Longevity expert Peter Attia has been making the social media rounds this past week at a higher pace than normal after appearing on the television news program 60 Minutes last Sunday. If his name doesn’t ring your bell, he’s a Canadian American author, physician and researcher known for his work in longevity medicine. He’s one of many peddling to the crowd of those wanting to live forever.
I didn’t view this 60 Minutes segment because I don’t own a television, a luxury for “rich people.” But I was able to read various internet articles and view several videos highlighting his message. I won’t repeat all that he had to say, but there were a couple of soundbites striking a chord with me.
The one hitting me like a hard slap in the face was him talking about the “marginal decade,” defined as the final 10 to 15 years of life when many are plagued with sickness and immobility; when strength, balance, and independence collapse for most. He explained that at age 75, both men and women fall off a cliff. At this population level, he explains, it’s unmistakable what happens at the age of 75. That’s what we’re up against.
His longevity ministry evangelizes that the best “drug” to delay physical and cognitive decline is exercise, something he does in large doses. He personally targets 10 hours of exercise a week and what he does includes cardiovascular training to burn fat and improve his VO2 max (a measure of respiratory fitness) and weightlifting to maintain his strength and muscle mass. It was reassuring to know that the exercise he advocates for longevity is what Pierini Fitness does daily. And I best continue because I’m less than five years away from falling off this cliff he talks about.
So, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing because it serves me well. As social media fitness guy Chandler Marchman recently said, “If you always do what you did, you’ll always get what you always got.” I like what I’m doing and what it has got me in my upper percentile fitness, health, and wellness department.
Talking to myself, I’ll keep training knowing that my gracefully aging physical fitness is a success story with chapters left to be written.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum
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