Maybe you’ve visited your MD recently for your annual physical. She points out to you that the “couch potato” lifestyle you adhere to is not the best medicine for aging well. So she suggests that maybe you should consider doing some exercise.

Or maybe you’re reaching middle age and realize you’re not in the best of shape. Climbing those stairs are definitely not as easy as they were 10 years ago. You know you have to do something to improve your health.

So, you consider putting on the trainers and going for a jog around the neighborhood. 

After all, isn’t that what you do to get fit? Aerobic training is the way to go, right?

But how much aerobic training should you do? Is a 20 – 30 minute walk five days a week sufficient or should you do some higher intensity training like cycling?

Screeching Halt!!

Let’s back up. Let me ask you this question. If you’re getting to middle age, is aerobic training even the best exercise for you? 

Notice I didn’t say aerobic training wasn’t good for you. I said, if you’re approaching middle age (or beyond), is aerobic training the best choice for you?

Let’s say you’re in your late 40s, 50s, or even 60s, and you’re now determined to start an exercise program to maintain better health.

Exactly what kind of exercise should you do? What exercise modality will give you the best bang for your buck?

In other words, should you concentrate on aerobic training (AT), like putting on the trainers and jogging around the block? Or should you concentrate on resistance training (RT), stressing your muscles with machines or weights? Or should you spend time equally on both?

I’m not raising this question as a hypothetical. As an older adult, the exercise modality you chose to concentrate on may matter when it comes to optimizing your health benefits.

In this post, I’ll explore why I believe resistance training may be a better exercise protocol to emphasize if you’re an older adult.

Over seven years ago, I started to concentrate on resistance training (RT). While I still do a brisk walk almost everyday, RT is what I prioritize. Since I started RT, I’m stronger, healthier, and more agile than I’ve been in 30 years. If you’re interested in my current strength totals see here.

Let’s take a look at why RT may be the important exercise protocol for the older individual.

Before we do that, though, let’s first look at how much exercise the experts tell us we must engage in to obtain optimal health benefits. 

How much exercise do we need?

To maintain optimal health the Mayo Clinic advises that average healthy adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity weekly, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. They also recommend strength training at least two times a week, exercising all major muscle groups.

Okay, that’s the recommendation for the average adult. But what about older adults? 

To help older people reduce the risk of chronic diseases associated with aging (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends the same aerobic training (AT) guidelines as the Mayo Clinic. 

They also recommend that older persons perform RT at least 2 days a week. This includes progressive weight training or weight bearing calisthenics (8-10 exercises involving the major muscle groups of 8-12 repetitions each).

Notice that there is no either or with these guidelines. The Mayo Clinic and the ACSM both recommend doing AT and RT on a regular basis.

So, if you’re an older adult, you should be getting at least 30 minutes a day of AT and at least 2 days of significant RT.

Now, most health professionals seem to stress AT as the best exercise modality for preventing the chronic diseases of aging. 

But what if you as an older individual are for some reason unable to engage in 30 minutes of AT training every day?

For example, let’s say you’re 65 years old with arthritic knees. A 30 minute brisk walk every day might be too much for you. 

Or maybe you’re 60 years old and live in North Dakota. Walking around the neighborhood in the middle of the winter might not be such a good idea.

Also, if you’re 55 years old, overweight, have type 2 diabetes, and haven’t exercised in years, a 30 minute daily stint on a treadmill might do you more harm than good. 

Or what if you just hate AT because it bores you to death and you refuse to do it!

Does that mean that you as an older individual are consigned to a future of rapidly deteriorating health because you don’t engage in AT?

Not necessarily. I’ll answer that question shortly. Remember, we still have RT recommended by health professionals as a prescription for good health.

First, though, I want to introduce an important factor older individuals must consider when choosing exercise modalities.

Older people: don’t forget your muscles!

If you’re in your 50s or 60s, your muscular physiology is probably very different than it was when you were in your 20s or 30s. That’s obvious right!

However, here’s an important fact of aging.

After about the age of 35, everyone begins to lose muscle mass. This is called age-related sarcopenia. It’s one of the consequences of human aging that we can’t avoid. Like wrinkled skin and gray hair. I didn’t have to remind you of that, did I? Sorry.

However, and this is important, the loss of muscle due to aging is even more acute in someone who has been sedentary for years. That person can lose up to 5% of muscle mass per decade. Most men in fact will lose about 30% of muscle in their lifetime.

If you think that’s no big deal, consider why older people use walkers, higher toilets and prefer ranch homes. 

The loss of muscle happens slowly and imperceptibly at first. But the day will come when you notice that your arms and legs are not as strong as they once were. They may not look like they’ve gotten weaker. That’s because our insatiable desire for donuts has caused some muscle to be replaced with fat.

But you know what? Your muscle mass is deteriorating, and unless you do something about it, your arms and legs are going to get a lot weaker. 

Okay, that’s the bad news. Now the good news. We can slow down the process of muscle deterioration and even increase muscle mass and strength into old age. 

Dr. Thomas W. Storer, director of the exercise physiology and physical function lab at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, tells us,

Older men can indeed increase muscle mass lost as a consequence of aging. It takes work, dedication, and a plan, but it is never too late to rebuild muscle and maintain it.

As we’ll see later, Storer’s “plan” is the implementation of a good RT program.

Of course, Storer’s insight applies to women as well.

Now, here’s something to carefully consider. The loss of muscle mass will make you weaker. And it will also make you less healthy.

 The lack of muscle mass and chronic disease

It appears that muscle loss is a recipe for a poor aging process. If you lose muscle you’ll get weaker, and if you’re weaker you’ll be more prone to falls. If you suffer a fall in old age, all kinds of bad things can happen. Some of us with older parents know that well.However, many of the diseases of aging are made even worse because people have lost too much muscle mass. Researchers now know that the loss of muscle mass can exacerbate insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is highly associated with type 2 diabetes. And type 2 diabetes is associated with several other metabolic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

We don’t know all the exact association between muscle loss and poor healing in the aged. But we know for sure that people with poor muscle quality don’t age as well as those who have better muscle mass.

So, we see here that RT is something older people must do. There’s no way around it. Without engaging in some kind of RT, a poor aging process is guaranteed. 

A major limitation of AT for the older adult   

As I said previously, health professionals usually prioritize AT as a prescription for warding off chronic diseases. If they can get their patients off the couch and moving around, it’s a major victory for them.

However, AT will do little to improve muscle quality and mass. Jogging around the block may strengthen your quads a little, but it will not build the muscle your body needs for a good health outcome.

I’m not saying this disqualifies AT as an important exercise strategy for the aging adult. But AT alone is not sufficient exercise for the aging adult.

However, what if we were to prioritize RT over AT as our exercise modality of choice? Would we seriously hurt our chances of aging well?

In other words, if RT gave us little benefit in our ability to fight off type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease, and cancer, would it really be an optimal exercise program? Probably not.

But what if RT helps us to significantly reduce our risk of developing the chronic diseases of aging while at the same time improves our muscle mass? 

Then, if you’re an older person, it may be worth considering prioritizing RT over AT as an exercise modality.

Let’s take a look at what science actually says about how well RT does at improving our ability to fight the chronic diseases of aging.

Resistance training and increased mobility

Check out some of these statistics on falls among our aging population:

• One in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.

There is little doubt that as we age the loss of mobility and strength are important factors contributing to falls.

Fortunately, there is now significant evidence (see here, here and here) that acombination of AT and RT have a profound effect in reducing age-related declines in physical mobility.

However, and here is the important question, is there an improvement in physical function in older individuals when RT alone is employed?

In fact, there is!

This umbrella review that included 6,927 pre-frail and frail older individuals showed that “resistance training alone also appeared to be beneficial, in particular for improving muscular strength, gait speed and physical performance.”

Another review of 33 randomized controlled trials of 2172 participants found that “PRT (progressive resistance training) is an effective intervention for improving physical functioning in older people, including improving strength and the performance of some simple and complex activities.”

After evaluating the data from 18 RCTs involving 2,580 participants, researchers found that in community-dwelling, mobility-impaired older adults, physical performance was better when strength training was incorporated into the exercise therapy program.

At this time, researchers are not sure which exercise modality, AT or RT, is the best for improving physical performance in the older person. However, there is little doubt that RT significantly improves performance and probably as much as AT.

How does RT improve physical function?

While RT will increase neurological function and bone density, the primary way RT increases physical function is through the increase of muscle mass. 

As I mentioned before, a loss of muscle mass is associated with poor physical performance. RT is a potent stimulant for increasing muscular hypertrophy and mass. See here and here. Increased muscle mass means increased strength, and if you are stronger, then your physical performance will also increase.

Remember that AT alone cannot produce the same increase in skeletal muscle mass and strength as RT.

Okay, so far we have learned that AT and RT combined will probably give us the best opportunity for increasing physical performance. But RT alone is also a potent prescription for guarding against age-related declines in physical functioning.

How much RT is necessary to ward off frailty?

This meta-analysis found that high-intensity RT (?70% of 1RM) tended to be more effective than low-to-moderate intensity RT (30–69% of 1RM) in combating loss of mobility.

In order to reach these kinds of 1RMs, it would appear that heavy-weight might have to be used. However this study found that body-weight exercises (e.g. body weight squats) alone could achieve similar results as those achieved by an external load such as free weights.

I should note here that all of the above studies are extremely difficult to perform. Different parameters such as exercise modalities, frequency of exercise, and measuring methods can differ from study to study.

However, I think it’s safe to say that RT alone is extremely effective in improving physical performance in older individuals. 

Does resistance training help in the fight against type 2 diabetes?

As we age, our body’s sensitivity to insulin and subsequent glycemic control decreases. Again, it’s another one of those consequences of making it to your golden years.

Unfortunately, this predisposes older people to type 2 diabetes (T2D). In fact, about 26.8% of Americans over the age of 65 have T2D.

Now, there’s an important connection between muscle mass and T2D. After you eat,about 80% of the glucose from that meal is deposited into your skeletal muscle. If you don’t have a lot of skeletal muscle, then your body’s ability to effectively clear the glucose will be diminished.

Conversely, the more muscle you have, the better insulin sensitivity you’ll experience. The lack of insulin sensitivity (insulin resistance) is highly associated with T2D.  

Scientific data has also shown that there’s an inverse relationship between lean body mass and insulin resistance. In older people, scientists have shown that this relationship is independent of obesity but does seem to be made worse by it.

Also, as most individuals grow older, their muscles weaken, and they move less. This small study showed that in elderly, obese, pre-diabetic individuals, after two weeks of inactivity (e.g. hospitalization or recovering from and illness), experienced worsening of glycemic control that did not correct after two weeks of normal activity.  

Interestingly, in 2002, a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) study of individuals who were at a high risk for T2D, showed greater reduction (58 vs. 31%) in the incidence of T2D when diet and exercise were prescribed as opposed to therapy with the drug metformin. Metformin is one of the frontline pharmaceutical treatments for T2D. 

Unfortunately, the main exercise protocol the DPP focused on was AT. There was little consideration of the beneficial effects of RT on glycemic control.

However, we do have some excellent data on the benefits of RT on glucose metabolism.

