Jan 5, 2024
This episode kicks off the New Year with something we seem to
all be so interested in, right behind belly fat, and that’s
longevity. Is it just me or is it even 30-somethings now trying to
reverse aging? Unpacking all that this is and isn’t could be a
philosophical episode all on its own. Instead, I’d thought we’d take a look at 4 ways testing your
longevity is possible, at home. Now, these tests are not
fool-proof. And if you have an old injury or condition, you won’t
be able to do one or more. Yet, say some of the researchers, that’s
the reason to pay attention – close attention – to the things you
can control! So, knowing is good. But also.. Please… don’t let this discourage you. It’s not too
late. An article in Inc. magazine got my attention the other
day. Apparently a 60-year-old startup founder is 3x as likely to
found a successful startup as a 30-year-old startup founder and 1.7
times more likely to have it wind up in the top 0.1 percent of all
companies. You can’t do that – or anything meaningful – sick, old, tired or
with stale ideas. So whether you’re one of our healthpreneurs or not, you’re at an
advantage if you’re truly healthy. Can you do 20 push ups? Sit and stand (barefoot on the floor
unassisted)? Walk between at a minimum of 3.3 mph? and hang from a
pull up bar for at least 30 seconds? You’re not only going to live longer but you can run your
business (or family, home and organizations you volunteer for) like
a boss. The first quarter of 2024 the Flipping 50 Membership is going to
focus on benchmarking, improving and retesting. In addition to
testing those progress chart tracking we always encourage
(measurements, body composition and objective ratings of our daily
health) we’re targeting these. Here’s how you can start this at home! (or inside our
membership? Do this with us the weekend of the 13th and
14th! Molly asked, “Debra I have been wanting to
incorporate fasting into my health regime. However with your
current recommendations of working out in a fed state I have found
it is very difficult to get enough protein and to maintain the
fasted state. I read the book Feast Fast Repeat and it goes against
a lot of the information you recommend. It’s difficult for me to
fast for 18 to 20 hours and feel good. Just wondering what your
thoughts are on fasting?” Start earlier. That makes it simple! You don’t have “dinner” at
dinner time.. You have a last high protein meal at 3 or
4pm. Fasting has a purpose. Getting off a plateau. You can kickstart
with an 18 or 20 hour fast but there is NO reason if you’re an
active person to do this regularly. Rotate.., 12, 14, 15, 18
…. Rotating the amount of carbs you have also becomes important.
Overall, lower than you’ve probably had before in your life
(remember when you’d have two bagels at a sitting?) But you might
toggle between 50 and 100 grams a day. If you always go long
fasting, if you also restrict calories when you are in an eating
window, and if you never vary carbs and always go low, you will
have no metabolic flexibility. For the majority of humans that just
won’t work. Your body is getting stressed by each of those things
and never rewarded and replenished. Just where is that energy to do
work and fun stuff going to come from? If this was your first book? Keep reading. It’s good but there
are dozens of ways to fast. They include just going lower calorie
for 5 days (with higher fat and lower protein), and using bone
broth or doing smoothies twice daily. There are so many ways to
start. But for intermittent fasting to be the goal then starting to
extend your overnight fast is the beginning. Hit 12 hours. Try 13
and 14. See how you do. But don’t always do it. Your week should NOT ever look the same every day or you lose
metabolic flexibility. If your goal is to stay active and gain
muscle and bone density … tell me in a 20 hour fast how you manage
to get micronutrients in. What we all have to do is prioritize. It’s not intermittent
fasting and exercise. It’s intermittent fasting OR exercise. Which
do you need most right now and why? Also relevant: do you have any emotional eating tendencies or a
history of eating disorder or diet and binge? If yes, this is a
slippery slope for you. (see resources) PUSHUPS Can you do 20 pushups? For females this is the goal as estimated
based on the male-only study finding 40 pushups for men
significantly decreased risk of cardiovascular risk. Further, it
was a better indicator than sub-maximal treadmill tests. While VO2
capacity is associated with longevity, assessing VO2 max is limited
to those first with access to a lab and those highly motivated to
endure the discomfort a true test requires. Pros: The push up is a test of multiple things including upper body
strength as well as core. Overall, it’s a functional use of the
body. If you can do it horizontally, good form and posture
vertically is far more likely. Cons: If you’re at all compromised, as many are, with ability to
stabilize the scapular (shoulder blades) or with shoulder rotator
cuff issues, and can’t maintain good form head to toe the push up
can be injurious at worst or increase poor mechanics at
best. Flip: I’d much rather that we all could do at least a few pull
ups. WALKING PACE Can you walk a pace between 3-4 mph? It’s actually 3.3 that
supports bone density, while slower paces don’t. So, there’s that
too. If you’re over 60, the effect of slow vs fast walk (at least 3-4
mph) is even more pronounced in reducing all-cause mortality. Like
53% less. Map out a mile of relatively flat surface. Warm up, test your
speed. When returning to retest be sure you do the exact same
course. Pros: This is directly related to our independence later in life.
