![\"Rod](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2016\/09\/05\/19\/37F0456900000578-3774798-image-m-5_1473101572893.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNext April, Rod Gemmell is planning to run the notorious Marathon des Sables \u2014 a six-day 156-mile ultra-marathon across the Sahara desert at a time when the temperature is likely to climb to more than 50 degrees.<\/p>\n
It is one of the toughest challenges any athlete can face, but Rod is no professional.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is a 66-year-old retired businessman of average build and fitness from Caterham, Surrey.<\/p>\n
Until five years ago, Rod\u2019s physical activity was restricted to squash sessions and the occasional three-mile jog. But Rod is now single-mindedly focused on fitness and adventure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rod Gemmell, 66, in Scotland, preparing for the climb to Mount Everest base camp last year<\/p>\n
However, last year, just weeks into his marathon training, he suffered a stroke that left him paralysed on the left side \u2014 very likely, he and his doctors suspect, caused by his excessive exercising.<\/p>\n
Most people would see this as a sign to cut back but Rod merely postponed his marathon by a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, with strength returned to his left side he is battling to correct the lop-sided running gait caused by his stroke and remains resolute: \u2018I will get to this event in 2017 and I am absolutely not going to walk it,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
Rod may be at the extreme end of exercise enthusiasm but he is typical of a growing band of men who get fixated on exercise in mid-life.<\/p>\n
Extreme sports, such as the ironman triathlons, ultra marathons, multi-day cycles and free running (where people jump over any obstacles in their path) have exploded in popularity in recent years, with ever-increasing numbers of people \u2014 particularly men \u2014 joining in.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s no longer a young man\u2019s game.\u00a0<\/p>\n Extreme sport is a buzz increasingly sought by men of a certain age, who find their desire to get fit becomes wrapped up with a competitive drive to prove they\u2019ve still \u2018got it\u2019.<\/p>\n In 2013 researchers, Mintel, found the biggest growth in bike sales in Britain was among men approaching middle age \u2014 more than half of men aged 35 to 44 have one.<\/p>\n Triathlon participation in the UK has grown by 300 per cent in the past five years \u2014 it\u2019s the new golf for thousands of formerly sedentary semi-retirees.\u00a0<\/p>\n But while the benefits of exercise are undisputed, many of these super exercisers will push themselves too hard, either becoming so addicted that relationships and work start to suffer, or pushing through the pain and causing lasting physical damage.<\/p>\n Indeed, a report last year in Psychology Today suggests that for an estimated 3 per cent of Britons, striving to stay fit does more harm than good.<\/p>\n A report last year in Psychology Today suggests that for an estimated 3 per cent of Britons, striving to stay fit does more harm than good<\/p>\n \u2018I see an increasing number of men in their 40s or even 50s who come in with shoulder injuries through doing triathlons or who have taken part in an ultra marathon and have picked up stress fractures,\u2019 says consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Simon Moyes, who specialises in knees, feet, ankles and shoulders at the Wellington hospital in London.<\/p>\n Amer Khan, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Highgate Private Hospital in London agrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018These men can be so competitive, their exercise becomes highly aggressive, they are training so intensely and pushing their boundaries ever harder, and if they don\u2019t warm up or cool down properly, they can become vulnerable to injury.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m seeing more knee problems (anterior cruciate ligament tears) and collarbone fractures as a result.\u2019<\/p>\n Studies have shown that endurance athletes of any age can be vulnerable to irregular heartbeat, enlargement, stiffening and scarring of heart tissue (as it is worked beyond comfortable limits).<\/p>\n Rod is \u2018doggedly jogging and walking\u2019 but he admits his gait since the stroke is a problem.\u00a0\u2018I\u2019ve pulled my calf and injured my ankle, but I am back on the squash court,’ he says<\/p>\n Heavy, long-term exercise (such as marathon running and intense gym training) could also put you more at risk of infections, by decreasing the amount of infection-fighting white blood cells circulating through the body, whereas moderate exercise has the opposite effect.<\/p>\n Jim Pate, senior physiologist at the London Centre for Health and Human Performance, which works with top athletes and enthusiastic amateurs alike, warns that middle-aged men should approach intensive exercise with caution, as many will have an age-related disease, \u2018or be edging towards it\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018So when they start to push themselves out of the confines of ordinary recreational sport and into more extreme challenges, they need to be fully aware of the risks they face,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n Heart and lung muscles naturally become less efficient as we age, and vigorous exercise can cause a dramatic rise in blood pressure, which can be dangerous.<\/p>\n Exercising intensely for more than an hour or two may cause heart tissue to stretch and tear and studies have shown extreme endurance exercise, such as marathons and triathlons can \u2014 in some people \u2014 cause a rise in levels of a chemical called \u2018cardiac troponins\u2019, which can indicate damaged heart tissue.<\/p>\n Rod Gemmell at Everest North base camp in April 2015. After his recovery from a stroke last year, he is planning to run\u00a0the notorious Marathon des Sables<\/p>\n Excessive exercise can trigger atrial fibrillation \u2014 a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate, and, which can trigger a stroke.<\/p>\n Doctors told Rod his stroke had most likely been caused by blocking of the small arteries that feed the brain.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, his doctors believe his extreme training schedule played a part.