Conversations about longevity are all the rage right now. Perhaps that’s even more true regarding the concept of healthspan. If you are a regular here (thank you if you are, welcome if you are new), you know we look at those items as a continuum at TLA.
First, we have lifespan. This is simply length of life. Then we have healthspan. That’s the portion of your lifespan in which you are healthy. Next up is fitspan. We consider not only our health but our relative degree of fitness. And ultimately, there is the ATHLETISPAN. Striving to remain athletic as long as possible.
Consequently, longevity tips for maturing athletes are areas of emphasis for preserving athleticism. They concentrate on making athleticism long-lasting…thus giving it longevity. Athletic longevity doesn’t just happen. It depends on a variety of factors. Genetics and good fortune always enter this equation but our focus is on the elements we can control. Most of this comes down to consistency of habits, but in some very specific categories.
Clearly, there are more than just 5 things we can do to establish athletic longevity, and the order of prioritization may vary for each individual. But here’s my top 5 based on 40+ years of work in human performance with thousands of clients.
Eat enough protein. Controversy and debate continues to surround this suggestion. On the one hand, we have significant evidence that athletic (key word here) human physiology benefits from ideal protein intake. I like to use the words optimal or ideal as opposed to high. While recommendations based on research and expert opinion vary slightly, 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass per day is a solid target (another key word). Thus, a 200 pound human with 20% body fat has a lean mass of 160 pounds and therefore should strive for 160 grams of daily protein intake.
If we go back to our two key words, athletic and target, we can give this full consideration. The athletic individual has greater requirements for muscle protein synthesis than a sedentary genpopper because she is constantly building, repairing, and maintaining greater percentages of muscle and lean mass. Target comes into play because as long as she shoots for this level and comes close…she’ll be fine. On average. Over time.
However, there’s a longevity camp out there which suggests that length of life, without considering quality of life or athleticism, is slightly longer when low (substantially less than what was just described) protein diets are consumed. Unfortunately, most of this data is based on rodent studies. Mice and rats do not have a 100% DNA share with humans and it is risky to extrapolate their laboratory conditions to the athletic human existence. My advice is to study this information and come up with your own conclusions. But perhaps do so while sipping a protein shake or gnawing on a piece of jerky.
Get better sleep. I could have said get more sleep but that wouldn’t be quite right. When we look at the research on sleep, and its effects on recovery, health, and athletic performance – we know two things. First, quality trumps duration. Second, older individuals statistically tend to have shorter sleep durations than younger subsets of the population. But telling someone to get better sleep without providing specific guidelines isn’t very effective. The list of sleep hygiene tips that you come across can be quite lengthy. Here are a few that have proven efficacy in regard to sleep quality.
- Morning Sunlight: Getting outside for about 10 minutes in the morning (whether you are active during this exposure or not) helps to reset your circadian clock and improve your cortisol/melatonin balance.
- Caffeine Curfew: There are genetic differences for metabolism of this compound, and that affects its half-life in your system. If you are a user, know how much you can tolerate and when to cut it off.
- Dinner Conclusion: Research on circadian biology identifies the so-called “digestive clock.” Eating when the sky is still light, i.e. not having dinner late when it is dark outside, has been shown to positively affect metabolism and sleep.
- Alcohol Allotment: The more you drink and the closer to bedtime that’s done, the worse it gets. When we look at the sleep studies, abstinence wins. But, if you limit your consumption to 1 drink, earlier in the afternoon/evening and before dinner, the negative effects are minimized.
- Screen Scrutiny: In this modern world, it’s just not that feasible to look at no screens and put everything away hours before bedtime. At least for most folks. But, if we are sensible and try not to stare intently at close screens with highly stimulating content in the late evening, that’s wise. Screen filters and blue light blocking glasses are an option, but I’ve never seen great compliance with these interventions. Just saying.
- Wind-Down Ritual: This can look different for each person, but it’s a time to reflect, and get calm/sleepy. Some people meditate briefly. Others chat with their partner. Taking a cool shower in summer or a warm bath in winter has been shown to help.
