Best Exercises for Longevity

 

Confirming everything I have ever said about exercise: 

Direct quote from Dr. Peter Attia:

“Exercise is the single most important longevity drug we have, bar none.”

Ponder that and note the following which he emphasizes, and which I have been saying for a long time.

Cardio and strength (not muscle mass) are by far the two best predictors of longevity. It isn’t close.

Cardio is the biggest impact on longevity, with a 5x reduction in all-cause mortality — dying from any reason — but strength is important too, with a 3x reduction, so it’s best to do both with cardio as your base. The ideal is biking (stationary is okay) 4x per week for 45 minutes (which is exactly what my ideal goal has always been, coincidentally). He does not discuss walking but my own take is that walking is far better than doing nothing, but biking, swimming, or running are ideal.

For strength the biggest predictors of longevity are grip, dead arm hang, and quads strength (body squats with a basic test of how quickly you can get up from a chair five times in a row). His testing only splits people into “high” vs. “low” strength so that’s where the 3x reduction in mortality applies, no further breakdown is available. Still, what more do you need to know? Work on your grip, your dead arm hang, and body squats, first and foremost. These are lifestyle exercises, too. Everything becomes easier with strong hands, forearms, legs, and core.

And as he notes, and I have always said, by far the biggest “bang for your buck” is in the change from doing nothing to doing something, not in going from doing something to doing a lot. Avoid sloth — it’s a sin, and not good for your health either. Just aim for moderately active, consistently. If 4 x 45 minutes per week is too difficult at first, or due to age or infirmity, try for 3 x 30 minutes per week.

The first step is always the hardest. Make yourself do that, the rest will be easier.

Be Careful Out There

One day last week on an absolutely beautiul late Spring day —  low humidity, temperature around 80, sunny — I started on a bike ride. 

Then I nearly crashed in the first 50 feet, just steps from my driveway.

Trying to get your shoes seated into those cages on the pedals is a little tricky, you see, especially with biking shoes. And sometimes while you are focused on that you might not pay attention to which direction you’re going and you know ... end up in the ditch. Right in front of your neighbor’s house.

I stayed upright fortunately, so no real harm done, but was immediately reminded of that time way back in, let’s see ... probably 1972, when I was around 13, and I had just bought and installed a cool new speedometer on my bike. 

I was *so* excited about this thing, admiring it while riding home from my friend’s house.

In fact I admired it so much that as I rounded a corner I hit a parked car and launched myself onto the trunk. Right in front of my neighbor’s house.

Rounding corners with your head down is *not* a good idea, as it turns out.

This neighbor happened to be in his driveway and then crash! 

Not one of my finer moments. I had a couple scrapes and bruises but nothing serious. The bike however now had a bent fork, and so I was reminded of this incident every time I rode that bike forevermore, since it pulled left.

Too bad I didn’t pull off this move — impressive!

But back to this century, and last week’s ride ... after that initial mishap I also almost hit a street sign and almost ran off the edge of the path. Almost. Good times.

So my advice to you is keep your head up, eyes forward, when riding a bike. Sounds simple, but every 50 years or so, you might forget.