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019d been in Prague at a training camp, running 10k a day in 30 degree heat when it happened, and his specialist told him the combination of training hard, with a few boozy meals, and the flight home may have combined to increase his blood viscosity, so setting off the stroke.<\/p>\n His story has echoes that of TV presenter Andrew Marr who in 2014, tore a carotid artery, triggering a stroke, after an intensive exercise session on a rowing machine.<\/p>\n Dr Andrew Baranowski, a consultant in Pain Management at King Edward VII\u2019s Hospital, questions whether the middle-aged body is built for extremes.<\/p>\n Rod taking part in the John O’Groats to Lands End cycle in June 2011. His doctors suspect his injuries last year were due to excessive exercise<\/p>\n \u2018Many of the patients I see have pushed themselves too far and have picked up injuries that mean they are now struggling with chronic pain,\u2019 he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018The key is to learn to modify your activity as you get older, which is something people, particularly those with even mild forms of exercise addiction, are reluctant to do.\u2019<\/p>\n Rod\u2019s craving for exercise-based adventure began five years ago, when a friend suggested he join a group cycling from Lands End to John O\u2019Groats.\u00a0<\/p>\n He had recently sold his mechanical equipment manufacturing company and says, \u2018I had time on my hands and I needed a project \u2014 I figured training might fill that gap.\u2019<\/p>\n He completed the ride in nine days and subsequently went on ever-longer cycle rides, trekked up Mount Kilimanjaro and took a trip up from Everest\u2019s base camp.<\/p>\n In 2014, he biked the length of the Rocky Mountains for 2,745 miles from Canada to the Mexican border, on his own. \u2018I\u2019m a highly competitive person,\u2019 Rod admits.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t, however, consider himself to be an \u2018exercise addict\u2019 but he admits his family think he\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n In 2014, Rod biked the length of the Rocky Mountains for 2,745 miles from Canada to the Mexican border, on his own. In the picture above, he was crossing an avalanche in Montana<\/p>\n \u2018My girlfriend, Helena, 46, thinks I might die in the Sahara, and my family would lock me up to stop me going if they could,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n \u2018But I love this! When I can\u2019t exercise because of injury it leaves me feeling lethargic and frustrated.\u2019<\/p>\n According to Ian Drever a consultant psychiatrist and addiction specialist, who works at the Priory Hospital in Woking, Surrey, it is common for exercise compulsion to strike in middle age as people try to recapture the adventure and excitement of their early years.<\/p>\n Psychologists at the University of Oregon in 2011 found that men\u2019s competitiveness peaks around the age of 50.\u00a0<\/p>\n The men in the study faced a maths challenge and showed men aged 45 to 54 to be far more competitive than their younger counterparts (aged 25 to 34). The women in the study displayed less of a desire to compete.<\/p>\n Rod at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013. He says that when he\u00a0can\u2019t exercise because of injury it leaves him feeling lethargic and frustrated<\/p>\n \u2018There is certainly a trend in men of a certain age who need to prove something to themselves or to others,\u2019 says Ian Drever.<\/p>\n He says certain personalities are more vulnerable: \u2018Exercise addiction particularly affects the classic \u2018type A\u2019 personalities who are driven and perfectionistic \u2014 typically high achieving, intelligent, articulate people,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n A true exercise addict may feel depressed, or even show signs of distress (anxiety, low mood or restlessness) if a training session has to be skipped.<\/p>\n This is because strenuous activity can activate the sympathetic nervous system (the body\u2019s \u2018fight or flight response\u2019), causing a rise in the concentration of the mood-boosting brain chemicals, norepinephrine and serotonin.<\/p>\n At the same time, the pituitary gland will secrete molecules called beta endorphins that stop pain signals reaching the brain. Add all that lot together, and you have a recipe for mild euphoria.<\/p>\n According to Ian Drever, you can, in this way, acquire a \u2018biological addiction\u2019 where you are effectively hooked on the natural \u2018high\u2019.<\/p>\n Rod Gemmell in Antarctica in 2006. He is working closely with sports specialists and physiotherapists but says, but says he is not training any less because of the stroke<\/p>\n A classic sign is when training once a day isn\u2019t enough and\/or when rest days (though recommended) seem superfluous, even counter-productive. And that\u2019s when physical problems are likely to kick in.<\/p>\n \u2018Older men do need to be more careful because of very likely underlying health risks,\u2019 says Dr Pate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018So it is important that they seek the support and advice to minimise the risk of injury (from specialists or trainers) as we get older and start to push the boundaries of what our body is capable of, we need a better support system in place.\u2019<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rod is \u2018doggedly jogging and walking\u2019 but he admits his gait since the stroke is a problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve pulled my calf and injured my ankle, but I am back on the squash court, stumbling around.\u2019<\/p>\n He is working closely with sports specialists and physiotherapists but says: ‘I\u2019m not training any less just because of the stroke. If I\u2019m going to do this marathon I want to be as good as I can possibly be.\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Next April, Rod Gemmell is planning to run the notorious Marathon des Sables \u2014 a six-day 156-mile ultra-marathon across the Sahara desert at a time when the temperature is likely to climb to more than 50 degrees. It is one of the toughest challenges any athlete can face, but Rod is no professional.\u00a0 He is Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2016\/09\/05\/11\/37ED41CC00000578-0-image-m-28_1473071774876.jpg\")
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