Being Below Average Just Might Save Your Life

When I began my journey back to health ten years ago, there was little guidance for adults who wanted to regain and retain their fitness. Today, everywhere you turn there’s another article or news segment about “longevity”. Mainstream media and social media influencers, big pharma and big business, everyone got into the act, and a constant stream of over-hyped supplements, quick-fix workouts and questionable protocols ensued. Understandable. There are 125 million people in the US over fifty. It’s a big market. Boomers and Gen Xers have money and want to live a long life!

There’s a lot more information, but still a shortage of practical guidance.

Here's the thing. If you stick with credentialed experts, the advice isn't bad. In fact, the research is good. Many outdated limiting beliefs around aging are falling away. Successful training techniques that keep professional athletes in the game for a decade longer than anyone ever imagined trickle down to the rest of us. We have more accurate benchmarks for assessing our health. We understand better how we age and our collective mindset around aging has improved.

It’s the order of priority that’s wrong. People are focused on refinements before they’ve implemented the basics. It’s a distraction from the fundamentals which, while not as flashy, provide the greatest return on investment.

No amount of creatine, extra protein, vitamin elixirs, cleanses, red light therapy, intermittent fasting and the dozens of other miracle health products and regimens out there comes close to providing the health benefits of the fundamentals.

So, what are the fundamentals?

1. Mobility/Flexibility. This is job one. Postural integrity is crucial to avoiding injury. Without proper movement patterns and alignment, the body will compensate, especially once stressed. If you can’t access the correct position you can’t exercise in the correct position.

2. Cardiorespiratory Efficiency. - Training for A) endurance and B) high-intensity output. Critical for everyday energy, metabolic health and VO2 Max. Perhaps the single greatest influence on lifespan. More on this below.

3. Musculoskeletal Strength. Resistance training staves off frailty by keeping muscles, bones and connective tissue strong and is increasingly associated with multiple other health benefits.

4. Balance and Agility. I put this one in its own category because it’s so important for avoiding falls and necessary for safely performing sports and other activities.

Each of these four broad areas works in unison as a defense against the biological process of aging. And their positive impact goes beyond the physical, fortifying cognitive and emotional health as well. More to come on these four, as they form the foundation of the SecondFifty Longevity Blueprint, a long term project still in development.

Numerous studies conclude there is nothing better than exercise for maintaining health and vitality. Nothing else comes close. Sure, diet and various other lifestyle factors like adequate sleep, moderate use of alcohol, stress management and social interaction are all important. Don’t smoke and don’t abuse drugs. But exercise, and specifically the four areas listed above, stands out.

And the good news – it doesn’t take much exercise to dramatically improve your health! Significant benefits are achieved from relatively low levels of fitness if you know what to focus on.

Take a look at the above graph which illustrates the unparalleled effectiveness of exercise. A research study involving 122,000 subjects was performed over several years to measure the impact of cardiorespiratory fitness on all-cause mortality. The average age of participants was 53 but 11% of subjects were over 70. Participants performed treadmill stress tests to measure aerobic fitness and were categorized into different cohorts according to their VO2 max.

The results were impressive. According to the study, going from low fitness (lowest 25^th percentile) to below average fitness (25^th to 49^th percentile) reduced all-cause mortality by a whopping 50% over ten years for participants. That’s the same reduction in the risk of death achieved by quitting smoking!

Wow! You don’t even have to be particularly fit to reduce your chance of dying by 50%. And if you really want to goose your survival rate, move a little further up the conditioning chart to Above Average, which is quite achievable. Now you’ve dropped your risk by closer to 70%!

But what amount of cardio gets me to “below average”, you may be asking. According to the researchers, following the CDC guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise weekly should just about do it. Of course, everyone is different, and various underlying conditions will have an impact. Injuries or limitations always need to be considered when beginning an exercise regimen.

But can we really prove causation? Or could this be a correlation? These results are are well accepted. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter. If exercise doesn't meaningfully extend my lifespan, but increases my healthspan, and my ability to live actively and independently now and for a few extra years, that would be enough to make it worthwhile!

Here's a link to the original research, and a more reader-friendly overview of the results.

The takeaway
By simply walking briskly for 30 minutes five days a week you can achieve major health benefits. Add in some mobility work, some resistance training and balance exercises, what I call Basic Maintenance, and you will be well positioned to maximize vitality. Don’t worry so much about getting enough protein, or whether you should include seaweed in your smoothie, or put spacers between your toes for foot health. All of that absolutely has its place. But not until you regularly implement the basics.

So, where do we start?
Let’s do some assessments to see where we stack up on various measures of functional fitness. I will include one or two of these with each newsletter. This first one is very straightforward. They will get progressively harder!

Assessment #1 - The Wall Sit
The Wall Sit is both a measure of strength and a great exercise to safely build strength.

The wall-sit or wall squat primarily targets your quadriceps (thighs), but it also works your glutes, calves and even your hamstrings. Essentially your whole lower body. This is an isometric exercise, where your muscles are holding your body in one position under tension. This makes it easier on the joints (especially knees) than a traditional squat, while still being very effective.

How to do it
Place your back flat against a wall and slide down into a sitting position with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees directly above your ankles. Keep your knees aligned with your shoulders, not drawn together. Wear sneakers or grippy shoes on a non-slip surface. Rest your hands loosely in your lap. Ideally you want your lower leg vertical to the ground and close to a 90 degree angle at your knees so your upper legs are parallel to the floor. But if that’s too difficult, you can slide up the wall to where you feel comfortable as you get the hang of it. And remember, no joint pain! Muscle fatigue and burning is okay, but any joint pain is a signal to stop.

Why do it?
Strong legs provide stability, protect joints and support any manner of activities. Tennis, golf, hiking, skiing, all require lower body strength. As does climbing stairs, getting in and out of your car or the bathtub. Notice how many people use their arms to get up from a chair instead of using their legs. That’s not good, and it only gets worse with age.

In addition to being a great way to build leg strength, isometric exercises like the wall sit have been shown to effectively lower blood pressure if done regularly.

 Measuring your results

Note: There is limited age-adjusted research on duration for the two leg wall sit. There is more data on the single leg wall sit, but that one is very advanced. So use the above metrics as a general guide.

Once you’ve completed your assessment, make a note of your results, then add this exercise to your routine to improve lower body strength, and as a bonus, to control blood pressure. Don’t despair if you scored low. This simple exercise is harder than it looks!

The authors of the study recommend a 14-minute sequence performed three times a week: a two-minute wall squat, followed by two minutes of rest, repeated four times in total. But remember, this will get a lot tougher with each successive set. So start off with a short duration and gradually increase your time as you get stronger. As a measure of exertion your first set might be a 6 or 7 out of 10 with the following sets approaching your peak exertion - ie. legs burning!

I’ve had some knee trouble lately, so I’ve added wall sits to my regular workout and I’m pleased with the results. I’m building up my leg strength to support my knees while avoiding the knee strain that comes form deep squatting.

If you aced this assessment and your feeling confident, try the Sitting RIsing Test. The SRT is a more challenging measure of lower body and core strength, and requires flexibility and balance.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please help me grow our community by forwarding it on. I am committed to organic growth and quality content without relying on social medial algorithms and gimmicks. Your endorsement to friends and family is the only way to get the word out.

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here to get free resources on aging awesomely.

Who Sent this Newsletter:

I’m George Harrop, founder of SecondFifty — an online resource for people who want to prioritize their health and wellbeing by taking a common-sense approach to nutrition and fitness.