The benefits of RT on glucose metabolism

The scientific data appears to support resistance exercise training as an excellent prescription for attenuating the effects of impaired glucose metabolism.

In 2017, a study of 170, sedentary, obese, pre-diabetic adults, aged 50–69 was conducted. These individuals were placed on a 3 month, 2 times a week, progressive, supervised, whole-body (1 set at 70–80% of a one maximum repetition) resistance training program. The study revealed that after only three month, about 34% of the individuals were no longer pre-diabetic.

A large analysis conducted in 2012, on data taken from Health Professionals’ Study of approximately 32,000 men between the ages of 40–75 years, showed that men engaging in at least 150 min/week of RET had a 34% lower risk of developing diabetes over an 18-year period. 

More recently, a 2017 meta-analysis of 360 older patients with T2D, who did RT for at least 8 weeks showed clinically relevant improvements in glycated-hemoglobin (HbA1c) and muscle strength.

See also here, here and here.

One caveat to remember here is that these are association studies. Diet plays an important role in the formation and progression of insulin resistance. We don’t know in the above studies how much of a part diet played.

That, notwithstanding, it appears that there’s excellent data to support the conclusion that RT has an important role to play in prevention and treatment of insulin resistance in older adults. 

How much resistance training is enough to help mitigate insulin resistance?

At this time, we don’t know exactly what optimal amount of RT provides the best help for glycemic control.

However, we do have some evidence. Gordon et al., preformed a systematic review in 2009 that suggested that exercise intensity is the key variable and that performing high-intensity RT (?70% 1RM) results in the greatest improvement in glycemic control. 

However, this 2017 study, of 62 T2D patients showed that when matched for volume, there was no significant difference in glycemic control with high- or low-intensity RET (75 vs. 50% of 1RM, respectively).

So the takeaway here is that RT is an excellent prescription for helping to improve glycemic control.

Does resistance exercise training help in the prevention of cardiovascular disease?

The CDC tells us that one person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease and about 655,000 Americans die from heart disease each year.

That’s about 25% of all deaths in a year in the U.S.!

There is little disagreement among health professionals that regular exercise, especially AT, will improve cardiovascular health. 

So, it’s not difficult to see why physicians put a greater emphasis on AT rather than RT.

However, does RT also provide a significant benefit to cardiovascular health?

Consider some of these recent findings.

Health professionals’ follow-up study

In 2002, researchers examined data from the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study with the intent to assess potential coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, identify newly diagnosed cases of CHD, and assess levels of leisure-time physical activity.

From the data of 44,452 men, researchers were able to conclude that RT for at least 30 min per week resulted in a similar risk reduction compared to 2.5 h of brisk walking in fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction

Women’s health study

In 2017, researchers looked at data from 35,754 healthy women (mean age, 62.6 years, range 47.0 – 97.8) from the Women’s Health Study concerning the effect of RT on cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Researchers found that women engaging in 60–120 min of RT per week had a similar 22% reduced risk of incident CVD as women engaging in 60–120 min of AT per week. 

Small comparison study

A small 1992 study of 37 previously untrained males (aged 50 ± 9 years) was performed to gauge the effect of RT and AT on CHD risk factor intervention.

Fourteen participants engaged in RT (whole-body, progressive 2 sets at 60–70% 1RM)), 13 in AT (treadmill walking/jogging (75–85% heart rate reserve)) and 10 did no exercise.

Researchers discovered at the end of 20 weeks that RT and AT have comparable effects on risk factors for CHD. 

Okay, so here we have three independent studies that confirm that RT and AT produce similar results when it comes to reducing your chances of developing CVD.

I’ll throw in two more studies for good measure.

A 2017 study of 403,199 participants revealed that “men and women with greater GS (grip strength) had lower risks of all-cause and CVD mortality, independent of adiposity.”

Apparently, the stronger your muscles are, the lower your risk of dying from CVD.

Getting even more specific, this study showed that RT will improve several risk factors associated with CVD to the same degree as AT. These include blood pressure, blood lipids, insulin sensitivity, and vascular function.

Now check out the benefits RT will offer concerning one specific cardiac risk factor.

Resistance training and its positive effect on lowering blood pressure

Hypertension is a well known risk factor in the development of CDV. Physicians often recommend several life-style strategies to help treat hypertension. These include things like weight loss, lowering stress, and exercise.

But what about RT as a specific modality for lowering our blood pressure (BP)?

Two meta-analyses have shown that in healthy adults, RT can indeed reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure to the same or greater degree than AT. See here, and here.

Notably the second meta-analyses also showed that individuals with hypertension also benefited from RT and even showed larger reductions in blood pressure than healthy individuals.

So, RT could be an important prescription for lowering the blood pressure for the over 100 million people suffering from hypertension.

Is RT training dangerous for your heart?

If RT is effective for lowering the risk of CVD, then why don’t more physicians prescribe it?

Doctors probably assume the risk of injury from RT is a lot higher than AT.

One specific worry is that high pressure loads from RT can cause cardiac hypertrophy or an enlarged heart. It is believed that this can lead to a higher death rate. 

However, the evidence doesn’t seem to confirm this conclusion. Consider the following.

This study found that excessive blood pressure elevation is seen only with high-intensity RET (?70% of 1RM) while lighter-to-moderate intensity RET (30–69% of 1RM) didn’t appear to be a concern. 

The authors of the study state, “Weight lifting is a relatively safe sport with few instances where the excessive elevations in blood pressure, demonstrated in this paper, are known to result in injury.”

Note, however, this study was done on young healthy men.

Another study that pooled together data from five studies evaluating adverse events during low-to-moderate intensity RT (30–69% of 1RM) in older adults with CVD found that RT was actually associated with a lower rate of adverse cardiovascular complications than AT. 

Finally, a recent meta-analysis of 653 older adults who have or at risk for developing CVD demonstrated that arterial stiffness (a risk factor for predicting CVD mortality) does not increase or worsen following RT. 

So, there doesn’t seem to be sufficient evidence that RT is dangerous to your heart.

Here’s an important point about lower intensity training. If you do RT at a lower intensity, you won’t lose any of the benefits of improved blood pressure.

Okay, have I convinced you yet that RT might be the exercise you concentrate on to improve your aging process?

If you’re wavering, this might tip the scale. Let’s see if RT helps in reducing your cancer risk.

Does RT help to reduce the risk of getting cancer?

The American Cancer Society estimates that “in 2020, there will be an estimated 1.8 million new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,520 cancer deaths in the United States.”

Researchers now know that there seems to be some common risk factors associated with many cancer diagnoses. In particular, T2D, CVD, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Since we know that exercise will improve the above factors, it makes sense that increasing your level of physical activity will reduce the risk of getting cancer, dying from cancer, and improving recovery from cancer treatment. See here.

But does RT specifically help in our fight against cancer?

This recent meta-analyses of over 80,000 adults over the age of 30 showed that performing RT (at least two times per week) was associated with a 34% reduced risk for cancer death.

However, adhering to the AT guidelines provided no statistical benefit. 

A 2014 study of 2863 male and female cancer survivors, aged 18 to 81years old, showed that RT at least once a week reduced all-cause mortality by 33%.

This large cohort study from 2017 showed that following a diagnosis of cancer individuals who engaged in regular AT and RT “were observed to have a lower relative risk of cancer mortality and recurrence and experienced fewer/less severe adverse effects.”

These findings all make sense in light of the fact that increased muscularity is associated with an overall decrease in cancer mortality.

There have been several reasons offered for the positive effects RT has on reducing the risk of cancer. They include the following:

• Improved insulin sensitivity and body composition
• Improved immune function
• Decreased inflammatory response
• Increased secretion of myokines

So, as we can see, there is excellent evidence that RT is a potent prescription for reducing our risk of cancer.

What’s the best type of RT for warding off the chronic diseases of aging?

It’s difficult to definitively answer this question. It depends on your age, current health, goals, and lifestyle. 

Initially, I started with dumbbells and a month later graduated to a barbell. I set up a power rack in my basement and started using the Starting Strength program.

There are, though, some parameters everyone can follow:

1. Always check with your doctor first before you start any exercise program. Make sure he clears you for the program you want to do.
2. The best program is the one you are committed to do.
3. You don’t have to use a barbell or dumbbells. Bodyweight exercise (squats, push-ups, pull-ups) to failure (you can’t do any more) can be very effective for improving health. Resistance bands can also be used. 
4. Light-to-moderate relative loads (30–69% of 1RM) can be just as effective as lifting heavy relative loads (?70% of 1RM) for exerting health benefits. See here.

Now if you think you’re too old to start strength training watch this.

So my last word is this. If Gussie can do it, you can do it. Just get up and do it!

Thanks for reading. God bless!

Intro photo : Image by Henryk Niestrój from Pixabay

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post Why At 64 I Prioritize Strength Training Over Aerobic Training appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

Okay, so you’ve reached middle age. You enjoy your time reclining comfortably on your couch after a hard day’s work. Perhaps tonight you’re watching a show on TV featuring trim athletic people scampering around, and you suddenly let out a sigh.

You remember back 20 or 30 thirty years ago when you yourself were in good shape. Maybe you played soccer or lifted weights or ran 10 Ks. You were fast. You were strong. You were agile. But that was in the past. Now you’ve consigned yourself to being a couch potato extraordinaire.

“What’s the use of remembering the glory days anyway?” you muse. “That was then. This is now.”

But wait a minute. While you may never again be able to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (though if you worked really hard you’d be amazed what a proper diet and exercise can do for your physique, even at 60), you still may be able to recapture most of the health benefits you lost by not exercising for 30 years.

That’s right! If you start doing moderate to vigorous exercise every day, right now, you can reap almost the same benefits of longevity as someone who at your age has been exercising their whole life.

It sounds too good to be true, right? But it’s true!

Check out this recently published study.

National Cancer Institute Study

Last month, the JAMA Network Open published a study by the National Cancer Institute that involved 315,059 men and women between 50 and 71 years old.

The study relied on data from the N.I.H.-AARP Diet and Health study which began in 1995. The N.I.H. researchers sent questionnaires to participants asking them to detail their leisure time physical activities throughout their lives from teens years to the present.

The participants were asked questions such as how frequently and how intensely they had walked, played sports, jogged, lifted weights, and even how much heavy housework or gardening they did. This is the questionnaire they used.

The Main Data From The Study

As you can see, the questionnaire lists 16 different types of leisure time activities. From now on, I’m going to call these activities exercise.

Basically, researchers wanted to know how frequently the participants engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise during four specific periods of their lives.

These periods included their teen years, young adulthood (19-29), the mid to late thirties, and also in the last 10 years. In this last period, participants would have been between 40 – 61 years old.

Researchers then took this data and separated the participants into different groups that exhibited different patterns of exercise throughout their lives. These groups were Maintainers, Increasers, and Decreasers. The following is a description of each pattern.

• Maintainers: Those participants who maintained approximately the same amount of moderate to vigorous exercise for their entire lives.
• Increasers: Individuals who increased the amount of moderate to vigorous exercise they engaged in either in early or late adulthood.
• Decreasers: Individuals who, as they aged, decreased the amount of moderate to vigorous exercise they engaged in.

