Invest in your longevity

Investing in your health is the same as investing in shares. Doing a little bit often will compound over time and the accumulated benefits will far out run sporadic efforts.

I am currently deeply buried in the work of Dr Peter Attia and his writing of “Outlive – the science and art of longevity”.  He introduces us to the “Four Horsemen” – heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia, and perhaps brutally announces that one of them will get you in the end – guaranteed.  The positive take out of this is knowing the end game gives us an advantage. An advantage to live well now so that our health span will match your lifespan. Rather than reaching the end of your days in a decade of steep decline, everything we do NOW can smooth out the cliff edge. Ins his words he recommends training for the “Centurion Decathlon”.

When you are 75 plus years the list of activities you will be able to do are:

1.       Get up off the floor using only one hand.

2.       Hike a 2.5 kilometre hilly rough bush trail.

3.       Pick a young child up off the floor.

4.       Carry a bag of groceries weight 2.5 kilograms each five city blocks.

5.       Lift a 10 kg carry bag into an airplane overhead locker.

6.       Balance on one leg for 30 seconds

7.       Have sex!

8.       Climb 4 flights of stairs easily.

9.       Open a jar.

10.   Do 30 consecutive jump ropes.

In order to prepare for this, we need to be working methodically now to build the strength, flexibility and cardio capacity to see us successfully complete this decathlon.

 Luckily, trekking particularly with some weight in your backpack gets the big tick of approval for one of the most comprehensive workouts you can do, Here’s why:

A)      Strength – you need at least two strength sessions a week. Weighting up your backpack is an ideal way to build strength.

B)      VO2 Max – walking as FAST as you possibly can up a hill with weight in your pack is a sure way to get close to your VO2 Max. You want to do 4 x 4 minute efforts where you are on your limits of breath.

C)      Zone 2 Endurance – when you walk and talk you are doing yourself a GREAT favour. Not only are you solving the problems of the world – but you are also keeping yourself in the Zone 2 training area. For those Girl Trekkers who have attended our Saturday’s at mt Coot Tha, Brisbane or our Sunshine Coast walks you can attest to remarkable benefits of your health and wellbeing with your participation.

You are all on the right track investing time and money in the pleasure of personal adventure. Building a tribe around yourself to support and engage with you on your physical wellbeing is (I think!) essential for success in consistent health improvement. Guess what? Improve physically, will improve your mentally but that’s a whole other blog post!  Till next time, keep active.

Frith xx