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MADE OF IRON from page 97

Hills Club. He rides a stationary bike in
his basement "while watching Seinfeld.
"Stairmaster's a little easier on the
knees. I'm just trying to avoid ten-
donitis. That's a real frequent problem in
runners. I do a lot of quadriceps exercis-
es and hamstring exercises and maintain
good stretching of the quads, the ham-
strings and the lateral legs and hips."
Dr. Kohlenberg says his workout rou-
tine is good for anyone — it's not just
for Ironmen. "Several years ago, most
medical studies were showing that 20
minutes three times a week was ade-
quate for cardio-vascular protection. But
the latest studies are showing that daily
heart exertion will give more cardio-vas-
cular protection."

Over-50 Tips

For people older than 50, Dr. Kohlen-
berg says, "You have to make sure that
you don't have cardiac risk factors that
aren't being addressed, so you have to
make sure that your blood pressure, cho-

lesterol and sugar are normalized and it's
probably to your benefit to have some
type of stress testing, to make sure that
you're not harboring heart disease.
'Also, the joints and muscles do break
down easier when you're older so, again,
you don't want to do anything too
extreme, whether it's anything from
heavy weight lifting to long-distance
events recurrently, without adequate rest
periods. It's a lot easier to injure yourself
when you're older and you have to be
careful."
As he ages, Dr. Kohlenberg says he'll
"probably take a few more rest periods,
maybe taking two days off a week, or
two days of real light exercise a week.
That way you just give your body more
time to recuperate. Every time you exer-
cise hard you're going to cause a little
stress to your tissues and joints."
There's no general age limit for those
who want to exercise. Indeed, Dr.
Kohlenberg noted that his mother,
Marian Berman Kohlenberg of
Huntington Woods, "still plays tennis

on a daily basis. She inspires me. She is
very active, daily, in sports and physical
fitness and maintains a sharp mental
attitude.
"I think that being physically fit allows
a person to more easily be mentally fit,"
Dr. Kohlenberg says. "I also feel that
when I work out it allows my mind to
wander and it gives my mind a rest,
almost like meditation."
The Hawaii Ironman competition has
1,500 participants. Professionals and
age-group champions must finish in the
top two or three places in specific events
to qualify. Additionally, 4,000 would-be
participants apply for 200 lottery spots.
The lottery winners must finish at least a
half-Ironman in the 12 months before
the event.

Winning The Lottery

Dr. Kohlenberg won a lottery spot last
year. "It would be difficult to actually
earn a place in a national champi-
onship," Dr. Kohlenberg admits. "I'd

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2/14
2003

98

have to be working out three hours a
day and I'd have to be athletically gifted,
and I strike zero in both of those cate-
gories.
"But someday, maybe when I'm 65, if
I continue at my present fitness level and
don't slow down, I'll actually qualify for
the Ironman, and be invited from the
65-and-over age group."
I .ast fall, the oldest person to finish
the event was 75.
Dr. Kohlenberg likes the spirit of the
Hawaii Ironman because "the culture
there is if you finish you're a winner."
"It's interesting that I've done four
Ironman races in my short career and I
only finished two of them, and those
were the two when Linda was present."
Dr. Kohlenberg knew he couldn't
compete for Hawaii's $100,000 first
prize, but he cited two main rewards for
his efforts.
"When you finish an Ironman, you
know you can do just about anything
you want to do. And it gives you more
courage to do other things in life." ❑

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