Here is how the exercise data was recorded. LTPA refers to leisure-time physical activities (exercise). I’ve highlighted some categories so you can see the difference between each group. Notice that in the Increaser category some individuals increased their exercise activity in early adulthood while others increased theirs in later adulthood. This will become important later on.

Researchers also took into consideration a number of variables such as race, gender, education levels, smoking, BMI, etc.

The Control Group

The study’s control group consisted of individuals who never or rarely exercised throughout their entire lives. Researchers used this group to evaluate the all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and cancer risk of the other patterns.

The Results Of The Study

 Maintainers

The researches found that individuals who maintained or increased moderate or vigorous amounts of exercise (2-8 hours per week) throughout their lifetimes experienced a 29% to 36% lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) related mortality than those who seldom exercised.

In the graph to the right, groups 7, 8, and 10 are Maintainers.

The result above also holds for individuals who exercised quite a bit in their teens, reduced in their thirties, but continued up again.

Individuals who practiced one hour of exercise per week throughout their lifetime (group 5) only experienced a 16% lower risk.

Group 1 was the control group.

Increasers

In the graph to the right, groups 2 and 3 are Increasers.

As you can see, some individuals started exercising in young adulthood while others started to intensify their exercise after 40 years old.

Now here’s the amazing finding!

Researchers found that individuals who increased their exercise routine either early or later in adulthood had a 32% to 35% lower all-cause mortality risk.

Note that this risk factor was very similar to those people who maintained higher exercise levels from adolescence to 40 to 61 years of age (29%-36%).

Additionally, the CVD-related mortality risk for participants who increased exercise in later adulthood (40-61 years of age) was 43% lower when compared with the group who seldom exercised.

Did you get that? If you start doing moderate to higher amounts of exercise later in adulthood, even if you hadn’t exercised for decades, you could reap the same health benefits as someone who has exercised their whole life.

Decreasers

Individuals who reported high levels of exercise early in adulthood but lower levels by ages 40 to 61 appeared to have little all-cause or CVD-related mortality protection in midlife.

So, if you engaged in moderate to intense exercise in early adulthood and then stop exercising, you will lose the benefits you gained from all that effort you expended.

Cancer-Related Mortality

The results for cancer-related mortality weren’t as impressive as those for all-cause or CVD mortality but the trend appeared to hold.

Maintainers

Maintaining at least 2 to 7 hours per week resulted in a 14% lower risk when compared with participants who were consistently inactive throughout adulthood

Maintaining some exercise (1 hour/wk throughout adult life course) was associated with similar risk for cancer-related mortality as the control group.

Increasers

Increasing exercise during adulthood was associated with lower cancer-related mortality. Participants who increased exercise in later adulthood (40-61 years of age) had a 16% lower risk when compared with the control group

Decreasers

There were no significant differences in risk for cancer-related mortality between participants who were consistently inactive (the control group) and those who decreased exercise across the course of their lives.

Again, if you exercised intensely when you were an adolescent or in young adulthood but then stopped, you would have essentially the same risk factor as someone who never actively engaged in any serious exercise.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve done moderate to intensive exercise your whole life, that’s great. You’ll reap many more health benefits than someone who never exercised. But don’t stop now or you could lose all the health benefits you’ve accrued!

But here’s the exciting news!

Let’s say, you’re in your forties, fifties, or even sixties, and you’ve done little to no exercise your entire life. If you get off that couch now and begin a moderate to a vigorous exercise program, you may gain the same health benefits as someone who exercised their whole life.

In my case, because of chronic fatigue syndrome, the only exercise I was able to do from 30 years old until 58 years old was brisk daily walking. But for the last four years, I’ve been able to strength train 5 days a week.

And now I’m the healthiest and strongest I’ve been in 28 years. That’s my N=1 study proving that it’s never too late to start exercising.

One Important Limitation To The Study: Moderate Or Vigorous Exercise

I couldn’t find in the study’s data how different kinds of moderate or vigorous exercise affected the risk results. In other words, did 4 hours of playing baseball or golfing equate to 4 hours of jogging? The researchers might have felt this factor didn’t affect the results. I don’t know.

However, looking at the hazard ratio data, the study did tell us that most Maintainers and Increasers reach their maximum health benefits at between 6 – 8 hours a week of moderate to vigorous exercise.

That may sound like a lot of exercise, but it’s not. A half hour brisk walk and a half hour of strength training 5 days a week will give you 5 hours of vigorous exercise.

Here, though, is something key. If you can engage in high-intensity interval training (HITT), then you can cut this time down even more! See here.

Other Limitations To The Study

The N.I.H. study did have some other limitations. First, researchers had to rely on participants’ memories for data. This means the data reported might not be entirely accurate.

Second, all participants had to be free of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, or renal disease. However, the researchers could not be sure of every participant’s health status at the beginning of the study.

I would also have liked to know if diet played a significant part in the final results.

Nevertheless, the authors of the study were confident that after adjusting for many risk factors their results were highly accurate.

They also pointed out that their results were consistent with other studies but that this study was unique in that it recorded 46 years of data. That is considerably longer than any previous study.

What also makes this study quite compelling is the large number of participants that were included.

Exercise And The Quality of Your Life As You Age

The N.I.H. study told us that if we get up off the couch and start a moderate to vigorous weekly exercise program, we can regain many of the benefits of longevity that lifelong exercisers enjoy.

However, what the study didn’t tell us was how much 6 hours of moderate or vigorous exercise will improve our quality of life as we age.

In other words, if your exercise program prevented you from dying prematurely, getting CVD, or cancer, that’s good. But if you can’t climb the stairs or get off the toilet at 70 years old, how well are you really living?

So, the big question becomes which form of exercise will give you the benefits of longevity and also increase or maintain your quality of life as you age?

Strength Training: The Best Bang For Your Exercise Buck

Last year, a University of Michigan study of 8,326 men and women found that “people with low muscle strength are 50 percent more likely to die earlier.”

Another recent study of 12,591 individuals (mean age 47 years) showed that even 1 hour of strength training per week reduced the risk of total CVD events by 40%-70%. A similar result held for CVD morbidity and all-cause mortality.

However, remember that no amount of exercise can guarantee that you will live longer. Our life span is always in the hands of the Lord.

So strength training can provide the benefits of longevity. But it will also provide you the means to have a better quality of life.

It definitely will improve your muscle quality and mass. That means you’ll look better, and that’s always important to us and our significant other, right?

However, you’ll also become a stronger you. That means you’ll be able to do the things you want to do well into old age.

I like what strength coach Mark Rippetoe says about people who strength train:

Strong people are harder to kill than weak people and more useful in general.

But there are still more benefits to strength training. This next one is remarkable.

Strength Training And Anti-Aging

Did you know that strength training has been shown to reverse aging in muscle tissue? That’s right! Strength training can actually make your muscles young again.

See my post here describing studies that show how strength training in older individuals caused their muscular gene expression and mitochondrial health to become consistent with that in much younger individuals.

Strength training may be a modern fountain of youth.

Reasons I Prefer Strength Training Over Running

I know, I know. We were always told if you want to get into shape, get yourself a good pair of trainers and start jogging. 

But, in my opinion, strength training for overall longevity and health benefits is superior to long slow cardio. I’m probably biased here, but these are my reasons.

While steady-state aerobic activity like jogging will provide some cardio benefits, there are some negatives which us older persons have to be aware of.

1. Running will build up your legs, but it won’t build up your whole body.
2. Lower body injuries like sprains, shin splints, tendonitis, and stress fractures are common running injuries.
3. Running requires good weather or a treadmill.

On the other hand, consider the positives of strength training.

1. Strength training may improve cardiovascular health as much as running. Also, see here.
2. Increased muscle mass means better insulin sensitivity.
3. Stronger and denser bones.
4. Improved cognitive health when you train your legs. See my post here.
5. Improved mobility and balance (that means less chance of falling)
6. A stronger back which means you’ll have fewer back problems See my post here.
7. Strength training can be done in a variety of different ways (body weight, barbells, circuit training, etc.)

For a more detailed look at why everyone over 40 should strength train, see my post here.

If I’ve convinced you to start a strength training routine, see my post on how to begin strength training here. I started this program when I was 58 years old, and I continue to train at 62.

But, remember, the best exercise is the one you consistently do!

That’s it for this week. I hope you start your exercise routine this week. Remember to check with your doctor first to see if you can start exercising.

If you have any comments we would love to hear from you.

God bless and have a great week!

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post Can Starting An Exercise Program In Your 50s Help You Live Longer? appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

As Beatles lovers, Barbara and I have sometimes laughed about what it would be like when we turned sixty-four. If you’re a Beatles fan, you know why.

Their song When I’m Sixty-Four is a story about a young man wondering if the love of his life will still cherish him when he’s sixty-four. The man recognizes that growing older changes you. He sings,

“When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.”

Then he laments,

“Will you still need me
Will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four”

Well, at sixty-four, Barbara and I still need each other, and we still feed each other. And, as you can see from her recipes, I get fed pretty good. 

As far as the negative effects of aging go, we’re not experiencing a lot of downside to being sixty-four. We’re both stronger, healthier, and have more vitality than we had 20 years ago.

However, health officials are constantly reminding us that there is a downside to being 64. We’re told that because of our age, we’re close to that “high risk” category for catching “bad things”. You know what I mean.

That may be so. But it’s not really a major concern for us. Here’s why.

This recent virus has taught us that maintaining good health into old age is critical for helping us survive stressful health events. This is obvious when we consider that a large percentage of older individuals who succumbed to the illness had other health issues such as diabetes, pulmonary disease, heart disease or obesity.

So, over the last 10 years, Barbara and I have done much to strengthen our bodies so that even if we did “catch something bad”, we could quickly heal from it, God willing. And, yes, we also still take all the sensible precautions that are recommended.

But our major strategy for protecting ourselves from the harms of a stressful health event in our older years is to strengthen our bodies to heal quickly or fight off any bad things that may come our way.

In this post, I’ll tell you how we’re doing that.

Two major keys to maintaining good health

In order to maintain good health into your older years, health professionals have stressed two lifestyle areas that you must try to optimize.

The first, of course, is a good diet. Second, health professionals have also stressed our need for a regular exercise program.

Regular exercise is so critical to good health that recently the Academy of Medical Sciences has called it a “miracle cure”. 

Since we haven’t shared our current diets and workout programs recently, we thought we’d take the time to give you an update.

As I mentioned before, we don’t feel like 64. Barbara certainly doesn’t look a day over 39 (see why I’m her DH). We’re both stronger than we were at 34 years old, and neither one of us takes any prescription meds.

Okay, let’s get to it. Barb first.

Barbara’s diet

I’ll start by introducing a sensitive issue. Barbara says be very careful when discussing this topic. Okay, I can do that.

Maintaining a healthy weight has been a central focus of our diet plan for at least 10 years.

For Barbara, however, it’s been a 40 year battle. One that she’s actually won! She’s maintained an ideal weight for about 3 years now. She fluctuates about 2.5 pounds in either direction depending upon the season.

Nope, I’m not going to tell you her weight! But it’s ideal. Not only according to me but according to the ideal weight charts from 1960.

