Centenarian is a person who lives to 100 years old and beyond... like many of you I'm sure, I have thought, no thanks. But in reality, that is most likely because we have not seen the people around us age very well. We have watched their bodies break down, their minds become less sharp, perhaps their emotions become more unstable. But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if living into your eighties, nineties, and maybe even 100+ could be bad ass and fulfilling?
Dr. Attia talks about this Centenarian Decathlon as a way to organize his patients aspirations for the later decades of their lives. He asks us to consider the Centenarian Decathlon as the ten most important physical tasks we will want to do for the rest of our lives. Some on the list resemble actual athletic events, while others are closer to activities of daily living, and others might reflect personal interests. Here are the first 10 he presents:
- Hike 1.5 miles on a hilly trail
- Get up off the floor under your own power, using a maximum of one arm for support.
- Picking up a young child from the floor.
- Carrying two five-pound bags of groceries for five blocks.
- Lift a 20# suitcase into the overhead compartment of a plane.
- Balance on one leg for 30-seconds, eyes open. (Bonus points: eyes closed, 15-seconds)
- Have sex.
- Climb 4 flights of stairs in three minutes.
- Open a jar.
- Do 30 consecutive jump ropes.
This is his starter list... then he dives more deeply into the individual's interest. What do YOU want to be doing in your later decades? Can you do the list above right now? If you think the answer is yes, then we are at a great STARTING point. Some of us are well beyond capable of the list above and that is AWESOME. Keep in mind, that list is for when we are in our 90's Si Dios Quiere. So also keeping in mind that we lose strength, power, and VO2 max as we age, we go back to the stockpiling concept. Our oldest member is 65 years old... a couple of decades from the above decathlon. As younger members of the gym, we should be able to do significantly more at this time. At least that is the goal. "We want to redefine what is possible in our later years and wipe away the default assumption that most people will be weak and incapable at that point in their lives."
In discussing the type of training he recommends to be a viable Centenarian Decathlete, Dr. Attia talks about our superpower as humans. "No other animal is capable of carrying large objects from one place to another with any efficiency." The ability to do this is what keeps us drastically more capable as we age. Focusing on: Grip strength, lifting weight up and putting it back down slowly and with control, pulling motions (from all angles), and hip hinging movements should dominate our strength training "for life".
So when you catch yourself wondering, why the eff we are doing something, know that there is a purpose and a reason behind it. We are training for life.
Get in today to carry some 💩.
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