It happens every four years...

Did Casey make the team? He wasn't listed on the team roster, although he may be an alternate. That's a bummer because I too have heard of Casey. You probably heard of Casey through his dad, Mike Burgener, who is involved with CrossFit. Mike has some pretty cool CF-style workouts centered around the Olympic lifts.

I'm really interested in Melanie Roach. She is 34, has three kids, and runs a gymnastics business with her husband. She is just a hair over 5 feet tall and weighs 120. Kind of makes the typical excuses for not exercising of "I'm too old" or "I'll never get back in shape after having kids" seem extraordinarily lame.

http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/

Well, Andy, you've been completely useless in trying to dissuade me from pursuing this.

I looked at what some of the Masters in my age group are putting up. It's not that great. Yeah, it's more than what I'm doing, and I'd have my work cut out for me, but with a solid year of training I could get really close. It's something to consider.

Oh, but don't worry. I'll still be around to moderate (mentor?) the strength training forum if I pursue this. Just don't expect any run or bike PRs.

Triathlons are easier on the body (relatively speaking) and healthier.

You're welcome!

Read this article on endurance training and aging.  The weightlifting is looking good

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/health_doping_slowtwitch2.htm l 

Thanks for the link. I've read some of Mark Sisson's stuff and he seems to have a vendetta against endurance training, which is odd because he was once apparently into it given that he completed an Ironman, or he's trying to sell something.

I think his logic is flawed for several reasons. I'll just address a few. For one, the information on insulin is partially correct. His admonitions primarily apply to those who have become insulin resistant, i.e., overwieght, sedentary individuals who sit on the couch and stuff themselves with chips and donuts. This is a pre-diabetic condition where insulin doesn't quite stop working but substantially loses its effectiveness. This means that the body must produce more of it for it work. I've read that endurance exercise actually increases insulin sensitivity, i.e., reduces insulin resistance.

His part about how endurance exercise causes the body to produce the stress hormone cortisol is a half-truth. ALL exercise causes the release of cortisol, weight training even more so than endurance training. ALL exercise is stressful for the body. We like to say that exercise is good for you but, in a way, it's actually "bad" for you. Rather, it's the adaptations from exercise that are good for you. Exercise creates a stress on the body, and during recovery, your body causes the necessary adaptations, such as increased muscle mass and increased VO2max, so that the next workout will not be as stressful.

Having said that, I do agree with him that weight training should be a part of everyone's training program. Excessive endurance training will cause muscle loss, (mostly in the fast-twitch fibers; you may see some increase in the slow-twitch fibers), loss of muscle strength (granted you'll have a huge increase in muscular endurance, but they're not the same), and loss in bone density (not a problem for runners, but it can be a concern for those athletes who only cycle and swim).

This is one of the reasons why I think the whole "should I weight train while training for a tri" debate is stupid. If you're at a level where you're a competitive age-grouper and have a serious shot at getting a podium spot, by all means focus on the three events and don't weight train if you don't want to. But if you're doing this for "health and fitness," weight training must play a role. Sure, it may "interfere" with your tri training and you may not be as fast, a point which is still in deabte, but who cares? The weight training will benefit the health and fitness side which is why you're doing this in the first place.

I never miss jerks