The intersection of longevity and performance is indeed a unique subject. It’s something that we’ve focused upon for years here at TLA. And it’s inarguably the most important consideration for members of this community.
In discussing this topic, we must first examine some definitions. Longevity, in its broadest sense, simply refers to length of life. And performance, in our context, represents the capability of high level output. But this conversation will benefit from taking each concept a bit further.
Longevity is often looked at from the perspective of genetics and epigenetics. Our genes are programmed for a general length of life. And this course is impacted by our lifestyle, or epigenetic (upon the genome) factors. Our habits can affect which genes are upregulated or downregulated. Thus, our actions can influence the potential of realizing our full term for the life journey. Or, we can effectively shorten our length of life by making (intentionally or inadvertently) suboptimal lifestyle choices.
Consequently, our mutual objective is not necessarily to live longer than our pre-programmed potential, but to live up to that potential without shortening the journey via negative behaviors. We want to try and achieve the long lifespan of which we are biologically capable.
At this point performance enters the discourse. It’s a great word that quite accurately describes quality of life. Performance encompasses health, fitness, skill, and high-level participation in most, if not all, of life’s opportunities. This is functionality. In other words, the higher your function, the greater your engagement, success, and enjoyment of life. We’re not just talking about sports here. We’re recognizing overall energy levels, mental acuity, diversity of recreational options, relationships, and independent living. The higher performing we are as organisms, the more rich and satisfying experience we can pack into the lifespan.
Peak performance is a popular term. While there is only one Mt. Everest, the Himalayas – and every other mountain range – have many, many peaks. There is an analogy here which merits explanation. We’re not looking at life as having only one major peak, but a series of high, yet attainable summits. Thus, peak performance not only happens in health, fitness, and athletics but in career, finance, and life experience. These performances are supported by a foundation of overall health and a toolbox of high-level capacities honed through training.
The Lifetime Athlete 5-3-1 System is designed specifically to address the intersection of longevity and performance. Sometimes I call that perfevity or longormance. Regardless, we’re really going after the best of both worlds. It’s certainly been popular in recent years to progress our thinking from lifespan to healthspan, in which we evaluate the relative health we possess during our later years. My trend has always been to take that concept two steps further. Of course we want to live as long as we potentially can with the greatest amount of health possible. But we can progress the healthspan to the fitspan, in which we are not only healthy, but highly fit. And finally, we can – with diligent effort – attain the athletispan in which we preserve our athletic properties along with all those aforementioned elements. This exemplifies the condition in which the human animal – or BEAST – is robust, resilient, versatile, and durable. Reaching this level is what every human deserves. And it can be achieved.
Using our TLA model, we initially establish a solid foundation by applying the 5 Components of Lifelong Health. This represents the analysis and thoughtful application of Food, Movement, Sleep, Ergonomics, and Awareness. We’ve covered all of those elsewhere, including in the free and downloadable 5-3-1 System document. It’s a “health-first” methodology. All of that fitness and athletic stuff doesn’t work so well until we get the health thing right. This is what ensures, or at least gives us a very good chance at, the longevity or full-potential healthspan we’re targeting.
Next, we apply the 3 Essential Elements of Peak Performance. Training, Recovery, and Mindset are optimized to foster apex fitness and athleticism. This allows the highest level of life participation. It’s a unique way of thinking because we’re not just saying your conditioning and athletic abilities give you a leg up in sports, work, and recreation. We actually – and I think correctly – believe that the athletic human is best equipped to accomplish and contribute in every area of life. This is what I’ve been calling Taking the Athletic Avenue Into Wellness.
Ultimately, we become Hard to Kill. Beings that are full of life and who are more resistant to the Grim Reaper. Vital, vibrant creatures whose presence on earth is marked by productivity and joy. And it’s of crucial importance that we support and encourage others to join us in this inclusive community and worthwhile quest.
Getting longevity and performance to line up requires 3 major applications: consistency, personalization, and fluctuation. Each of these can be described concisely.
Becoming consistent with key behaviors, especially training, nutrition, and sleep is of critical importance for The Lifetime Athlete. We’re not necessarily talking about perfection here. Close enough is literally good enough in most cases. But if we can establish regularity of habit (redundancy intended) with those key practices, physiological and psychological function is impacted positively.
Personalization is the customization of our training, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors to really make them fit our unique genetics, preferences, and situations. What works for you might not be best for your spouse, friend, co-worker, or neighbor. And vice versa. Learning and knowing yourself, and your needs and drivers, often requires some experimentation and reflection. Our tools at TLA help you to understand and embrace your gifts, strengths, and weaknesses…and then to Kick Ass accordingly.
Fluctuation is the necessary ups and downs and alterations in those health and fitness endeavors. As seasons and circumstances evolve, we must be dynamic in adjusting our workouts, meals, sleep patterns, etc. for best outcomes. Sometimes this occurs naturally, but we need to remain cognizant (almost to the level of being prescient) and adapt our patterns with a finger on the pulse of our wellness.
You get to decide how serious you are about all of this business. Some folks really thrive on managing high volumes of data and adhering to relatively strict routines. Others do better when there aren’t too many constraints and daily procedures have a more serendipitous feel. It’s all good and you really should DO YOU. Just have some fun with the process.
Combining the pursuit of longevity with that of peak performance is the journey of The Lifetime Athlete. And that’s YOU!