This is how she does it:

Macronutrients

We don’t count macronutrients anymore. We’ve come to know approximately how much carbohydrates, protein and fat are contained in our food. And since we know what our targets are for our macros, we eat accordingly. 

Here’s a general analysis of Barb’s diet.

Carbohydrates

Limiting carbs is Barbara’s central focus. Her carb intake is always lower than 40 grams a day. Some days lower than thirty. Her carbs come from low glycemic vegetables, but she does like blueberries and the occasional apple.

There is a caveat here. We do drink red wine occasionally. We are currently enjoying the wines from Dry Farms Wines. They are billed as a keto-friendly wine because of their low sugar content. So far they haven’t had any effect on her weight.

Protein

Both of us are very conscious of our protein intake. Maintaining good muscle mass is extremely important at our age. In order to do this, we must get adequate protein intake.

Barbara consumes at least 30 grams of protein three times a day. This is the minimum amount someone our age needs. We both eat high quality protein such as beef and chicken. To find out why adequate protein is important for older adults see my post here.

Fat

Several years ago Barbara and I went on a ketogenic diet. The problem here is that some keto diets tend to be high in fat. She found out that too much fat in her diet is a no-no!

At first she lost significant weight, but then hit a plateau and couldn’t lose any more. She found that when she cut down her fat intake, the excess weight came off like butter. Maybe it was the extra butter in her coffee, lol.

There is a caveat here as well. She does take 1 tablespoon of MCT oil everyday. Her mom suffered from early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and she really wants to guard against that. MCT oil is converted directly into ketones in our body. Researchers now know that ketones are an excellent fuel source for the brain in lieu of glucose. 

One theory on the cause of AD is the brain’s inability to use glucose as a fuel. This is why AD is commonly called Type 3 diabetes. If the brain can’t utilize glucose, it will essentially be starved and begin to break down. But ketones can replace glucose as a fuel. See my post on Alzheimer’s here.

Remember, though, oil is a type of fat. To minimize its dreaded effect of causing weight gain, Barb puts in some extra time on the treadmill or goes for a walk outside. 

One note here is that Barb is 100% gluten-free. She doesn’t have celiac, but three of us in the family have non-celiac gluten sensitivity so she just refrains as well. 

Fasting

Barbara tried intermittent fasting (24 – 48 hours) several years ago. She found that this didn’t help her significantly. What does appear to help is time delayed eating. We generally allow at least 16 hours of fasting between our last meal of the day and our first of the next day.

An overall low-insulin producing diet

Overall, Barbara’s diet can be characterized as a low-insulin producing diet. By limiting high glycemic carbs, her overall glucose intake is low.

Remember that one of insulin’s primary jobs is to transport glucose out of your bloodstream and bring it to cells for energy. If you consume a lot of complex high glycemic carbs over a span of years, you’ll definitely gain weight. I didn’t have to tell you that, right?

But this continued consumption of carbs will also cause an enormous flow of glucose into your bloodstream. That means your pancreas is going to secrete huge amounts of insulin. Over time, this over secretion of insulin can lead to a condition called insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance has been highly associated with Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

As I mentioned, since Barb has a family history of AD, she wants to maintain good insulin sensitivity.

Also, as we age, our body’s sensitivity to insulin decreases and subsequently our glycemic control decreases. That means your chances of developing type 2 diabetes is increased. It’s one of those consequences of making it to your golden years.

So increasing insulin sensitivity is key to maintaining good health, at any age!

Okay, I’ll mention one more caveat. We’ll both have a small piece of 88% dark chocolate once a day with our green tea. The sugar content is pretty negligible, but the taste is divine.

Let’s take a look at supplements.

Barbara’s supplementation

Barb swears by her collagen supplement. She says it keeps her nails strong and her hair lustrous. Who am I to argue with that? She adds one scoop a day to her first cup of coffee.

Okay, let’s look at vitamins. We both take 5000 IU of vitamin D3 a day. Definitely make sure you get your Vitamin D levels checked. It’s critical to your health. Many people who didn’t do well with the current virus had low vitamin D levels.

We both also take magnesium daily. If you’re on a low-carb diet, you need extra magnesium.

Okay, here’s something we take just to be on the safe side. It’s reported that vitamin K2 is helpful in guarding against heart disease. See here. This is the one we take.

That’s about it for Barb’s diet. Let’s move on to exercise.

Barbara’s exercise program

Barbara and I have been going on a 30 minute brisk walk five days a week for about 10 years. When the weather is bad, she’ll

use our treadmill instead.

While Barbara really enjoys walking, she’ll tell you that it’s not the most important part of her exercise program.

You see, Barb is also a strength trainer. She’s been doing barbell and dumbbell training for over 5 years. (In my next post I’ll explain why strength training is so important for us older adults).

This is her routine (all exercises are done once a week):

Bench Press: Barbara is currently doing 4 sets x 3 repetitions x 45 pounds. That’s an olympic bar with no weights on it. She was up to 65 pounds but reduced after she hurt her shoulder.

No, she didn’t hurt it by lifting weights. I think it was from holding, with one hand, her humongous Lodge cast iron skillet. She’s said she’s feeling better now and is ready to start increasing her weights.

Squat: Because of her shoulder, she had been doing bodyweight squats with a 25 pound weight. She had been doing 3 sets of 5 repetitions. This week she went back to the 45 pound olympic bar for squats with no more shoulder pain. She’ll be gradually adding more weight to get back up to her max of 70 pounds.

Barbara used to have terrible knee pain. Now it’s a thing of the past. She attributes a big part of this to squats.

Overhead Press: She does 3 sets x 5 repetitions with 15 pound dumbbells. She has no pain at all with this exercise now.

Deadlift: Barbara is actually an excellent deadlifter. She was up to 130 pounds for 3 reps. Deadlifts are necessary to build up overall body strength. Unfortunately Barb’s recent shoulder injury prevented her from doing them. However, she says she’s ready to get back to “pulling a lot of weight again.” That means heavy deadlifting in powerlifting lingo.

She’s a pip.

Okay I think that covers her diet and exercise program. If you have any questions, shoot her a message.

John’s diet

First, I’m 100% gluten-free. Fifteen years ago, after trying everything to recover from years of severe chronic fatigue syndrome, I learned about the problems that gluten could cause in the areas of intestinal impermeability. This permeability can allow all kinds of toxins to enter your bloodstream and affect your immune system. 

Also, it turned out I had many of the symptoms associated with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. So I ditched the gluten.

Did I feel better immediately? No, it was just the beginning of the journey.

The problem with going GF was that I’m a carboholic. At the time, manufacturers were coming out with their new GF brands (alternatives to wheat products), and I was consuming them like crazy. Thus I ballooned up to 193 pounds. Unfortunately, most of that weight was in my abdomen.

Okay, long story short. I discovered the paleo diet and lost about 10 pounds. I also started feeling much better. Read my post on the differences between a GF and paleo diet.

Then I went low carb and lost another 10 pounds and was feeling even better. I was well enough to even start lifting weights.

Even though I was feeling much better, I still had a big problem. I was carrying too much weight around my abdomen.

My skinny-fat body type

I have a classic skinny-fat body type. Others call it TOFI (thin-outside-fat-inside). The problem with this body type is that while you may not look obese on the outside, on the inside there’s a disproportionate amount of fat stored in your abdomen.

Many skinny-fat individuals also have a lack of lean muscle mass. 

Health experts tell us that this is an extremely unhealthy body type where the risk of heart disease is significantly increased. See my post here.

So my goal was to see if I could improve my health in this area. Since I was already low carb (< 70 carbs/day), I had to do something more drastic.

I started reading about the benefits of the ketogenic diet (I was consuming <25 grams of carbs/day). This was 3 years ago. See my post on keto diet here. 

So I went keto. Within 3 months, I was down to 163 pounds, lost most of the fat around my waist, was making consistent strength gains, and I FELT GREAT. I wasn’t 100%, but I was getting there.

A year and a half ago, I went on a carnivore diet. Have you heard of that diet? I eat a 95% animal based diet. 

Because the carnivore diet is the ultimate elimination diet it has lately gained a lot of popularity. So if you have any kind of suspected autoimmune problems, it may be a way to help in that area.

The second reason is because I wanted to increase my protein intake. I was still lifting heavy, and you need protein to make muscle. Also older individuals need more protein, not less protein, than younger people. See my post on protein here.

Now, I’ll get into some specifics.

Protein

My diet is protein centered. I consume at least 40 grams of protein three times a day. 

Breakfast protein: (like Barb I eat at about 12PM) 3 eggs, bacon or ham, some chicken or ground beef.

Lunch Protein: ground beef (minimum 7 oz.)

Dinner Protein: one of the following — steak, chicken, ground beef, liver

I will supplement with 20 grams of whey protein after working out. I also take a scoop of collagen at 12PM.

There’s been some controversy over the fact that too much protein can damage your kidneys. This recent review says this belief has not been scientifically proven.

Carbohydrates

My carbs are usually under 25 grams/day. I will have some broccoli or zucchini daily but not a lot. I may have a small portion of white rice after a heavy bench session just to get a glycogen refeed for my muscles.

Fat

My fat intake is generally from the food I eat and whatever fat Barb cooks with (olive oil or butter).

Treats

I’ll have some dark chocolate daily and some non-fat Greek yogurt after dinner. Like Barb, I’ll occasionally have a small glass of the low-sugar wine.

Supplements

I take 5000 units of vitamin D3 daily. Magnesium is another important supplement, especially if you’re on a low-carb diet. I take this one. It’s a large tablet and little more difficult to swallow than the one Barb takes.

Like Barbara, I take vitamin K2 daily.

Sodium is another important part of a low-carb diet. Throughout the day, I’ll take some Redmond’s Real Salt. See here.

As you can see, my diet, like Barb’s, is insulin friendly. There’s not a lot of glucose in it.

John’s exercise program

Like Barbara, I go for a brisk walk (3.5 mph) at least 5 days a week. While walking will give you some cardiovascular and psychological benefit, it will not build muscle to any significant amount.

And maintaining good muscle mass is critical to aging well. See my upcoming post.

In order to maintain and even increase muscle mass as you age, you must do some kind of resistance training. Yes, you can build muscle even into your eighties.

Currently I’m using the Wendler 5/3/1 barbell program. This program focuses on four main lifts – deadlift, squats, bench press, and overhead press. Each lift is done on one day. So I lift heavy at least four days a week. Each session takes about 40 min.

These are my current 1 repetition maximum lifts. I’m 64 years old and weigh 164 pounds. Just to note, I’ve been lifting for over 6 years. I started by lifting 20 pound dumbbells.

Deadlift: 300 pounds

Squat: 205 (yes, my legs are my weakest link ? )

Bench Press: 190

Overhead Press: 115

These totals represent the strongest I’ve been in over 30 years.

After I became strong enough to use a barbell (45 pounds), I used the Starting Strength Method. In my opinion, this is the best strength training program available for someone who wants to get started, regardless of age. Of course, you should always first check with your doctor before you start any exercise program!

As I’m about to turn 64, I will say that I feel the best that I have in 30 years. I’m stronger and have more vitality than I thought possible only a short 6 years ago.

