Training for Longevity

In this episode, Jamieson talks about some of key fitness considerations as they relate to aging and longevity, including the following:

• Being “fit for life,” as he describes it, is having enough muscle mass, strength, and density so that you’re robust (not frail) from a physical standpoint; it’s also having the cardiovascular fitness and stamina to be able to produce the energy your body needs. Prioritizing a balance of strength and cardio in your fitness efforts can help reduce the risk for chronic health issues such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and poor glucose control.
• Knowing your VO2 — the volume of oxygen your body can use at any one time — is important because it correlates to many aspects of health and longevity. The bigger base you can build with lower-intensity training, the higher the peak of your VO2 can be with your higher-intensity efforts — this is why there’s been an emphasis by many experts on zone 2 training. You want to spend about 80 percent of your exercise time in lower-intensity zones and 20 percent in high-intensity ranges, according to Jamieson.
• Consistently strength training two to three times per week is shown to have the greatest benefit to longevity, according to research. And having a high VO2 as a result of cardio-fitness efforts is correlated with a 30 to 40 percent reduction in all-cause mortality, Jamieson says.
• The older we get, the longer it takes for us to recover — not just from exercise, but also from things like jet lag and alcohol consumption. Understanding this and adjusting your exercise program accordingly to include adequate recovery time can help prevent injuries and setbacks.
• Average heart-rate variability (HRV) declines with age, which Jamieson says is another indication that our body is taking longer to recover — from everyday stress or an intense workout, for instance — because it can’t turn that system on as effectively as it once did. HRV can give you an idea of how much stress your body is under: The more up and down variability there is, the more stress your body is under; the more stability, the less stress your body is under.
• Training is a specific form of stress that we use to make our bodies more robust and better at adapting to stress. That’s how fitness improves longevity, according to Jamieson: When we control stress in the form of an exercise program, we train that recovery system to get better — and not just at recovering faster from workouts, but also from bouncing back from and being more resilient when it comes to other stressors in our lives.
• Our lifestyle impacts fitness tremendously — and vice versa — says Jamieson, noting that the two can’t be separated.