The four types of exercise you need to increase your longevity aka how to age better.
"If you don't take time for your wellness, you will be forced to take time for your illness."
—Joyce Sunada
Time.
It’s free, but it’s finite—profound (!), I know, but it’s the Capital ‘T’ TRUTH.
How you spend your time is how you write the story of your life. Spending your precious minutes sweating a few times a week, building strength, and moving your body the way its meant to move pays dividends
Like.
Nothing.
Else.
Did you know that your mental acuity and physical capability begin their slow, steady decline at age 40? WTF? I’m 41. That’s so young! But wait! Good news: there’s a way to combat this and maybe even reverse the trend of aging.
In the words of Dr. Peter Attia who specializes in the applied science of longevity (can’t recommend his podcast highly enough if you want to learn some sciencey goodness on the how and why of aging):
“We have a drug that is very effective at delaying the onset of death and preserving healthspan. This drug is called exercise and nothing else rivals it.”
No pill. No device. No brain games. No neurotropics. Nothing compares to exercise.
Healthspan refers not just to the length of your life, but the *quality* of your life (pretty sure it goes without saying that your quality of life also factors in relationships, diet, and overall outlook, but let’s be thorough so there you go). When you think of your life 30, 40, 50 years from now, how do you want to live? Get specific. What do you want to be doing with your time? If you want to live physically and mentally free from illness and pain, AND continue living your best life (for me, that’s being able to do a set of burpees, travel independently all over the world, and hike a 14er when I’m 88), exercise is the VERY best way we know how to thrive (and maybe even get better?) as we age.
Here’s exactly how to do that.
According to Dr. Attia, there are four types of movement required if you’re the owner of a human body:
Movement that builds strength and stability, whether lifting weights or lifting your own bodyweight.
Aerobic activity: Movement that lifts your heart rate, warms the body, but can be sustained. Like running, cycling, power-walking (preferably with some sweat bands and a sassy attitude), DANCING, or my personal favorite: step-aerobics (I used to do step in college until I nearly puked, but that could have been working out with a hangover? IDK). This is endurance work. You don’t have to be able to talk comfortably doing it, but still, it’s something you can do for a prolonged period of time.
Anaerobic activity: This is the movement that really impacts your longevity. It’s nonnegotiable if you want to stay vital well into your last decade, but many of us don’t do it because, well, it’s uncomfortable. This is the kind of movement that feels like a struggle, where you process oxygen at your max capacity (aka VO2 Max). Anaerobic activity is the type of movement you can’t sustain for more than a few minutes (maybe even just 90 seconds to 2 minutes!), and there’s a recovery period before you can do it again. (Think movements like jump squats, some power lifting, sprinting like a bat out of hell, or riding your bike as fastlenge as you can with resistance, like riding up a hill.)
Something called Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization. It sounds fancy, but you can think of it like moving your body the way you could when you were 2. As Dr. Attia says, babies are basically born “right” in their biomechanics. I watch my son Beau—almost 18 months old now!—every day and he inspires me (and my class!). He squats, rolls around, kicks his legs in the air, climbs on things, hangs from things (fun, especially when it’s the oven door), and his gait is ‘natural,’ not adulterated from a lifetime of sitting, wearing shoes that are too tight, or looking down at screens. In BBP, this is the movement we do like deep campfire squats, rolling to stand, crawling, leap frog jump, lateral movement, and my favorite: springing up from an isometric squat (ie, the jump squat).
Just so you know, if you take BBP, you’re hitting all of these movements. We intentionally created our signature Backbody Project class to efficiently combine aerobic exercise (like jumping jacks and large range of motion movements that get your blood flowing) with anaerobic/fast twitch muscle work (like jump squats + lunge jump switches), plus strength training (push-ups, tricep work, abs, butt-building, etc), and the aforementioned “movement your body was built to do” that challenge your mobility, your balance, your coordination, and your mind.
However you choose to get your exercise, just keep moving. You really only need to hit the anaerobic component of your workout at a minimum of once a week (though, according to Dr. Attia, this is an area where the benefits compound with more anaerobic activity.) While more might be better, I’m of the “what’s-the-bare-minimum-I-need-to-be-competent-in-this-area? That’ll-do-me-just-fine” variety and I’ve seen clients make major progress from attending my class just once a week over the span of a year. Just do what you can do. Keep trying, don’t quit, and remember we’re all works in progress and that progress compounds on itself.
It’s absolutely possible to keep getting better/stronger/smarter every year. Spend the time on yourself and it will pay you back (plus the people and causes you care about) in spades.
P.S. Really quick: regarding starting this type of exercise if you’ve a) fallen off the exercise wagon or b) never gotten on it to begin with, you’re in luck! Because even though it might difficult to start working out this way, you don’t have to work as hard to get the benefits. And the benefits start from day 1. JUST START. Take it at your own pace and push yourself just a little bit more each day. There’s no quick fix—remember it’s the journey, not the destination. We get to workout like this for life, so you’ve got time.
P.P.S. Just thought of this: If the anaerobic component of this formula scares you, try JUMP SHAPE from BBP Live. I’ll make it available so you can rent it if you’re not a member. It’s 10-12 minutes of jumping a day for 7 days. The kind of jumping that gets your heart pumping, gets you out of breath, and stokes your fast-twitch muscle fire. You can add these short videos to any workout!
-Meegan