- Cool/Dark Bedroom: This is the old “blackout curtains and 65 degrees” scene. Do what you can to eliminate light and heat. Some people like to add in a white noise option like a fan or a waterfall app, etc.
The key with all this sleep stuff is simple. Do you wake up feeling great? Rested and refreshed? If so, rock on. If not…explore these and other tips.
Maintain movement competency. This is definitely an area of great challenge for many, if not most, Lifetime Athletes. When we’re young, our bodies tend to be very position-tolerant and motion-capable. But over time, things tend to change. We acquire injuries. Certain qualities atrophy from disuse. It’s a gradual process but suddenly you wake up one day and realize “S**t, I can’t do that (insert any activity or position) anymore.” At least not easily the way it used to be. But there’s hope.
In our model at TLA, we look at movement competency in several unique ways. We classify a skilled and effective mover as a MOVEMENTSMITH. That’s someone who owns every position and who has mastery of motion in every direction. Under almost every condition and at practically any speed. This is an extremely athletic quality and it represents high agility. However, the fact is that very few, if any, of us can check every box in the movement world. But we can come close and we can and should keep trying. If perfection can’t be attained, “pretty good” or “decent” is the objective. We need to try to prevent the erosion of agility with the passing of time.
This brings us to our definition of agility. It is the skillful combination of mobility, stability, reactivity, and fluidity. We need that mobility, or flexibility to access relatively full ranges of motion. We must be stable to properly manage force in the execution of movement or maintenance of posture. We have to react to our environment and adjust the motor program, such as in relation to rocks in the trail or opponents on the court. And we need to put that all together with supple, graceful fluidity. Now that’s agility. It’s not just stretching or core exercises or change of direction drills. It’s thoughtfully practicing these elements and integrating them until they become subconscious, automatic, and beautiful.
Perhaps more so than with any form of training, agility exercises should be selected carefully to best fit the individual’s needs. If you are stiff, and find yourself moving like a brick or robot and grunting (and possibly spewing expletives) while doing it, you need more stretching and flexibility work. This is a common problem with maturing males who have predisposing body type characteristics. Like yours truly. But if you are hypermobile and relatively loose-jointed, your body will be constantly searching for a non-wandering, comfortable, and stable position. More stretching in this case can be counterproductive or even contraindicated. Isometric strength and range of motion control exercises are good choices. Any presentation is possible. You can have reasonable mobility and stability, yet need to polish coordination and timing. Regardless, staying agile is crucial for a lifetime of movement that not only feels and looks good but spares wear and tear on the joints.
The major reason a lack of movement competency is problematic is the human body’s amazing, innate ability to compensate. Whenever a dysfunction is present, the CNS makes adjustments in the recruitment and firing of motor units and gets the job done. We can employ alternative signaling and muscle substitution patterns to work around a stiff, weak, or injured area. Many times, especially when this is very subtle, we don’t even notice what’s happening. But left unaddressed long enough, movement dysfunction can lead to breakdown in the system, and sorrow that could have been prevented. You can certainly do self-assessments as you go through your play and workouts, and usually identify the weak areas. But this is also a great place to work with a movement analysis specialist like a physical therapist. Could save you time, energy, money, and frustration. For subscribed members in our Lifetime Athlete App community, we offer discounted video coaching consultations for this and other purposes.
Optimize your resistance training. I don’t need to tell you, a Lifetime Athlete, to do resistance training. Far from it. You already know the value of muscle and strength in your quest for living your best life. But lifting (and other forms of resistance training) will probably need to look a bit different at 60 and beyond versus when you were 30 or younger. Beginners and those with relatively low training ages experience what are sometimes referred to as “newbie gains.” In these circumstances, almost any exercise mashup and program design works. You get results. You don’t get hurt. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle. For a while.
Then, seemingly suddenly but actually gradually, life (reality) kicks in. Your body begins to clearly, and often loudly, express what it likes and dislikes in the gym. Your genetic traits and structural characteristics become more pronounced and less malleable. Deficiencies, as well as attributes, become more recognizable.
This is the time, whenever it occurs for you, to distinctly personalize your training. I’ve seen this strike at 35 or 70 and everywhere in between. You’ll need to look closely at exercise selection, workload management, and recovery.
