Fountain of Youth : Exercise for Longevity
By : Adam Mundorf
Joints and Tendons : The Strength Conundrum
For longevity, I believe the most important thing is joint health and tendon health. Being able to move fluidly and smoothly through space without pain should be a priority. Most people really don't need to be all that strong. Past a certain point, I believe reaching for strength becomes a detriment. Unless you're someone who makes a living by lifting weights, moving from a 400lb deadlift to a 500lb deadlift won't improve your quality of life. The higher you move up the strength scale, the more it becomes not worth it. Speaking of weights, are they even necessary?
Exercise Modality for Longevity
Weights are not required to have a healthy and long life but a form of resistance certainly is. Resistance can be weights, bodyweight or anything that stresses your muscles, your body cannot tell the difference. Honestly, it doesn't matter what modality you choose but I do believe your bodyweight is the best modality. Too many people dismiss bodyweight training as too easy or not effective because it's actually more difficult than weight training. Bodyweight training really magnifies weaknesses and imbalances. If you progress to very advance forms of bodyweight training, you'll be as strong as you ever need to be. Imagine if you could master the following exercises : One Armed Push Ups, Pistol Squats, One Arm Chin Ups, Strict Hanging Leg Raises, Handstand Pushups, Stand to Stand Bridges, One Arm Fingertip Pushups, Doubled Over Towel Hangs with One Arm, One Legged Calf Raises off Steps and Neck Bridges. You'd be practically inhuman in terms of strength.
This is my theory on what is ideal for longevity but I'll be honest it's not what I do. I love weights a bit too much to go pure calisthenics.
Rep Speed and Tempo for Longevity
I've come to the conclusion that the bulk of one's training should be done with a slow, deliberate and purposeful cadence. Especially when performed with joint longevity in mind. Going slow and keeping complete control of a movement allows our to master a movement while at the same time sparing your joints and building time under tension. This doesn't mean that explosive don't have a place but there is a risk in explosive movements. The quality of repetitions will always overrule the number of repetitions.
Keeping your Joints Healthy for Life
If there is one area of health and fitness that doesn't get enough respect, it's joint and tendon health. If your joints are sore and hurting, your quality of life will suffer. Most joint problems stem from inactivity and not overuse. Luckily, avoiding joint and tendon problems are easy, if you follow these simple steps : Choose your exercises carefully, Perform mobility drills daily, Move frequently throughout the day and spend time on the floor.
Cardio for Longevity
Cardio for longevity is different than conventional cardio. You don't want to be a marathon runner, running 3 to 5 miles on grass is more than enough. I think running is an essential skill for self defense, the best self defense is running away. Swimming, jump rope and running are all good forms of cardio when not done to extremes.
Nutrition
My view on nutrition is inspired by Ori Hofmekler's Warrior Diet and 7 Principles of Stress. The nutritional philosophy is centered around 18 - 20 hours of fasting or undereating and 4 - 6 hours of "overeating". Being able to perform without any fuel in the body is an important skill. This eating style provides energy during the day and full compensation at night. There are certain nuances to the above style but that's for a different post. My view on body composition and health. I believe that if you aren't too skinny or morbidly obese you're fine. Seriously, stop stressing about getting that six pack or looking a certain way, that stress is probably killing you faster than having a bit of fat will. If you can still move reasonably well, joints feel good and are feeling well, you're fine.
Mentality
I believe the greatest philosophy available to us is Stoicism. What other philosophy can be practiced by both a slave and an emperor? They both came to the same conclusions but had vastly different qualities of life which proves to us one thing : The quality of our life is dictated by the quality of our thoughts and processing them in a positive manner.
Porn, Sex and Semen Retention
This is a tricky part for many men and women. I've struggled with this for at least a decade. It's a double edged sword. Porn plants unrealistic expectations in the mind of young men and women. The average woman you meet is not a porn star. The average man you meet is not a porn star. These are movies and fantasies that do not hold up in real life.
In reality sex is an intimate act not to be taken lightly. You are putting yourself into a vulnerable position and are exchanging energy with somebody else. You must be selective on who you do these acts with or risk the consequences of getting mixed up with some real negative or toxic people. To make matters even more serious, a human being can be created from this act. A whole soul that will laugh, cry and be a person. Don't take this lightly.
Semen Retention is an ancient practice which involves refraining from ejaculation and in some cases having non-ejaculatory orgasm. I've practiced this off and on for about a decade. It's a very hard philosophy to follow in modern life, especially when pornography and sexually explicit media is all around us. In all of my readings I've come to the conclusion that all semen retention is, is a transfer of energy. Instead of expelling that energy through masturbation or frivolous sex, you're putting that pent up energy towards other things. Those things should be positive like creativity or exercise. This is called sexual transmutation. If you don't properly transmute your energy towards creative processes, you will become stressed and on edge. Ask me how I know? You need to transmute the energy or you'll go nuts but once you properly transmute things get interesting. Social anxiety fades away. The sun feels brighter and the grass looks greener. You feel a bit more pure, similar to how summers were as children. This comes with a caveat, the brighter the morning, the darker the night. You're high's are higher but your lows can get unfathomably low. Especially, when a man grows older, a bit lonelier and introverted. A woman doesn't just appear in your life one day. Those effortless social interactions you had when younger, no longer present themselves. Your friends get married, move away, some die and others go MIA. No longer do you receive calls for parties or hangouts. It will happen gradually but then one day you look in the mirror and realize, you need to put in the effort and put yourself out there. If you're not busy living, you're busy dying.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to give a shout out to a friend and mentor of mine Steve Maxwell of maxwellsc.com. Steve has been involved in strength and conditioning for over 50 years and still moves well into his 60's. Allot of my theories and philosophies have been planted by Steve's influence.