Okay, so these are our strategies for aging well. We’ve incorporated these into our overall lifestyle so it’s not really difficult to follow.

So far, we think it’s working well. Thanks for reading!

God bless and have a great week!

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post How We’re Staying Healthy At 64: Barbara and John’s Diet And Exercise Strategy appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

Barbara and I are quickly approaching our 63rd birthdays. November for me and December for her. And now, even though we are kind of “senior citizens”, we are healthier, stronger, more agile, and trimmer than we’ve been since our thirties.

To be honest, I feel the best I have since I was 32 years old. For me, that’s especially significant because I suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for about 25 years. But, thankfully, I’ve overcome that and now I have enough energy to strength train and enjoy life.

As for Barbara, well, she looks “mahvelous”. And her energy levels are amazing. Take a look at her Instagram page here. At 63 years old, she deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, and bench presses every week. And after lifting, she heads to the kitchen to whip up one of those awesome recipes she features here on the blog.

Neither of us takes any prescription meds and we look forward to aging as an adventure to share together instead of something to be feared.

Now, I’m not saying that we never wake up with some assorted aches and pains. We do. But most times it’s related to that heavy weight lifting session we had the evening before. Barbara is always quick to remind me that, “It’s a good pain.” She’s right, of course.

In this post, I’d like to share with you what we’re currently doing to stay fit and trim. Our strategies are pretty much the same but in different degrees.

Perhaps you may consider adding them into your daily fitness routine.

Diet Is The Foundation Of Our Health Strategy

First We Went Gluten-Free 

Barbara and I both went gluten-free (GF) about 15 years ago. While we don’t have celiac disease, we went GF for some specific reasons.

The gluten protein found in wheat causes intestinal permeability (leaky gut). A leaky gut can lead to all kinds of autoimmune and other health problems. So, since I was looking for healing solutions for my CFS, improving my gut health was a priority.

I also suspect that I have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. 

Though wheat wasn’t a problem for Barbara, she didn’t want the potential intestinal problems associated with gluten, so she just stopped it altogether as well.

Paleo – Low – Carb Phase

Our health journey really started in earnest about 7 years ago when we decided to adopt a paleo diet. We ate a lot of whole foods and cut out all processed foods, even the GF ones (bread, pasta, etc.). For the differences between a paleo and GF diet see my post here.

From paleo, we transitioned to low-carb (<100 grams of carbs), then to very low-carb (<50 grams). 

Ketogenic Diet Phase

Two years ago we went extremely low-carb (<25 grams). I suspect we both were in nutritional ketosis at that point. Nutritional ketosis is a natural metabolic state where your body adapts to burning fat rather than carbs as your main fuel source.

Barbara’s blood test came back positive for ketones. At less than 25 grams of carbs, I had no doubt I was in ketosis as well. For more on a ketogenic diet see here.

We just never had the initiative to check our ketones. Less than 25 grams of carbs (total) should be sufficient to keep us in ketosis.

However, we definitely both wanted to be in ketosis. I needed to lose some extra inches off my waist, and I also wanted the powerful anti-inflammatory effect of ketones. I was still suffering from some effects of CFS and I needed something to get me over the top.

Amazingly, it worked! 

Barbara wanted to lose some stubborn pounds that were refusing to come off under low-carb. But she had another reason. Her mom suffered terribly from Alzheimer’s disease. 

Medical professionals are now calling Alzheimer’s type 3 diabetes because of a type of insulin resistance found in brain cells. These cells cannot use glucose as a fuel and thus become damaged.

But they can use ketones as fuel. So by having her body produce ketones, Barbara can have a healthier brain and increase her odds of avoiding Alzheimer’s.

Type 2 diabetes is also an increased risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Barbara, even though not overweight, was borderline pre-diabetic.  After going keto, her A1C normalized rather quickly.

Oh, and she lost those unnecessary pounds as well.

A Low Insulin Lifestyle Is A Key To Good Health

So our ultimate diet strategy is that we maintain a low insulin lifestyle. 

Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas. One important function of insulin is that it builds muscle in your body.

Another important function it has is promoting the removal of glucose from your blood so that it can be sent to your liver, fat, and muscle cells.

When you ingest carbohydrates, they are broken down by your body into glucose which finds its way into your bloodstream. Excess glucose can’t remain in your blood so insulin is secreted to remove it.

However, if your insulin levels remain persistently high over an extended time (years), a situation called hyperinsulinemia may result.

Hyperinsulinemia may then result in a condition known as insulin resistance. This is the inability of cells to respond to the effect of insulin.

Insulin resistance is now known to be associated with cancer, coronary heart disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, PCOS, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. See here.

While there are several causes of insulin resistance the primary drivers are the persistent overconsumption of refined carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 linoleic acid).

So, in order for us to maintain a low insulin lifestyle, we keep our carbs very low and avoid vegetable seed oils (canola, vegetable, cottonseed, soy, and corn) like the plague. See my post on healthy fats here.

Now, there are some people who tolerate carbs really well. You know those people. They can eat anything they want, and they never get fat.

Well, I’m not one of them. For me, carbs have a tendency to manifest as fat around my waist. I tend to a skinny-fat or TOFI (Thin Outside – Fat Inside) body type. This means my body weight was normal, but inside I was carrying a lot of fat. This is a very unhealthy body type. See my post here. So avoiding carbs is necessary for me.

Here’s a tip for anyone trying to optimize their diet. Avoid consuming refined carbs mixed with fats. This is an especially poor diet practice for anyone. Those combos (french fries, potato chips, etc.) are especially tasty, but do a lot of harm to your body. 

Needless to say, we also avoid all processed food as much as possible.

Another good way to improve insulin sensitivity is through exercise. More on that later.

Getting Healthier By Increasing Our Protein Intake

Anyone over 50 years old, especially if you’re doing any kind of strength training, should evaluate their protein consumption.

Current protein experts now recommend that older people consume at least 30 – 40 grams of high quality protein at least three times a day. Each meal should contain at least 2.5 grams of the essential amino acid leucine. See my post on protein here.

These amounts assure us that we’re protecting ourselves against excess muscle loss due to aging.

Supplementing With Whey Protein

So, yes, we consume a minimum of 30 grams of protein three times a day. In the evening, I’ll add a protein shake to my meal to ensure it’s at least 30 grams. Since I’m lifting heavy, I need at least 40 grams to ensure good muscle growth.

Yes, your muscles can still grow at 60 years old and beyond. See here.

This is the whey protein we take.

Barbara finds it hard to consume all that protein so she often substitutes a protein drink for lunch instead of a full meal.

Since upping my protein intake, I’ve noticed a significant increase in muscle strength. This is not subjective. Because I train regularly, I can measure my strength in how many pounds I can lift.

When I lost about 10 pounds after going keto, my lift totals declined slightly. That was expected. Since upping my protein, I’ve gained back all the strength I lost and then some, even though I weigh 10 pounds less!

Consuming Meat

In order to get all that protein, a large part of our diet consists of meat and eggs. They constitute around 90% of what we consume. We’re not quite carnivores but almost.  

Our meat basically consists of beef, pork, and chicken. We’ll also have liver and salmon at least once every two weeks.

Is there a danger to consuming too much meat? This recent report says no!

What about Vegetables?

Our vegetable consumption is limited to broccoli or cauliflower every evening. Barbara’s sautéed broccoli in olive oil is to die for. I never tire of it. We’ll also add in sauerkraut and pickles often. We might occasionally also have some sautéed bell peppers or Brussels Sprouts. 

That’s it for veggies. 

You Can’t Forget Snacks, Can You?

Okay, here’s our main indulgence. Every day we’ll snack on 1-2 small squares of 80% dark chocolate. Sometimes we’ll also sneak a few macadamia nuts or almonds, but not often.

I’ll also occasionally have a small portion of low-fat Greek yogurt during the week.

That’s it for snacks.

Because of all the protein we eat, we’re seldom hungry. So we rarely have food cravings.

A Typical Daily Meal

Breakfast 12:00 – 1:00 PM

3 eggs (Here’s our favorite omelet)

4 – 5 pieces of bacon or some other kind of meat (leftover chili, meatloaf, chicken, etc.)

Green tea

Lunch 4:00 PM

Steak

1-2 squares 80% dark chocolate

Green tea

Dinner 8:00 PM

One Pan Chicken Thighs (See all of Barbara’s low-carb recipes here)

Broccoli, sauerkraut, or cauliflower

1 scoop of whey isolate protein powder

A small portion of low-fat Greek yogurt if I’m feeling hungry.

Green tea

Time-Restricted Eating

If you notice above, we don’t eat our first meal until at least 12:00 PM, usually later though. Our last meal is at 8:00 PM. This means that we consume our food in an 8-hour window.

So, in essence, we do a 16 hour fast every day. This is another strategy that allows up to keep our insulin levels low. If you’re not eating, your insulin levels will decrease. That’s why fasting is such an important strategy for those trying to lose weight. See here.

Our 16 hour fast may also allow for some autophagy (removal of damaged cell structures) to take place in our bodies. Maintaining proper autophagy is a key strategy for longevity.

Okay, that’s about it for diet. Let’s get onto the second most important strategy we use to stay strong and healthy.

Getting Healthier With Barbell Strength Training

Barbara and I have been strength training with barbells for over four years.

Along with our gluten-free low-carb diet, it’s an essential core of our health routine. You simply cannot age well if you don’t maintain good muscle mass and quality.

Many of the lifestyle diseases we see today are directly associated with poor muscle. See my recent post on protein here.

Also, strength training is the only non-pharmaceutical treatment for age-related sarcopenia. Everybody over the age of 40 is losing muscle mass. It’s a fact of life. However, if you’re sedentary, you could be losing a lot and not even realize it until you can’t get up the stairs anymore.

Sorry about this but I’m going to mention insulin again. Skeletal muscle is the primary site for glucose disposal in your body. If you want better glucose control, then build up your muscles. The best way to do that is through strength training. 

Our Strength Training Routine

We do at least 4 basic exercises during the week. These are bench press, squats, overhead press, and deadlifts. These lifts work the major muscle groups of our body.

Barbara does 3-5 reps for 3-4 sets on each exercise not including warmups. Shhh… here’s a secret. She’s not really a strength training fanatic. She would much rather be drinking a hot cup of coffee and reading a good book.

But she is diligent at her lifting because she likes the results it gives her. She also covets the health benefits strength training offers.

Here’s one benefit she really wants. Remember I mentioned that her mom had Alzheimer’s. Well, strong legs have been positively identified with better cognitive performance in aging people.

Now, on the other hand, I enjoy working out. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I suffered from CFS for 25 years. Once I was able to start lifting at 57, it was as if I had a new chance to start getting strong again.

Okay, we understand that at our age we have to be careful. Older folks can’t lift like the younger generation. So we’ve listened to what the experts say. We follow a good program, rest often, lift conservatively (don’t max out often), and listen to our bodies. So far the results have been impressive.

