Tag Archive for: interval training

Aging with a Vengeance and Your Proteome

This year’s Super Bowl Webinar focused on aging with a vengeance—becoming the best version of yourself, no matter your age. The study we just reviewed on the proteome suggests that the people were healthier who were biochemically younger than their actual age. Here are the actions I believe can help at the three critical phases of aging that were identified in proteome study. As I find out more, I’ll be more specific.

31 to 37

If you have weight to lose, now is the time to lose it. Take it from me and my decades of experience with weight loss programs: it becomes more difficult the older you get. Find a way to eat that will maintain a reduced body weight and stick with it.

Reduce your protein intake. That may seem a little odd, but this is a time to focus on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and quality oils.

Focus on your cardiovascular system by doing aerobic exercise on a regular basis. Use interval training to make the most of your time, and when you’re fit enough, you can add high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to your routine.

57 to 63

The kind of 80- to 85-year-old you’re going to be is dependent on what you do now. If you haven’t achieved a normal body weight, that’s a high priority just as it was in the prior age group. I know how difficult this is because it’s eluded me throughout my life; I lost a lot of weight and kept it off for years, but I’d still like to weigh less.

Increase protein intake to 1–1.5 grams per kilogram body weight per day.

Supplement your diet with essential amino acids. While the amounts are still not absolutely clear from the research, 10–20 grams per day is a good goal.

If you’re not already doing so, add weight training to your exercise routine. Start with using your own body weight, then add exercise tubes or light weights, and then use machines or free weights. Now is the time to retain or even increase your muscle mass.

75 and Older

If you haven’t achieved a normal body weight, there’s still time. My wonderful mother-in-law lost a significant amount of weight at this age, and she was an overweight diabetic in a wheelchair.

Increase protein intake to 1.5–2 grams per kilogram body weight per day. It’s difficult because appetite decreases and protein makes us feel full. It will help reduce the muscle loss that’s happening.

Supplement your diet with essential amino acids; the amounts are still between 10–20 grams per day.

Add weight training to your exercise routine. It will help you to retain or even increase your muscle mass. Stay within any orthopedic or other limitations, and get some help if you need to, but do it. Your primary caregiver will probably be glad to refer you to a physical therapist who can get you started safely.

The Bottom Line

For all that’s been written about healthy aging, we still don’t know very much. Healthy aging begins the day we are born, but we realize that only when it dawns on us that we’re aging. No matter your age, no matter your current state of health, it can be better. You can learn more in the replay of this year’s Super Bowl Webinar, but it will be available for only a little while longer.

The simple things I’ve talked about in this Memo are a beginning. When I know more, so will you. Inevitably, it comes back to a single question:

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nature Medicine. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0673-2

Move Up to Interval Training

Recently I watched an interview with the cast and production staff of the third John Wick movie, which will be released soon. What struck me was the physical preparation to do the action and fight scenes. When the third installment of the movie was announced, Keanu Reeves shouted to himself. “All right. It’s time for John Wick Training!” He worked more than six months for six to eight hours per day on physical training specific to the fights and action scenes that were going to be in the movie, and he uses stunt doubles very rarely—it’s all up on the screen. Halle Berry, who’s new to the series, jumped at the chance to do that training as well. I can’t wait.

You and I don’t have the hours in the day to do that type of training, but we can do better than we are right now. Interval training seems to have become a mainstay of fitness recommendations. I’ve used it for years to increase my fitness level. It’s stressful because the effort is so hard, but you can adjust the effort to where you are today.

Check out the Health Info titled Interval Training. It explains the concept and how to construct your own interval program. If you want to take it one step up in intensity, check out the Spartan Workout that combines strength with endurance interval training.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Rule 3: Move More

While I absolutely believe that we need to eat less and eat better, the one thing that can help you faster than anything else is exercise. Changes in how your body responds to insulin happen within three days. Your heart rate and blood pressure start to decrease within a week. Even your digestive system will work better.

To help you out, there are two papers I wrote in the Health Info section of my website. Interval . . .

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The Bottom Line on SIT

Let’s take a closer look at the study on Sprint Interval Training (1). Researchers recruited 30 sedentary and overweight men, average age 27. They randomly assigned the subjects to one of three groups: a control group who just kept on with their sedentary lifestyle; a group who performed moderate-intensity exercise for 50 minutes three times per week; and the sprint interval group who did three 20-second all-out sprints interspersed with warm-up, recovery, and cool down for a total of 10 minutes, also three days per week. All exercise was performed on exercise bikes and . . .

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SIT to Get Fit?

The researchers from Canada are at it again. The same group that brought you H.I.I.T now tries to go one step further with SIT. Too many acronyms? HIIT stand for high-intensity interval training; SIT stands for sprint interval training. What’s the difference?

HIIT uses intervals that last from one minute to four minutes in duration with an equivalent amount of rest between intervals; the intensity is adjusted to be able to last the interval time. In prior studies, this research group found that four 1-minute intervals with three minutes rest had positive effects on . . .

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