Exercise selection is a very fascinating topic. When our goals are to use resistance exercise to facilitate strength, hypertrophy, and movement pattern proficiency…the choices are practically limitless. Body weight exercises, free weights, machines, bands and tubing, unilateral movements, positions, range of motion, tempo…and those are just the beginning. We need to maintain the ability to apply force and manage it, both in a general sense as well as specific to our sports goals and unique bodily traits. If an exercise doesn’t get you the results you want, or if it doesn’t feel right despite your attempts to modify it, don’t do it. Pick a different exercise which checks your boxes and which feels natural, right…yours. Don’t look back.
Workload can be examined in several ways. First, program design needs to be such that your mix of volume and intensity is absorbable, or recoverable. How many sessions per week? How do you split it up (or not)? Next, resistance must be explored. Does your body do better with lighter weights and higher reps as compared to heavy loads/low reps? This is very common in the maturing athlete. It might be true across your entire body or only in certain areas. Keep your joints happy and make them last. Just remember, if you go light, you still need to go strong. In other words, some of your working sets need to approach failure (almost) by using a Repetitions in Reserve (RIR) of 3-2-1 in order to get best results.
Recovery is the elephant in the room for the mature athlete. Trainees who are very consistent through life usually report they can go almost as hard as they ever did, in relative terms. But, no matter how good the sleep, nutrition, life balance, and program designs are…it takes longer to spring back between tough sessions. That’s a fact. But it’s important to keep in mind. If you once did well on only 1-2 easy days between big efforts, it might look more like 3-5 now. That’s fine. You can always make your big efforts (competitions, fitness-builder sessions, etc.) just a little less big. But the main thing here is to embrace the recovery process and train lightly until you are fully or mostly recovered. This is probably the single biggest key to success for older athletes. Those who figure out their recovery needs best tend to be the highest performers over the longest time.
Build your aerobic capacity. Stay consistent with cardio, but find your sweet spot. This may take a little explaining. Aerobic fitness is fairly self-explanatory. Your body has the ability to deliver and utilize oxygen very efficiently. You can maintain a reasonably high output capability in your chosen sports and activities. You don’t get “winded” or overly tired in life.
This type of fitness has an incredibly personal signature. It’s more that you have the abilities than what you do to get them. Some people need and/or like more aerobic training than others. This has to do with body types, personalities, and positive/negative experiences. I wrote about that quite a bit in my book AnimalFIT. If your jam is being a cardio monster, whether that’s in popular endurance sports like running, cycling, swimming, Nordic skiing, etc…you’re gonna have this base well-covered and in all probability will benefit from looking more closely at the other tips.
But if you exist more on the side of simply desiring a satisfactory baseline of aerobic fitness, you want to determine the minimum effective dosage of cardio training that works best for you. You can follow the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and get a general idea of the weekly durations of exercise at varying intensities which are theorized to correlate with good health outcomes. That’s a decent place to start but I’ve never been too crazy about them because I don’t think they are as comprehensive as our TLA model. There are many Lifetime Athletes who do very little dedicated, steady-state cardio, yet they possess excellent cardiorespiratory capacities. Some of them play competitive sports and get their training as a by-product. Excellent. Others do high volumes of vigorous activities like wood-cutting, lawn-mowing, etc. It’s all good and it all counts.
Aerobic fitness gives you the health benefits we’ve been hearing about for decades. Good circulation. Lowered resting pulse and blood pressure. Improved metabolic function. High energy and fatigue tolerance. Brain-enhancing effects. And the list goes on. But the aerobic base also provides a support feature for everything you do athletically. Mainly because it enhances your intra-exercise and inter-exercise recovery windows. You recover more quickly during workouts between sets and other bouts, and you come back more rapidly after events and big sessions. Just make sure you have enough aerobic fitness, and you’re enjoying the way you’re getting it. Life is too short for boring cardio experiences.
And there you have it. Our Top 5 Longevity Tips for Maturing Athletes. Eat enough protein. Get better sleep. Maintain movement competency. Optimize your resistance training. And build your aerobic capacity. Then Kick Ass – at life – for LIFE!