Here’s a recent deadlift of mine. Age:62, Body Weight: 165,  Lift: 293 lbs     View this post on Instagram           

A post shared by John Bianchi DPM (@johnbianchi56) on Nov 6, 2019 at 8:11pm PST

Here’s Barbara knocking out some bench press reps. 70 lbs x 3     View this post on Instagram           

A post shared by Barbara Bianchi ? Easy Recipes (@glutenfreehomestead) on Sep 3, 2019 at 12:35pm PDT

If you want to start strength training and you’re over 40 years old, see my post here.

I started at 57 years old following 25 years of CFS and two frozen shoulders from bursitis. If I can do it, and unless you’re severely debilitated, you can probably do it too. If you do choose to strength train make sure your doctor says it’s okay.

Just as an aside, Barbara no longer has knee pain which bothered her for years and my fingers are virtually pain-free from arthritic changes.

Oh, you say you have a bad back? Well, so did I. I had two lumbar herniations and one cervical. Since lifting, my back has never been better. See my post here.

One last reason to strength train. Did you know strength training can make you younger? See my Medium article here.

Supplements

Okay, the supplements we take may not be as important as our previous two strategies, but they still play an important part in our health regimen.

On a very low-carb (ketogenic) diet, there’s a tendency to lose electrolytes like magnesium and sodium.

Therefore, to maintain good magnesium levels, we take at least 2000 mg of magnesium every day. This is the one we take. 

To make sure we’re getting enough sodium, we salt our food at every meal. We also take a pinch of salt with water three times a day. We favor Redmond Real Sea Salt.

Adequate vitamin D3 is also essential for good health. Of course, the best way to get vitamin D is through sun exposure. If you’re not getting enough sun, make sure you get your D levels checked.

We take 5000 IU a day. This is the one we take.

Vitamin K2 is another key element in our supplement plan. K2 is an important compound for promoting heart health. Incidentally, it is thought that vitamin D may work synergistically with vitamin K2 to decrease vascular calcification.

This is the vitamin K2 we use. It has one of the higher concentrations of K2 on Amazon.

There are others with higher concentrations on the web, but they are rather expensive.

Watch this video on how one man reversed his coronary artery disease. 
https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4RipKub_Y8?start=32

Betaine HCL

Okay, as you get older, your production of stomach acid decreases. This means that your food digestion might suffer, but you may not absorb nutrients as well as you used to. 

Betaine HCL promotes the production of additional hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which aids digestion. It also assists with absorbing important nutrients, especially proteins. Remember, we need those proteins for building muscle.

We take one capsule with each meal. Here is the one we take.

MCT Oil

Okay, I’m going to get a bit nuanced again. I mentioned previously about our desire to have our bodies produce ketones. When you reduce your carb intake drastically and consume adequate fat, your body will direct your liver to make ketones.

Instead of using glucose as a fuel source, it can use these ketones. Ketones are thought to be a much cleaner and efficient fuel. The brain especially seems to do well when fueled by ketones.

Remember I mentioned that the brain can develop insulin resistance. When this happens, the brain cannot get enough glucose for fuel. But the brain can use ketones for fuel. See here.

Now, back to MCT oil. MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides. It’s made from coconut or palm kernel oil. 

Here’s the thing. MCT oil gets broken down into ketones directly by your liver. That means you’ll have extra ketones for your body and brain. See here. 

Some people anecdotally relate that they have better cognitive power after taking MCT oil. This would make sense since it’s an efficient fuel for your brain. Since I’ve experienced this, I agree with the anecdotal reports.

This is the best MCT oil for the best price we have found so far.

If you’re trying to lose weight beware that MCT oil is a fat and will add extra calories.

We take one tablespoon at our first meal. Barbara has it in her coffee; I put it in my green tea.

COLLAGEN

We’ve been taking collagen peptides for about 3 years. Collagen is reported to support bone, joint, and skin health. Barbara says that since taking collagen her knee pain, which she had for years, has disappeared.

Since I’ve been taking the collagen, I haven’t sustained any major injury from lifting. So, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and that includes taking the collagen.

This is the one we use. Again we put one scoop in our hot beverage along with MCT oil.

Getting Healthier With Our Walking Routine

Barbara and I have had a walking routine for over 10 years. We walk at least five days a week during the warmer weather. Our pace is brisk (about 3.4 mph) and we usually do at least 1.5 miles. That includes hills.

While walking doesn’t offer a lot of cardio benefits (most of that that comes from high-intensity lifting from squats and deadlifts), the other health benefits are tremendous. See my post here.

Fortunately, here in North Carolina our walking season lasts a lot longer than in New York. However, we hate walking in the cold, so during the winter we use our treadmill.

While walking provides excellent health benefits, remember it won’t help you a lot if you want to lose significant pounds. You just don’t burn enough calories to make a difference. The best way to shed pounds is through diet.

For me, walking is a great stress reducer. For Barbara, well, she has my full, undivided attention for the entire walk.

Hey guys and gals, here’s a longevity tip. You can increase your own longevity by keeping your spouse as healthy as you are. See my post here.

Stress Reduction

Okay, who doesn’t need a strategy to deal with stress? Besides the obvious ways to reduce stress like uncomplicating your life, working at a job you love, avoiding toxic relationships, and letting today take care of today, we use two main techniques to deal with stress.

I already mentioned one of them.

Walking

Walking is a great way to reduce stress. By going for a walk you have to break away from whatever you’re currently engaged in. It gives your mind a chance to calm down and be more reflective.

This seems to be especially true when walking through green spaces. A small study from the UK showed that the brain enters a more meditative state when going through green spaces.

This study showed that walking through forest environments can reduce stress hormones and lower blood pressure.

There is also some evidence that trees give off a substance that helps our immune system. If you have a stronger immune system, you’ll have a lot less stress.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

For the last couple of years, we’ve used deep breathing as an important strategy for stress reduction.

This is an especially essential tool for me because along with CFS, I have an associated condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It involves a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system (ANS).

Briefly, the ANS control unconscious body functions such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and digestion. The ANS consists of two main branches. These are the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous systems (PNS). The SNS controls what is known as the “fight or flight” response while the PNS controls the “rest and digest” response.

With POTS, my SNS often would go into overdrive resulting in significantly raised heart rate, palpitations, IBS, insomnia, fatigue, and headaches, among other things. As you can see, all of these symptoms are highly related to the stress response.

One important way to deal with POTS is through deep breathing techniques. Our breathing is the only part of the ANS we can control. And if you learn how to breath correctly and practice it daily, it’s amazing what it can do for your nervous system.

Most people don’t realize that they don’t breathe correctly. See here.

We use this method as illustrated by the Cleveland Clinic. It may take you a little while to get it right, but it’s easy to learn.

See my post here on how stress can increase your cortisol levels and increase your belly fat.

Getting Proper Sleep

If you don’t sleep well, you can’t recover from stress well. It’s that simple.

Unfortunately, this concept has probably been the hardest one for me especially to accomplish. I tend to be a night owl. And because of that Barbara stays up later than she wants.

Nonetheless, we know what to do to get a good night’s sleep. Instead of listing all the things we do to improve our sleep quality, see my posts here, here, and here.

Here’s something that works well for me if I’m having trouble getting to sleep. I use the diaphragmatic breathing technique. I use it almost every night. And it works like a charm.

Barbara is like, “How do you fall asleep so fast?” The key is the proper breathing, my dear. It really does work.

Cultivating A Thankful Spirit

We’re told so often that cultivating thankfulness is a powerful tool for obtaining health and wellness. We believe it is, but it ultimately has to be directed to the one who governs our body and soul.

We’d be foolish to think that the above strategies are the ultimate source of our health. It’s the LORD who keeps us well and we thank Him for every blessing we receive. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.

Okay, that’s it for the main things we’re doing to stay healthy and active. If you have any questions, please let us know.

Blessings on your health journey and have a great week.

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post Our Strategies For Getting Healthier And Stronger at 63 appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

I recently received a call from my sister asking me for some suggestions on what kind of weight bench she should buy.

Being the inquisitive fellow that I am, I asked, “What in the world do you want a weight bench for?”

“Really, don’t know what a weight bench is used for?” she answered.

Touché. I deserved that. Wiseguy older brothers deserve to be knocked down a peg or two.

What my sister was really asking me though, was how she, a mature woman, should go about getting stronger.

In my last post, I explained why everyone over 45 years old must strength train. In today’s post, I’ll introduce you to a strength program that is guaranteed to improve your muscle mass and make you stronger.

And here’s the icing on top of the cake.

It’s uncomplicated, time efficient, inexpensive, can be started at any age, can be done at home, doesn’t require prior experience, and has delivered amazing results for thousands of people. Even for those in their nineties.

The program is called Starting Strength. This method is so efficient that it may make you stronger and healthier than you’ve been in decades.

Before getting into the program, I’d like to touch on some fundamental concepts you should know about strength training.

It’s Never Too Late To Start Strength Training

Again, I made the case last week that everyone over the age of 45 must strength train. If you don’t, your muscles will dissolve into a mushy mess a lot sooner than you desire.

And if you want to maintain wellness into old age, you must not ignore the quality of your muscle mass.

Now, if you’re over the age of 45 and have never strength trained, don’t despair. It’s never too late to improve your muscle mass regardless if you’re a woman or a man.

Here’s 90-year old Virginia strength training.

I started strength training three and a half years ago at age 58, after recuperating from bilateral shoulder bursitis and 28 years of severe chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Unless you have a debilitating illness, you too can strength train.

Strength Training Is A Lifelong Journey

If you want to maintain good health and a good quality of life, strength training is something you must do for the rest of your life. That makes strength training a part of your life’s journey.

It’s similar to eating food everyday day or taking the medicine your doctor prescribed for you. Strength training is a type of medicine that keeps you well. 

During your strength training journey, there will be ups and downs. You’ll get aches and pains. And at times it’ll be hard.

But you also will receive the satisfaction that comes with knowing that you’re improving your health so that you can be there for the people you love and for those who love you. You’ll also feel great knowing that you’ll probably be one of the strongest guys or gals amongst your friends.

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the program, let me explain why I chose the Starting Strength program.

Proper Goal Setting For Strength Training

In order for your strength training plan or any fitness plan for that matter to be successful, you must have a definable goal.

When I started strength training, my goal was very specific. I wanted to build strength which meant building muscle mass. At the time, I didn’t care about weight loss, body recomposition, increasing endurance, or aerobic capacity.

I wanted to get stronger. Not simply fitter. But stronger. Regaining and building muscle mass was my chief priority. Now, this goal, when it comes to strength training, may seem to be rather specific. But it’s not specific enough.

In order to reach my goal, I needed a program that would work for me in accordance with some specific needs.

Let me use the SMART Goal Setting System to show you what I mean.

The SMART Goal Setting System

SMART is an acronym that stands for: specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

If you include these considerations when goal setting, your chances of reaching that goal will improve dramatically.

Let’s take a brief look at each component of the SMART system as it applies to strength training.

• Specific – The more specific your goal, the easier it will be to achieve it. For example, saying that you want to get fitter is a lot less specific than saying that you want to increase your squat lift from 45 pounds to 100 pounds in 2 months. The better your squat total means more strength which means more muscle.

