10 Commandments of Lifelong Fitness from Ned Overend

Outside Online has a great article on champion cyclist Ned Overend who has been at it for years
Ned Overend Is the Champion Cyclist Who Never Grows Old. Definitely read the article for all its wisdom and to hear about all of Ned's accomplishments. Also watch this embedded video where Ned gives his 10 Commandments for Lifelong Fitness. Here they are, but watch to appreciate them better.

1) Mix it up.

2) Keep it fun.

3) Never lose Fitness.

4) Pay attention to potential injuries.

5) Recover harder than you train.

6) Understand the science.

7) Know you gear.

8) Stay positive.

9) Be in control.

10) Focus on yourself.


At 60 years old, Ned won the 2014 Fatbike National Championships.

Here are some interesting quotes for the article:

Ned has never had a cycling coach. “I don’t like structure,” he says. He doesn’t wear a heart-rate monitor or use a power meter. He relies on what he calls “perceived effort”—essentially going by feel. He does not appear to have a VO2 max that’s off the charts; he just knows how to train smart. 

 Ned credits his running coach in high school, Doug Basham, for emphasizing high-intensity, low-volume workout programs. (Besides all his cycling achievements, Ned was a 2:28 marathoner and Ironman triathlete). 

 “Ned lives what I preach,” says Joe Friel, 72, masters coach and author of Fast After 50. “He’s always been a fan of short workouts with high intensity.” Whittled down, the recipe for success as a geezer is this: 1) Decrease volume and increase intensity. 2) Recover, recover, recover. 3) Don’t stop training, ever; you can retain much of your VO2 max as you age, but once you lose it, it’s a lot harder to get it back. “When you’re 60, you can’t take a month off at the end of the season, have a good time like younger athletes can,” Friel says. “There’s an accelerated loss of fitness. Take Greg LeMond, for example—he just quit. Hung it up. Ned never did that.” 

Drum suggests training 10 to 15 hours per week, tops, for athletes over 40. With that recipe, Ned’s at no risk for overtraining syndrome. He pedals hard for an hour and a half, rarely much more, three or four times a week, and does easy rides on off days. In the winter, he mixes in nordic skiing and weight lifting, although the fat-biking season has taken time away from cross-training. “I tried yoga, but I didn’t have the focus for it,” Ned says. “It’s amazing how little discipline I have for simple stretching and strengthening exercises.”