Longevity Research: An Intense Search for an Expensive Solution

As someone who is soon to turn 85, Im intrigued by reading about the research and massive investment in life extending drugs.

IMHO much of the work focuses on things that might or might not have much impact BUT if they can demonstrate a small impact, they could be sold for big bucks.

There is the prospect of big money is selling drugs or supplements to a public that seems to want an easy solution to living longer and having high quality older years.

As in other areas, people want a painless and easy solution.

Unfortunately, the universe is completely indifferent to what people want.

 

Many Good Things in Life are Freebut Not Easy

Over the past several decades I have observed that there is an almost universal effort to search for an easy solution to hard problems.

Politics serves up an endless menu of failed efforts of ideas that sounded great and turned out to be worthlessor worthless and expensive.

In health and fitness, the basic practices that work well have not changed in decades. The basic weight training program I first used in 1955 will produce great results today. The same training protocols for running I used in the late 50s (intervals) are still the backbone of running training today.

Staying strong and fit at an advanced age requires that one live a fit lifestyle.

If you dont do this, all the pills, gadgets and drugs are likely to have little or no impact.

However, living a fit lifestyle is difficult.and most people avoid difficult.

But there is huge commercial potential of selling fitness solutions to a public that wants easy answers to difficult and complex problems.

 

Fitness Tech

IMHO most of the wearable fitness tech devices available today are easily replaced by free solutions.

Wearables that track step counts could quickly be replaced by either the free app on your iphone or simply figuring out how far you walked/ran using another free program: (mapmyrun.com)

Steps are a proxy for how far did you go?

Tracking heart rate, blood pressure or oxygen uptake are basically pointless measures when exercising.

For example, powerlifters will see a gigantic spike in blood pressure when doing a heavy squat or deadlift. When one puts the bar back on the rack, blood pressure returns to normal.

Runners who are sprinting toward the finish of a race will have highly elevated heart rates. They will also probably be in oxygen debt which is when one is running so fast that the body cannot process oxygen fast enough and they are running in an anerobic state.

Running in oxygen debt is what happens to every runner in the final 100 meters of every 400-meter race or any strong sprint to the finish.

However, expensive gadgets are available to measure things that are essentially momentary spikes due to hard training activity. In short, they give your data about nothing of importance.

 

What IS important for Longevity?

Want to keep playing hard for a long time? IMHO there are several things you must do first before wasting money and mental energy on expensive and probably useless nostrums.

These are the things that most readers of this newsletter do already:

• Weight training
• Aerobic training
• Keep your body fat down
• Eliminate bad habits

The main bad habits that can negate all the hard work of physical training are: smoking (any kind), recreational drugs, and drinking alcohol.

Lots of people love to indulge in a few drinks or an occasional hit of pot. Your choice. Just be aware that it is not good for you. The effects of bad habits add up fast.

If you are a hard core exercise devotee, the life extension programs probably have little to offer you. Your lifestyle is obtaining the massive and multiple benefits of real exercise.

Lift Big!

Richard