• Measurable – In order to determine if you’ve successfully reached your goal you must have some way to measure success. That means that a good training program must have some kind of gauge to indicate that you are indeed getting stronger. Yoga may be a great exercise, but there’s no way to accurately determine if it’s making you stronger. But let’s say you start out by lifting 10 pounds, and in 3 months you’re lifting 100 pounds. Now you know, without a doubt, that you’ve gotten stronger.

• Actionable – How will your goal of strength be achieved? In other words, what actions are required to achieve success? The goal of any good strength program has to be actionable. Can you do the program you’ve chosen? In my case, something like CrossFit or high-intensity training was out of the question. They both bring good strength results, but I couldn’t do them because of my health status. I also wanted a program that was uncomplicated, and that I could do at home. If my program didn’t have the above criteria, I would have failed at strength training.

• Relevant – Is the goal relevant to your situation? Setting a goal to become an Olympic weightlifter is not a relevant goal for a 62-year-old. But having a goal to increase your squat total is relevant. Stronger legs mean you can accomplish a lot more in your life.

• Time Bound – Your goal should have a specific time in which the goal can be accomplished. This allows for you to monitor progress and provides incentive. For example, if your goal is to get stronger from bodyweight exercises, how long will it take you to get to where you want to be? There’s no way to really know. But if you start lifting 10 pounds and add 2.5 pounds per week, you’ll have an idea where you should be in two months. A good strength program should be structured and have a definite schedule attached to it. That’s the difference between training and exercising.

Was I asking for too much from a strength training program? Did such a program for us masters even exist?

Yes, it did! After searching online for several weeks, Providence directed me to the program that matched all of the criteria attached to my SMART goal.

It’s the Starting Strength program.

The Starting Strength Program

The Starting Strength method is a free weight barbell program that involves basically 4 main lifts: the squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift.

Ok, I hear you saying, “Wow, I can’t do those exercises. I’m too out of shape or I’m too old.” That’s not necessarily true.

Can you lift something from the driveway and put it in the trunk of your car? Can you lift a child off of your chest? Can you rise from a chair? If you can do those things, then you can do these exercises. The only difference is that you’re doing it with a barbell.

Because this program uses exercises that mimic everyday human movements, it can be started at any age.

Watch this video of a 72-year-old untrained gentleman.

Now, obviously, you’re going to need some equipment to do these exercises. I’ll address that below, but first let’s look at the program in more detail.

The Lifts

As I mentioned, the main lifts are the back squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift. The technical reason these lifts are used is that they use the most muscle mass, across the longest effective range of motion, and allow us to lift the most weight, making them the biggest and most general movements for developing strength.

Translation: These lifts are the best for producing overall body strength.

As I mentioned before, the practical reason is that they involve multiple major muscle groups that mimic simple normal human movement patterns.

For example, the back squat involves muscles you would use to get off a toilet. The deadlift strengthens muscles you would use to pick something off the floor. The overhead press will help you put that stuff you’re not really sure what to do with onto the top shelf of your closet.

During the lifts, muscles are stressed by the weighted barbell. Eventually, the body adapts to this stress and overall body strength is developed.

Once the novice (beginner) trainee has gained strength and mobility with the main lifts, some accessory exercises can be added in if desired. There is, however, no need for targeted arm or abdominal muscles exercises as they are worked sufficiently with the four main exercises

Remember the idea here is to get stronger and build muscle mass not to body build or gain endurance.

The Importance Of Proper Form

The exercises used in Starting Strength are not hard to learn. However, whenever exercising with weights, it is important to perform the lift correctly.

I started with the minimum weight possible so that I could learn proper form.

Now, this is important. To make sure I was doing the exercises correctly, I watched this excellent series of videos by Mark Rippetoe on the Starting Strength website.

When the weights are light and you follow the video instructions, you should have little problems with your form. But! As the weights get heavier, you’ll have to pay more attention to form.

After you really get into it and need outside help, you can find a gym with a good coach. These, however, tend to be hard to find. Starting Strength is now offering online video coaching.

Okay. Let’s get to actual programming.

The Starting Strength Schedule

This chart explains the basic schedule for the novice Starting Strength Program.

A glance at the chart shows that this method uses a three day per week ABA BAB schedule. Squats are done every day, deadlifts are done once a week and bench press and overhead press rotate over a two week period. After two weeks, it’s back to ABA.

The reason deadlifts are done once a week is because they are the most neuromuscularly taxing exercise, and it takes longer to recover from their effects.

Now, for you, over 50-year-olds out there follow closely.

The Schedule For The Master Population

When I began Starting Strength, I used the above program, except for power cleans (not recommended for older individuals) and chin-ups. While the weights were light, I did well. But as the weights became heavier, I began to notice that I wasn’t recovering as well. I was having a lot of aches and pains and I was not feeling refreshed from the previous lifting session.

The reason for this is that most of us over the age of 50 don’t recover as well from the stress of weight lifting as the younger generation.

To solve the problem of recovery, there is an alternative schedule for us masters. Here’s what a typical 2 week period would look like.

Notice that the exercises, except squats, alternate by day. Also, chin-ups are a good accessory exercise to add into the routine if you can do them.

There is less lifting volume (total pounds) on this schedule. Remember, what I said above about goal setting. This plan is a lot more actionable for over 50 novice lifters. While there is less volume in this program, I guarantee you can still make excellent gains.

I used this schedule until I was finished with the novice program. I never experienced an issue with recovery. That’s saying a lot for someone who was recovering from CFS.

Okay, let’s get to the actual workout.

The Workout

The lifts are performed for 3 sets of 5 reps each. This means that the weight will be lifted 5 times with proper form. Rest between sets can be anywhere from a few minutes to 8 minutes depending on what you need. Then the weight lifted in like manner two more times.

A caveat here is that deadlifts, because of the strenuous nature of the lift, are only performed for 1 set of 5 reps.

Warm-ups are performed by lifting the weights at sub-workout levels for 5 reps. The weight for your warm-ups will depend on the weight you are using. A good rule of thumb is to perform warm-ups at 40%, 50%, and 60% of your workout weight.

What Weight Do You Begin With?

Generally, for the untrained, the bench press, overhead press, and squats should begin with an empty bar so you can learn the lifts. A standard Olympic bar weighs 45 lbs. For those who cannot start with this weight, a lighter bar can be used.

There are lighter bars made specifically for women. Barbara started with dumbbells on bench press and overhead press and then worked up to an empty bar.

Deadlifts can be started with an Olympic bar and 10-pound bumper plates.

How Do You Progress?

Once 3 x 5 is accomplished, the lifter will add weight to the bar at the next session.

A beginning novice will find that they can add 5 -10 pounds (depending on the exercise) per session when first starting out. Generally, this is 5 pounds to the OHP and bench press and 10 pounds to the deadlift and squats.

However, as the weights get heavier, the amount added to the bar will decrease sometimes to only 1 pound.

The process of adding weight to the bar at every session and completing your lift of 5, puts additional stress on your muscles. This stress causes your muscles to adapt to that stress by getting stronger.

As long as you can continue to add weight to the bar, you are getting stronger. Remember that’s our goal.

This is called the novice linear progression.

The Novice Effect

Novices generally find that they can get stronger very quickly. I was amazed at how fast I was able to gain strength. Personal records can be set each week for a long time on the novice program.

It’s like that story about how we only use a fraction of our brain’s capacity. Well, you’ll be surprised at how much strength potential you actually have. Good progress can be made sometimes for up to a year or more before a program change is necessary.

These are the basics of the Starting Strength program. If you’re going to start this program, you should purchase the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.

The book presents detailed information on exactly how and why this program works.

Equipment Needed For Starting Strength

To perform the above exercises, you’re going to need some equipment. There are two ways to do that.

You can become a member of a gym that has free weights or you can set up your own home gym as I did.

If you choose to lift at home, this is what you’ll need to get started:

1. A garage, basement, or a room with a sturdy floor is an absolute must. In order to accommodate the overhead press, a ceiling over 8′ high is necessary.
2. An Olympic bar and weights. I use a Rogue 2.0 Olympic bar (7′), and an assortment of iron and bumper plates. You’ll need about 200 pounds to start, including 2.5-pound weights.
3. A Squat stand. I use a Rogue 70″ Monster Squat Stand and bench. I purchased the 70” stand because my basement ceiling was low. If it wasn’t, I would’ve purchased a power rack. My stand has safety bars that protect me from injury in case the weights were to drop on me. I also purchased some dumbbells.

The total cost for my equipment was about $1400.

Recovery Sleep And Diet

Proper rest and sleep are a priority with any strength program.

Without rest, you can’t recover. And without recovery, it’s difficult to get stronger. Concerning proper diet, I’ve been on a very low carb diet for over a year with adequate protein and am doing well. Adequate protein is the key here. I aim for at least 1.7 grams per kg of lean body mass. See our series on our ketogenic diet here.

My Status When Beginning Starting Strength

Each individual has their own particular situation when starting strength training. Some of us are overweight, some underweight, some are naturally already strong, some weak, some of us are recovering from an illness. That means that you’ll begin training at your own unique situation.

In my case, because I was recovering from CFS and bursitis, I had to start really slow. For a few months before beginning Starting Strength, I did the exercises with dumbbells only.

Most of you can probably go right to a bar and weights. But if you have to start with dumbbells, just do it and build up to a bar. Remember, don’t despise the day of small beginnings.

Shoulder bursitis left me with a limited range of motion in my shoulders. This prevented me from rotating my arms fully so as to allow my hands to grip the bar while it was on my back. Once I was strong enough to squat with a bar, I still had to do this exercise for weeks before I could grab the bar correctly. 

Starting Strength Works

I started strength training with a bar only. Now, this 62-year-old, still recovering from CFS, can deadlift 300 pounds and squat almost 200 pounds. If Starting Strength can do that for me, imagine what it can do for you.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician.

The post How To Start Strength Training If You’re Over 45 Years Old appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

Everyone wants to find a fountain of youth. But it’s only a myth, right? However, what if I told you there is something you can do that’s scientifically proven to help you live a longer, healthier life? And, it’s safe, effective, efficient, inexpensive, and only takes about 30 – 40 minutes three times a week.

Oh, and you can start doing it no matter how old you are! Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it! 

But it’s not. At 62 years old, I’ve done it, and it works. It’s called strength training.

When I started strength training, I was a muscular mess. Due to 28 years of severe chronic fatigue syndrome and shoulder bursitis, I was weak and brittle. But in three years I was able to regain muscle mass and become stronger than I ever was.

Here’s a picture of me 10 years ago. I was weak, soft, 52-years-old and I weighed 192 pounds. 

Here’s me deadlifting 300 pounds last summer at a body weight of 165 pounds.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Barbara Bianchi ? (@glutenfreehomestead) on Jun 26, 2018 at 4:31pm PDT

In today’s post, I’ll show you why strength training, even if you’re over 40 years old, can help you increase your healthspan (how well you live) and, perhaps, even your lifespan (how long you live). In my next post, I’ll show you how to do it easily, safely, and efficiently.

Before I get into how strength training will help you live a healthier and longer life, let’s consider our aging process.

How Well Will You Age?

Aging is a normal human process. You’re going to age. I’m going to age. There’s no fountain of youth or magic elixir we can drink that will give us perpetual youth.

