Longevity
"The joke is, we all have the same punchline." - Chuck Palahnuick
Every day, the relentless and inescapable passing of time brings us constantly closer to our inevitable demise. 🙂
No one's making it out of here alive.
But with a little work, we can delay the inevitable and make the most of it while we're here. Enter longevity training.
Most people want to live as strong as they can for as long as they can, maximizing quality of years as well as quantity. I'm the same way. I hope to live long, then drop dead— skipping over the chronic illnesses and physical disabilities that often impair our later years.
How exactly does one ward off Father Time? The secret is exercise.
As more and more research studies have been done, the more evident it has become that exercise is the most potent "drug" we have to combat aging and chronic disease.
A consistent exercise routine is non-negotiable for those looking to maximize their health and longevity.
I have a few specific qualities I'm looking at when training for longevity: strength, hypertrophy, joint mobility, cardiovascular fitness, and stability (aka fall prevention).
STRENGTH
Here's a quote from Harvard Health on strength training and longevity:
"No matter how much aerobic exercise they did, participants who did strength training at least twice a week had a lower risk of dying (regardless of cause) during the study period than those who did less strength training."
Read more here.
Strength peaks in our 20s and 30s and rapidly declines as we age. Studies show that we can lose between 1-3% of our strength each year. Not good!
Fortunately, getting and staying strong is simple—lift weights! With resistance training, we can increase our strength and maintain it regardless of our age.
The key to strength training is a concept called progressive overload, which means that we slowly increase the amount of weight we use over time. If you lifted 100 lbs this week, you've gotta lift 105 lbs next week.
HYPERTROPHY
Hypertrophy refers to increasing the size of our muscle mass, or, as I like to say, "Getting jacked."
Like strength, we lose muscle mass every year. In the medical world, this is called "sarcopenia." The worse it gets, the more your risk of decreased mobility, frailty, and falls increases.
Read more here.
But again, the cure is simple— lift weights!
JOINT MOBILITY
Notice I said 'joint mobility' and not 'flexibility' or 'stretching.' Both are fitness buzzwords that get tossed around. What's the difference?
Stretching refers to a muscle's capacity to elongate. At the same time, mobility pertains to a joint's capability to move freely throughout its complete range of motion without hindrance or discomfort.
Flexibility is mostly a neurological parlor trick, and with some exceptions, most people do not need to train it.
Joint mobility allows you to do things like put your hands all the way overhead or drop into a deep squat—both movements that you might notice people become worse at as they age.
I've got two simple mobility drills I do every day and recommend to everyone else.
Once a day, dead hang for 30 seconds and hold the bottom of a squat for 30 seconds.
This is a great article about dead hanging.
(In fact, I recommend reading all of Tim Anderson's Original Strength work.)
And if you don't have the best mobility for the squat, I suggest the Doorknob Squat.
Daily squats and dead hangs will keep your joints happy and healthy!
CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS
The higher your cardiovascular fitness is, the longer you're likely to live.
Read this article.
Dr Peter Attia, author of the best-selling book Outlive, recommends three hours per week of what's called Zone 2 cardio training.
In the fitness world, "zones" refer to levels of intensity. Zone 2 is light to moderate exercise where you're never so out of breath that you can't talk in complete sentences.
I do my Zone 2 work on an exercise bike or by brisk walking, but you can do whatever you find fun!
STABILITY (Fall Prevention!)
Falls are one of the most dangerous things that can happen to most people as they age.
"Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults ages 65 and older, and the fall death rate is increasing."
You can read more here.
The "Get Up and Go" test is a simple assessment for older folks. From a seated position, stand up, walk three meters, turn around, walk back, and sit down. Taking longer than 12 seconds is a fail and means you're at risk of falling!
Read more.
I also like the "Get Back Up" test for more advanced people. From standing, sit on the ground and then stand back up. Every time you use a hand, elbow, or knee for assistance, you get a point.
"Each 1 point increase in the score was associated with a 21 percent decrease in mortality from all causes."
Read more.
So now that we've done some assessments, how do we improve? I incorporate groundwork in between every exercise.
Do a set of squats, then get down on the ground for planks, then get back up, and we push the sled. Or do any combo where you get down and up in between. The point is to get many "reps" of getting down and up off the floor.
I also use many single-leg stability exercises, such as suitcase carry, split squats, and lunges. (When appropriate! Basic two-legged strength moves like squats and hip hinges do just fine for most people.)
NEED HELP?
That was a quick overview of training for longevity. How to train each quality mentioned above could be discussed at great length, but now you should have a basic idea of what to look for when exercising.
If you need any help putting it all together, give us a call. We’re happy to help.
Thanks for reading!
Vinny