What are the 2 best predictors of lifespan?
Close relationships? Undoubtedly. Psychologist Susan Pinker says people with at least three close relationships live longer.
Your Genes? True. In fact Scientists think between 10-25% of your life span can be explained by your DNA.
Diet? Eating a mostly plant based diet and having a sense of purpose significantly improves one’s odds of outliving the average human.
I need some instant gratification. There are two predictors of longevity that you can test RIGHT NOW to predict your lifespan with some degree of accuracy. You can improve both of these things quickly, and significantly.
The Two Predictors
.1- Grip strength- ”Grip strength provides a simple and low-risk tool for assessing overall muscular strength and is suggested to be a sound indicator of biological age.”
Grip is an indicator of overall strength. Strong people live longer. I’m sold. Want to improve your grip? Try doing some rows, Lifting weights, Hanging onto a chin up bar, or perhaps an airplane as it takes off. Ya know… the stuff we do at Fit every day. You can meaningfully improve in just a short amount of time.
Tom Cruise passes the first test.
2- Sit to stand test. Stand in the middle of the room. Lower yourself down to the floor with control. Stand back up.
Lowering and standing are both worth 5 points. Subtract a point for every hand, elbow, knee and forearm touch you need.Subtract .5 for every time you lose balance.
Judges… We’ll call it a 9.5.
If you’re over 8 you’re in good shape.
Under 8… we need to train.
Yoga, squats, dead lifts, single leg deadlifts… they’re making you strong in a meaningful way. In the span of a few weeks we can drastically change this measure. Sitting in a deep squat for a few minutes every day will improve this score, as well as number of other important health metrics (posture, blood pressure, strength).
Training and strength are the fountain of youth. Get in the gym, move around, don’t accept limitation. You’ll surprise yourself.
And if it doesn’t add years to your life, it will definitely add life to those years.
THAT’s what the best Trainers do. And Fit only works with the best.
See you at the gym.
BONUS CHALLENGE– Starting today I’m going to improve my grip strength. I challenge myself to hang from the chin up bar for 5 (non consecutive) minutes for one month.
The benefits of simply hanging from a chin up bar are shocking. It’s been shown to improve grip strength (duh), vastly improve shoulder mobility (Yeah?) and tension in the upper back. Sounds like an easy fix for someone with a tight upper back.
See you at the gym.