Step up September!

“If you have the aspiration of kicking ass when you’re 85, you can’t afford to be average when you’re 50.” —Peter Attia

This quote from Dr. Attia’s podcast “The Drive” literally made me exclaim “huh!?” and really got me thinking.  I know exercise is the single most powerful “medicine” that promotes us to live long, healthy, independent lives but I had never thought about it in such a concrete timeline.   Let’s delve into this idea further and look at why you should make a change now, not when work slows down, when you have more time, or next year.

One exciting new finding is that your genetics are less influential on your mortality rate than your activity levels are.  Active lifestyles are associated with lower mortality risk, regardless of genetics. Great news!  You can reduce your mortality risk by improving your cardiovascular health and strength.  What is most inspiring is that the population who benefits the most from starting to exercise are the unfit folks that work up to average fitness!

If we do not do strength training, we will predictably lose 1-4% of our strength per year over the age of 40. That may not sound like a lot, but it adds up over the years, resulting in 18-54% loss of strength in just 20 years without strength training. Yikes! Talk about interfering with quality of life, from packing out an elk to standing up from the toilet!  In addition, certain functional strength metrics which include the length of time that you can hang on a pull up bar has been linked to longevity.  So, even if you haven’t been on a pull up bar in years, start with your feet touching the ground and hold until you are fatigued several times per day.  You will improve your overall capacity and slow down the inevitable loss of muscle mass and strength.

Small changes can add up to big results and at GSM we are always trying to make things accessible and attainable.  From individualized programs to our Move Better Series, we can help you get stronger and reduce mortality risk regardless of where you are starting from.  

I teamed up with Max Bartlett, DPT, OCS, to build the Move Better Series to help folks safely and effectively build cardio capacity, strength and ultimately, longevity in the active population.  I didn’t start lifting until my early 40’s and at 48 I’m lifting heavier than ever!  The Move Better Series was influential in my progress. I can honestly say it is doable and amazingly addicting!  

I get it; we all lead busy lives and time seems to move at warp speed sometimes, BUT the time is now.  The data is strong.  We have ideas and encouragement.  Read our posts and put them into action, come see us for some 1:1 coaching, or sign up for the Move Better series.   Let’s kick ass together now AND later!  

                                                          -Written by Darcy Cook, MSPT