Being able to walk at a respectable pace (I wouldn’t designate this
as fast) is a factor of weight and mobility, muscle and joint and
metabolic health. Inability to perform this one already indicates a
need to buff other areas to compensate. Cons: If you’re compromised due to a previous injury or a condition in
feet, ankles, knees, hips or significantly overweight there is
already a limited ability to walk, this test is not a
possibility. Next up for testing your longevity is a challenging one!! So I
hope you’re warmed up! SIT RISE TEST A study in the European Journal of Preventive
Cardiology found how well you do the stand to sit to
stand test indicates your risk of mortality. Stand barefoot, cross one leg over the other and lower yourself
to a sitting position. Then try to stand back up. Attempt to do so without touching the floor with your hand,
knees, elbows, forearms or sides of your legs. You begin with 10 points. Subtract half a point each time you
use a body part to shift to one side before levering up. Also
subtract half a point if you lose balance. In the study those that scored less than 8 points were twice as
likely to die within the following six years. Those that scored
less than 5 were three times as likely to die within the following
six years. An increase in your score of any kind reduces your mortality
rate by 21%. Pros: This requires flexibility, balance, mobility and muscle
strength. Any lack of balance, flexibility, strength or being
overweight make the test harder. Each of these components is
correlated to risk of mortality. Cons: Compromise in a joint that limits the performance of this test
may not reveal that some level of these functional components are
present in other joints and are evidenced in other
activities. You need a tool for testing your longevity with this next test.
They aren’t costly and some gyms likely also have them. GRIP STRENGTH In 2018 the grip strength test was determined to correlate to
overall body strength and muscle mass. Low overall muscle strength (as correlated with grip strength)
is a health hazard to all health outcomes except for colon cancer,
prostate cancer and lung cancer. You can buy a dynamometer to test grip or for an easier at home
or gym option, hang from a pull up bar. For men 60, and for women
30 seconds is a good target, suggest some researchers. Yet, it’s an
increase or decrease that you want to watch. A six-pound decrease
(as tested on with the hand grip tool – but that may correlate to
any reduced time hanging) correlates with 16 percent higher risk of
dying from any cause. To improve grip strength, you don’t want to just work on grip
strength however. Don’t go around the house squeezing tennis balls.
That’s not really the value of the test. Improve your overall
skeletal muscle strength. Other ways to assess total body strength
are a one-rep max or estimated 1-rep max by doing a 10-rep max.
Grip strength is far less intimidating and less injurious. But make
no mistake your bench press, row or pull up, or leg press weight
should also be improving. Are You Built to Last (and Love It?) This small battery of tests are simple ways to assess your
function. Every test has limitations. You may not be able to do one
or more of them. The best use of them is in addition to outcomes
like body fat percent (30% is obese), waist girth (for women, 35
inches significantly increases health risk), amount of muscle mass
(in pounds or kilograms) primarily to know if you’re gaining,
losing or at very least preserving are additional objective
measures. You may already be using these without knowing the
significance of them. Flipping 50 Members have access to a Progress tracking both
objective and subjective measures of progress. If you’re not inside
the members area yet with a course, membership, or downloadable
freebie, you can start here. https://www.flippingfifty.com/login The point in measuring and interpreting these is realizing the
habits you’ve had to this point got you the results you have at
this point. If you wish to change the outcome, you change the
habits related to them. An injury or condition may have limited
your ability to perform a certain test. This awareness can still be
an asset if it highlights the need to strengthen other areas of
your health span longevity. Need support? Join us for a masterclass Jan 10,
2024 https://www.flippingfifty.com/olderandstronger Resources: Masterclass: https://www.flippingfifty.com/olderandstronger Membership: https://www.flippingfifty.com/cafe Smart Scale: https://www.flippingfifty.com/givescale Handgrip: Power Plate: https://www.flippingfifty.com/powerplate
– use code flipping50 for 25% off and free massage
gun with purchase References: Araújo CGS, Castro CLB, Franca JFC, Araújo DS. Sitting–rising
test: Sex- and age-reference scores derived from 6141 adults.
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2020;27(8):888-890.
doi:10.1177/2047487319847004 Celis-Morales C A, Welsh P, Lyall D M, Steell L, Petermann F,
Anderson J et al. Associations of grip strength with
cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause
mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank
participants BMJ 2018; 361
:k1651 doi:10.1136/bmj.k1651 de Brito LBB, Ricardo DR, de Araújo DSMS, Ramos PS, Myers J, de
Araújo CGS. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor
of all-cause mortality. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
2014;21(7):892-898. doi:10.1177/2047487312471759 Stamatakis E, Kelly P, Strain T, et al Self-rated walking pace and all-cause, cardiovascular disease
and cancer mortality: individual participant pooled analysis of 50
225 walkers from 11 population British cohorts British Journal of Sports
Medicine 2018;52:761-768. Yang J, Christophi CA, Farioli A, et al. Association
Between Push-up Exercise Capacity and Future Cardiovascular Events
Among Active Adult Men. JAMA Netw
Open. 2019;2(2):e188341.
doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.8341
Community Member Question: Intermittent Fasting and
Exercise
Testing Your Longevity with 4 Tests