This clip is from “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode #05, originally released on April 22, 2019, talks about how to train for the Centenarian Decathlon™. 

If you’re a member, you can now listen to this full episode on your private RSS feed or on our website. If you are not a member, learn more about the how to become a member and the benefits here.

YouTube video

 

Show Notes

 

How to train for the Centenarian Decathlon™ [18:00]

  • The body, in most people, will fail before the other systems (brain, heart, etc.)

⇒ This fact got Peter thinking, how do we mitigate that?

  • Came up with this idea of backcasting (instead of forecasting) what I want to do in the end (the term backcasting being borrowed from Annie Duke who wrote Thinking in Bets)

First question… “If I want to live to 100, what do I have to physically be able to do to be satisfied with my life?

  • Personally for Peter that means…
    • Being able to play with his potential future grandkids and even great grandkids
    • Shoot a bow and arrow
    • Lifting a 30 lb suitcase into an overhead bin
    • Among other basic ADL

⇒ In total Peter listed 18 things he’d like to be able to do at 100, below are some of them…

  • Some of them seem trivial (i.e. get up off the floor with a single point of support (i.e. using just one arm)
  • Able to drop into a squat position and pick up a child that weighs 30 pounds
  • I want to be able to lift something that weighs 30 pounds over my head (i.e. a suitcase into an overhead bin)
  • Get out of a pool without a ladder

Next question… What are physical tasks that would approximate those things?

⇒ Example: Picking up the 30-pound kid who comes running at you could be approximated by a 30 lb goblet squat

Figure 2. The goblet squat. Image credit: xbodyconcepts.com

⇒ Once you have the approximate exercise, begin working backwards from there while keeping in mind the inevitable fact that there will be a natural decline: I want to be able to do these things at 100 ⇒ so I need able to do these things at 80 ⇒ this level at 60 ⇒ And I need to be able to do it at this level today

The framework = Since everyone is different, with different limitation, it is hard to say what one should be doing today to reach their 100-year olympics, but rather, it makes more sense to focus on the framework

Four components of exercise:

  1. Stability
  2. Strength
  3. Aerobic performance
  4. Anaerobic output

Each exercise focuses on at least 1 of the 4

  • Every one of the 18 things on Peter’s list touch at least one of those (many touch more than one)
  • With the goblet squat, for example, it requires both strength and stability
  • Also on Peter’s list is being able to walk up three flights of stairs with 10 lb of groceries in each hand (aerobic, and on the threshold of aerobic/anaerobic, also got strength)

Stability

  • Where most people start to fail first is stability
  • We were born with an innate ability to squat (Start to lose it in school years from all the sitting)

Figure 3. “Wanna learn how to squat? Just ask a toddler. They won’t be able to ‘articulate’ their form, per se, but the visual is worth a thousand words. Here is my guy giving me a seminar today.” Image credit: @peterattiamd

  • The field of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization is built on the principle that there are ~14 movements that are completely innate to us and by the time we’re a 1.5 years or so we are able to do them all perfectly ⇒ basically all downhill from there and accelerated significantly by school
  • Once you start sitting, that’s when we lose so much of that stability. We lose the ability to maintain tension through our pelvic floor and throughout the entire movement
  • We lose our ability maintain tension throughout our entire “core” (referring to the diaphragm, the obliques, the transversalis fascia and the entire pelvic floor)

Peter’s two cents:

  • Spend as much time as possible working on dynamic stability and static stability
  • Static first, then dynamic
  • Incorporate stability into your strength workouts (because at the age of 25 you can do a lot of dumb things and get away with it incorrectly but will start to impact you down the road)

 

§

Book recommendation from Peter that coined the term “backcasting”: Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke | (amazon.com) [20:00]

Book by Doug McGuff that is a proponent of super slow training: Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week by Doug McGuff and John Little | (amazon.com) [30:15]

Centenarian studies: [32:00]

 

§

Become a premium member

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES

  • Exclusive Ask Me Anything episodes
  • Best in class podcast Show Notes
  • Premium Articles on longevity
  • Full access to The Qualys podcast
  • Quarterly Podcast Summary episodes

Related Content

Guest Episode

Bone health for life

Ep. #322 with Belinda Beck, Ph.D.

Free Article

Evaluating exercise as an equivalent to medication for the treatment of depression and anxiety

Free Article

Research Worth Sharing, October 2024 Edition

Disclaimer: This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this blog or materials linked from this blog is at the user’s own risk. The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

4 Comments

  1. Preston Atwood says:

    Does Peter have a workout guide/comprehensive list of exercises that he does to support these?

  2. Blair Adams says:

    Atul Gawande wrote about visiting a Gerontologist at Mass General.
    Advice he was given about improving stability?
    Brush your teeth while standing on leg.
    Uppers; stand on right leg.
    Lowers; stand on left leg.
    Try it; not easy. 😉
    Dr. Blair Adams

    1. Michèle Gasiorowski MD says:

      👍
      Will start tonight. Thanks, Michèle

  3. John Gooch says:

    I think like sugar, using a mattress is not good for the back.
    A lodger I had, who did weight lifting, built his own wooden bed.
    I inherited it, and now sleep on it with 5 pillows, arranged as I need.
    I also use it for siting, with a computer in the day.
    Its an experiment, I never went back from…