance and when I was younger.  I was pretty well able to do most thing into my 50’s, but stopped doing much then because of painful shoulders.  I wish I had kept more active in gymnastics.  I guess my claim to fame at 74 is to do handstands, a few circles on the horse, and a few other simple skills.

 

8.  What changes have you observed in strength and endurance over the years?: Grip strength?  Arm & upper body strength? Legs?  My strength has declined significantly, and I have no flexibility in my shoulders, neck, and back.  I think my grip is strong enough to do giant swings on the high bar.

 

                                                             C.

1.  Any injuries or illnesses since age 65 affecting your climbing/exercising?: How have you coped?  NSAIDs or other medication?   My main issue is with shoulder pain.  I can’t take any pain medication such as ibuprofen, because it upsets my stomach.

 

2.  What kind of diet do you follow, if any? Vitamins? Stimulants?:  I eat a lot of chicken, fish, pasta, and vegetables.  I take a multivitamin daily.

 

3.  Special food or drink after a workout?:  I drink PowerAde diluted to half strength.

 

4.  Water or fluid intake? High? Low?:  My fluid intake is pretty low; however, I drink steadily all day.

 

                                                            D.

1.  What is your current philosophy of your sport? Has this changed with age?  The skill level and strength in gymnastics has increased significantly over the years.

 

2.  What are your current goals and personal rewards from the sport? Has this changed with age?:  My near term goal is to do giants on the high bar and to do 5 or 6 circles on the pommel horse consistently.  At some point, I will be content to just do handstands and fiddle with the other apparatus.

 

3.  What is your opinion: Is bodyweight exercise performance – at any age - influenced more strongly by genetic attributes or training and experience? (Nature or nurture?) Is it even possible to generalize?:  Gymnastics takes genetics to be a good performer.  Discipline and practice certainly help, but one can see early whether a youngster has the talent to be good.  I think even the ability to gain strength is somewhat genetic.