Exercising for Health and Longevity
Dr. David Strobel and I developed HELP: The Health, Energy & Longevity Plan as a shorthand guide outlining 10 important elements that could help most people improve their health and vitality, putting them in position to extend their lifespan (how long they live) and their healthspan (how long they remain healthy.)
Those elements include:
- Limit Carbohydrates (Sugars & Starches)
- Find Fullness in Healthy Fats & Protein
- Avoid Grains
- Supplement Smartly
- Cultivate Your "Bowel Garden" or Microbiome
- Limit When You Eat
- Sleep Sufficiently
- Exercise Effectively
- Be Mindful of Mental, Emotional, Social & Spiritual (MESS) Health
- Manage Your Health by Measuring
If your main goal is weight loss, elements 1, 2 and 6 have outsized impact. What you eat and when you eat overwhelm whatever you do by way of exercise. As many have said, "you can't outrun a bad diet."
Conversely, significant weight loss is possible without any exercise. My wife Lisa is a prime example of this: she lost 50 lbs. through diet alone. She doesn't like exercise. Whereas for many people a workout triggers the release of endorphins and a "high," she just feels worn out.
She has been intending to work into an exercise program, and this video from The Joe Rogan Experience featuring Dr. Peter Attia highlights both the importance of exercise and also what kinds of exercise yield maximum benefit for longevity:
Some stunning nuggets:
- "I think exercise is the single most important longevity drug we have...bar none."
- "Your risk of death from having high cardiorespiratory fitness goes down by much more than your risk of death goes up from smoking or diabetes."
- "Smoking or diabetes will double or triple your risk of death, depending on the time frame you're looking at. Having very high cardiorespiratory fitness...compared to below average, is a five-fold reduction in all-cause mortality...we don't have drugs that have a 5x reduction in mortality."
- "It's about a three-fold difference in all-cause mortality when you compare high strength to low strength."
- "You get most of the benefit from going from not fit at all to average fit. That gives you 3 of the 5x."
There's a lot more in the video, and it's only six minutes long, so I hope you'll watch the whole thing. But that last bullet point is really encouraging: people who haven't been physically active have the most to gain by even beginning to do something.
I've learned from Dr. Attia and others that the kinds of exercise you do matter a lot as well. As it turns out, the type of cardiovascular exercise I did for most of my life was counterproductive, and maybe even harmful. I was working at too close to my maximum for too long, and therefore wasn't building a base of fitness.
Now I focus on Zone 2 training, which is a much lighter load. It's a level of exertion you could maintain all day, and it leads to development of more mitochondria and therefore greater capacity for work.
I use a water rower, and I go for 45 minutes at a time while watching health-related YouTube videos on my big screen TV.
The result of three hours a week of Zone 2, as Dr. Attia recommends, is that you lay a foundation of cardiovascular capacity so you can go farther and faster with the same perceived effort.
When I was in high school I remember seeing cross country team members running together in a pack, and it seemed they were just slowly trotting. I wondered how that could do any good.
Now I understand: they were doing Zone 2 training.
Cardiovascular training doesn't have to be exhausting. In fact, it's better for you if it isn't.
I think that's an insight that might encourage more people to give it a try.
What kind of cardio are you doing?
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I usually walk on the treadmill in the winter and speed walk outside when the weather is good but doing it on a regular basis has been my down fall.
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2 ReactionsThanks, Chris. These last couple of weeks have been a little challenging for me too with the regularity as we have been so busy getting HELPcare Clinic started. Hopefully the weather starts making outdoor walking easier soon! Having good audiobooks or podcasts makes it easer to work into the schedule, too.
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2 ReactionsWowzer! An eye opening video for an old guy like me. It gives me a little hope and a few more reasons to step up my game. I started using a Teeter FreeStep Recumbent Cross Trainer (https://teeter.com/freestep/) for at least 30 minutes a day after my knee replacement in 2019. Sometimes I take it up a notch and work on my heart rate but mostly I just try to keep up the motion with the arms and legs. It also takes away a little guilt while watching some of my favorite TV shows.
I had been looking at the new Teeter Power 10 Eliptical Rower to help with more strength training but couldn't decide if it woud be worth it at my age (78). I did some puppy sitting last week for my daughter and had the opportunity to use their water rowing machine. I only used it for about 10 minutes but could really tell the difference in how my cardio was going. The only problem I have with most rowing machines is that they are way too low for an old guy to get on and off, especially when dealing with a knee replacement. The Teeter Power 10 is much like my Cross Trainer and I think may be better for older people like myself.
Thanks for sharing this blog Lee!
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2 ReactionsThanks @jbishop! Hope and inspiration is what we're all about! And thankfully the weather is going to be better soon so old-fashioned speed walking could be a good option for you in Zone 2 as well.
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1 ReactionMy favorite cardio workout is BY FAR, cross country skiing! But, with the minimal snow we've had this year (so far, fingers crossed), walking/hiking is a decent second place. When I had back trouble, several years ago, the only cardio I could do regularly was swimming, which always made me feel so much better. I met an elderly woman at the pool once who was in incredible shape -- she said, "I've watched all my friends sit down over the years, and they never get up again... so I just keep swimming!" I hear her in my head still!
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2 ReactionsJust a general comment/question here--I'm always looking to understand things better. HelpCare's philosophy seems to place the greatest emphasis for longevity and good health on the diet ("you can't outrun a bad diet"), but Dr. Peter Attia's comments on the video seem to say that exercise is the primary winner. (""I think exercise is the single most important longevity drug we have...bar none.") Any clarifying comments, anyone? Thanks!
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2 Reactions"You can't outrun a bad diet" is in the context of weight loss. Exercise Effectively is #8 in the Health, Energy & Longevity Plan. Very important for longevity.
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