Age is NOT a disability….
And getting older should NEVER be an excuse NOT to live your best life for the rest of your life. But HEALTHY ageing does require intelligent EXERCISE efforts that unlock the key to achieving true performance and longevity at ANY age. And the more we continue to learn about healthy AGEING the more clear it becomes that
There is key performance indicators that have credible scientific reviews to predict life expectancy. In this blog, I have listed 5 physical tests that had been found to predict longevity and independent living.
VO2 max
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be measured through something called your VO2 max — a measure of the amount of oxygen your body uses during exercise. A report in Progress In Cardiovascular Diseases explains CRF has emerged as a strong, independent predictor of all-cause and disease-specific mortality (meaning the better your CRF, the less likely you will die).
The link is so strong that the American Heart Association called for physicians to measure CRF as a part of their routine assessments. A large-scale review in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed a total of 25,714 adult men (average age, 43.8 years) who received a medical examination from 1970 to 1993, and followed-up to see how many had died by the end of 1994.
The analysis found low CRF was a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death. Low CRF was also of comparable importance with diabetes and other CVD risk factors (like high blood pressure and high cholesterol).
Lean Body Mass
The idea that how much you weigh can predict your risk of death isn’t a stretch. We all know the role obesity plays in disease and life expectancy. Doctors and scientists use a measure called body mass index (BMI) as one of several factors when looking at a person’s overall health.
The CDC defines BMI as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. The biggest problem with BMI is that your weight is made of a few components — the two largest are body fat and muscle mass (or lean body mass). If you have a lot of muscle, your weight will be higher, and your BMI will look worse, even though you’re quite healthy.
Think about it this way. Weight itself isn’t as important as the amount of fat you have to the amount of muscle. Skinny people can be fairly unhealthy if they lack muscle, and larger people can be far healthier if they carry a lot of lean body mass.
A group of researchers set out to study whether greater muscle mass in older adults lowered their risk of death. They analysed 3,659 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, who were 55 years (65 years if women) or older at the time of the survey. They used a method called bioelectrical impedance to measure body fat percentage in the adult.
As hypothesised, in older Americans, higher muscle mass relative to body height lessened the risk of death over a 10–16 year follow up. Scientists could not explain the relationship by factors like hypertension, diabetes, insulin resistance, etc. meaning that relative muscle mass is a useful marker for survival in older adults.
Stephen Vineburg silver medalist competing at the Australian Master powerlifting championship 2022
Leg strength
Research in leg strength shows it pays never to skip leg day. The weaker our legs, the more likely we are to fall or to have trouble standing up again once down. The CDC reports falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults age 65 and older, and the age-adjusted fall death rate is increasing.
The Health, Ageing, and Body Composition study was the first to connect leg strength with life expectancy. Researchers recruited 3,075 men and women who could walk a quarter of a mile and climb 10 steps without difficulty at the start of the study and followed them for 16 years.
They found leg strength at the start of the study predicted their overall health at the end. Another study found similar results — determining that leg strength was the biggest predictor of physical function in the future.
You can work to develop leg strength at any age. If you’re fairly sedentary, start walking more or consider a standing or treadmill desk. You can take up a sport you enjoy as a hobby or start swimming. You can also practice exercises like squats, lunges, or step-ups from the comfort of your home.
The images showed that the older triathlete’s leg had about as much muscle (the dark material in the images) as that of the younger triathlete, while the sedentary man’s leg had far less muscle. That’s how we often think about age-related muscle loss: the muscle is simply disappearing if you don’t use it.
Grip strength
Grip strength refers to your ability to hold on to items based on their weight and to exert pressure on them (like opening the jar). Researchers now believe grip strength can predict your overall health, as well as your risk of cardiovascular disease.
A meta-analysis of 42 research papers, including more than three million participants, found linear relationships between grip strength and risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular diseases within grip strength of 56 kg. It could be that people with a stronger grip are more likely to exercise or are healthier in ways the researchers didn’t study.
Improving your grip strength now is one of the best things you can do for your future self. Another review found handgrip strength has predictive validity for the decline in cognition, mobility, functional status, and mortality in older populations. Again, this relationship may not be causal, so keep that in mind. Even so, it’s fairly easy to practice grip-strengthening exercises.
You can measure grip strength with a device called a dynamometer. Squeeze it to reveal the amount of force applied. You can use the same tool to develop your grip strength, or you can practice exercises in the gym or at home.
According to PURE, each 11-pound decrease in grip strength over the course of the study was linked to a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause, a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, a 9% higher risk of stroke, and a 7% higher risk of heart attack.
Various studies found higher the grip strength longer is the lifespan. This study measured the grip strength of the elderly population from Moscow, Denmark and England and they found 1 kg increase in grip strength increases survival by 5% in Moscow 6% in Denmark, and 3% in England.
Stephen Vineburg taking Gold at the Australian Master powerlifting championship 2022
Foot speed
New studies are beginning to point to how fast you walk as another indicator of your overall health and longevity. Scientific American reports,
A new analysis of walking speed studies shows that — down to the tenth of a meter per second — an older person’s pace, along with their age and gender, can predict their life expectancy just as well as the complex battery of other health indicators.
Of the 34,485 adults in the studies, people with average life expectancy walked at about 0.8 meter per second. For those with a gait speed of one meter per second or faster “survival was longer than expected by age and sex alone,” the researchers noted in their article.
Foot speed likely has something to do with leg strength, and while walking doesn’t feel all that hard, it requires using a wide range of muscles. People may begin walking slower as their strength declines. If this happens, it can be an early indication that something is going wrong (just like an increase in blood pressure can serve as a warning signal).
Looks like the elderly people who can walk fast will live longer than the average. The elderly population who have an average walking speed of point 8 metres per second will have a normal life expectancy. Walking speed of over one meter per second is associated with significantly higher life expectancy. Lifespan is predicted to be exceptionally high if the walking speed is greater than 1.2 metres per second.
EXERCISE is the real longevity miracle drug.
But NOT all forms of exercise are created equally……. If you truly want to take control of your HEALTH as you age, here's exactly what you should be prioritizing to put yourself in the best position to THRIVE:
1. Progressive Strength Training 3x/week
2. Cardiovascular Conditioning 2x/week
3. Low Intensity Steady State Cardio 7x/week
While this EXERCISE prescription may look intimidating at first, it really breaks down to training mindfully 3-4 days per week with a combination of strength and conditioning In addition to being physically active for at least 10+ minutes each and every day in the form of low heart rate zone cardiovascular work like walking, biking, swimming etc. This daily investment in EXERCISE simply provides the foundation to our health and longevity. A very small ask to proactively protect your LIFE (and lifestyle) don't you think?