However, even though we can’t stay young forever in this world, that doesn’t mean that we should pay no mind at all to our aging process. God has created us for a purpose. And more likely than not in order to fulfill that purpose we need good health, even into our senior years.

But also consider how much time you spend preparing for your senior years. You contribute to your IRAs. You closely monitor your retirement accounts and hope that your pensions will be there when you retire. But what about your aging process? What good is preparing for your monetary future if you can’t enjoy your life because of poor health?

Therefore, one of the most important questions anyone over the age of 40 should ask themselves is “how well will I age?” Now I’ll ask you a question. Do you know that how well you age is related to how much inflammation you have going on in your body?

Aging And Inflammation

Researchers how found that inflammation plays an important part in the aging process. See here and here. One of the culprits in this process is a cytokine called IL-6. IL-6 is a small protein your body secretes to signal an inflammatory response. Inflammation is not always a bad thing. However, when IL-6 is chronically over secreted bad things happen. Among those are poor aging (disease, disability, and frailty) and early mortality.

Researchers have given a term to poor aging caused by chronic inflammation. It’s called inflammaging.

Now, here’s the important thing for us. One thing that causes IL-6 to increase in our bodies is chronic disease. Unfortunately, in America today the number of us being plagued by a number of chronic diseases is staggering. Sixty percent of Americans have one chronic disease and 4o percent have two or more.

This means that a large amount of our population is experiencing a significant amount of chronic inflammation. Which means, yeah, we’re not aging well.

The Sick Aging Phenotype

Medical doctor and strength coach Jonathon Sullivan in his book The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40, has described a phenotype of our population that exhibits chronic inflammatory diseases.

He calls this the sick aging phenotype. It is characterized by the following medical conditions.

The first is the metabolic syndrome. This disease, which is largely caused by lifestyle factors, includes:

• Abdominal or Visceral Obesity – In 2014, it was estimated that more than 1 in 3 adults were considered to be overweight and more than 2 in 3 adults were considered to be overweight or have obesity.
• Insulin Resistance & Hyperglycemia (Type 2 Diabetes) – It is estimated that more than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or prediabetes.
• Hypertension – In 2013 about 78 million Americans had hypertension. That number has recently grown since medical guidelines have changed.
• Dyslipidemia (Deranged serum HDL & triglyceride levels) – In 2013, about 40 million Americans were taking a statin. NB: This does not necessarily mean that everyone who has been prescribed a statin has dyslipidemia. See my post on why I rejected statin therapy.

Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) and obesity have all been associated with chronic inflammation.

Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy is another aspect that Sullivan includes in the sick-aging phenotype. It’s a word you don’t hear that often. But I guarantee you know of it. Polypharmacy refers to the simultaneous use of multiple drugs by a single patient, for one or more conditions.

Most of my friends and family members my age, and probably yours as well, are either on a statin, a hypertensive med, a heart med, a diabetes med, a prostate med, a pain med, an arthritis pill, a depression pill, a purple pill, a pill for a delicate male problem (you know what I mean), or some other medicine used to treat some chronic health condition. And most of them are on many of these drugs at the same time.

Have you ever stopped to think what’s going on here? Are we really that unhealthy of a nation?

Age-Related Sarcopenia: Everyone Over 35 Years-old Is Experiencing Muscle Decline

The above diseases are not, however, the only diseases particular to the sick-aging phenotype. Aging itself has consequences.

Did you know that if you’re over the age of 30 you will begin to experience some amount of muscle loss every year? It’s called age-related sarcopenia. Now, if you’re a couch potato like I was, then the amount of muscle you lose can be even worse.

Researchers estimate that physically inactive people can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30. After a while, that can add up to some serious muscle loss.

Also, consider that older people can experience up to a 40% reduction in type II muscles fibers. These are the muscles fibers responsible for explosive movements like lifting 300 pounds over your head. They’re also responsible for movements like getting up from a chair or off the toilet. These are not movements you want to see a decline in.

Obviously, you can only ignore this kind of muscle loss at your own peril. Consider what it may mean for you as you age.

A Loss Of Muscle Means A Loss Of Strength

If you don’t stop the loss of your muscle mass, you will get weaker. That’s a fact of life. And weakness is not something you want, especially as you get older. Consider some of the consequences of weakness in old age.

1. Your quality of life becomes seriously compromised. Simple tasks like climbing stairs, lifting your grandkids, or lifting groceries out of the car will become a struggle
2. Your independence will suffer as you begin to rely on others for help
3. People with lower levels of strength don’t live as long as people with higher levels of strength
4. Older individuals with weak leg power have poorer cognitive skills
5. Older individuals without strength can’t help others
6. Individuals with less lean mass are less insulin sensitive meaning they are more susceptible to chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome
7. Older people with low muscle mass are more likely to experience a fall

The good news is that you don’t have to follow this path. Even if you have some of the above conditions, there is hope.

Thankfully, Your Future Is Not Set In Stone

Recently, I watched the movie Scrooge starring Alastair Sim. This was the 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Towards the end of the movie, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a gravestone. Horrified that his name is on it, Scrooge asks the spirit if his future is unalterable or if there is something he can do to change it. As we know, Scrooge did change this vision of the future by keeping Christmas as well as any man in England.

When it comes to the sick-aging phenotype, you can have a say in your future. Strength training can make you healthier and stronger. It’s even possible to reverse years of damage caused by years of poor lifestyle choices.

We can’t completely stop the aging process, but we can do things that will improve the quality of life as we age. We can get stronger, stay stronger, and stay healthy even into our 80s and perhaps 90s.

Turning It Around

You can age well, and there is one medicine that has been scientifically proven to help you do it. And it may even extend your lifespan as well.

The medicine is called strength training. Although strength training is not a panacea for all that ails you, it is a necessity. While proper diet is also essential for keeping you well into old age (see my posts on diet), even Hippocrates in the 4th century B.C. knew there was more,

Eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise. For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work together to produce health.

Many researchers today are coming to the conclusion that strength training is a key ingredient to maintaining health and aging well. In fact, it may be the next best thing to a fountain of youth!

Let’s see how strength training can do this, and we’ll see if strength training can actually increase your lifespan.

You Can Build Muscle At Any Age

There have been numerous scientific studies done that prove strength training will improve the muscle mass of people even if they are well into their senior years. See this recent study here.

Another incredible study showed that seniors who strength trained for 4 months were able to improve the mitochondrial age of their muscle tissue. That means their muscle tissue actually got younger. See my post here.

Joseph Signorile, the author of the book Bending the Aging Curve provides this enlightening graph to show us how resistance training can affect your muscle mass.

According to Signorile, someone who started training in their forties was able to substantially improve muscle quality. In fact, that person at 80 years old had the same muscle as someone 20 years younger. Further, the person who started strength training in their forties was able to have almost the same muscle mass in their eighties as someone who had been training for their entire life.

I’m not saying that strength training will absolutely increase your lifespan. Those years are determined by the Lord. Though it may. But what I can say is that if you do strength train, you will build muscle. And more muscle means you will be stronger. And that means you’ll really be helping yourself avoid the negative health consequences associated with sarcopenia.

Also, remember that more muscle mass improves insulin sensitivity. This is what you want, especially if you suffer from metabolic syndrome.

Is there scientific evidence though that suggests a stronger body increases healthspan and lifespan? In my best Stallone voice, “Absolutely”.

Grip Strength Studies

Grip strength is used by health professionals as a gauge for overall body strength. In 2015, researchers in Germany reviewed 14 epidemiological studies and found that increased strength (as measured by grip) was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality. They also found that this pattern held for cardiovascular and cancer mortality.

The Pure Study

The Pure Study (Prospective Urban-Rural Epidemiology), published in 2015, studied 139,691 individuals from 2003 – 2009. There was a 4 year follow up with each individual. The study found that low grip strength was associated with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, non-cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke. They even found that grip strength was a stronger predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than systolic blood pressure.

In 2015, the Lancet published a paper which examined several systematic reviews and a meta-analysis on the significance of grip strength. They concluded that grip strength is a simple but powerful predictor of future disability, morbidity, and mortality. This trend held not only in older people but also the middle-aged and young people.

If you’re looking for a biomarker of aging, look at strength!

Does Increased Grip Strength Lessen the Negative Health Effect of Obesity?

In 2017, a UK study of 403,199 individuals with obesity found that greater grip strength was associated with an 8 percent lower risk of mortality. Men and women with greater grip strength had lower risks of mortality, independent of adiposity (body fat).

They concluded their study with this statement,

Lower grip strength and excess adiposity are both independent predictors of higher mortality risk. The higher mortality risk associated with excess adiposity is attenuated, although not completely attenuated (emphasis mine), by greater GS. Interventions and policies should focus on improving the muscular strength of the population regardless of their degree of adiposity.

Again, increased strength appears to increase longevity.

Okay that all sounds good. But we know that correlation doesn’t mean causation. The question really is can strength training increase longevity.

Does Strength Training Increase Longevity?

In 2016, Penn State University performed a 15 year, large cohort study of individuals over the age of 65. The researchers found that those individuals who strength trained (n=30,162), 46% had lower odds of all-cause mortality than those who did not. Therefore, seniors who strength trained not only improved their fitness but also their survival rate.

Once again we cannot prove causation here. But the cohort was large, and the implication that strength training increases physical health and longevity is extremely strong.

Possible Reasons Why Strength Training Increases Health And Longevity

It’s nearly impossible to prove exactly why strength training improves health and longevity, but here are some possible reasons:

1. Improved neuromuscular coordination and balance – Decreased possibility of a fall
2. Increased insulin sensitivity – see here
3. Improved cardiovascular conditioning
4. Improved myokine production

Okay, so there you have it. Maintaining strength is essential for living a healthy long life. And the only way to maintain strength is by improving your muscle mass. The only way to do that is by doing some kind of strength training.

In that respect, strength training may be the next best thing to a fountain of youth!

Now, don’t you want to jump right in and start training? Not so fast. There are some things you have to know first. In my next post, I’ll discuss how I started training, and I give you in detail the program I used to get strong at 62.

God bless. See you next time.

The post If You’re Over 40 Years Old And Want To Live a Healthier Longer Life You Should Strength Train: Here’s why appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

Recently, I was speaking with my bank officer, Angelo, and noticed that he had a muscular build that suggested that he lifted weights. I asked if he did, and he replied that he had indeed lifted a lot in college. But then he let out a sigh and said, “Now that I have a bad back I wouldn’t think about lifting anything heavier than my 2-year-old son.”

He went on to tell me about how his back went out, and his wife had to call an ambulance because he couldn’t get off the floor.

Why Are We Plagued With Painful Backs?

This wasn’t the first conversation I’ve had with an individual with a bad back. Whether it’s with a familymember, coworker, or a friend, the subject of a bad back frequently arises. That’s not surprising since back problems are at epidemic proportions.

While low back pain rarely indicates a serious disorder, it is the number one cause of disability worldwide.

Consider these statistics:

• Approximately 60% to 80% of Americans will get at least mild back pain at some time in their lives.
• In 2007 alone, about 27 million US adults aged 18 or older reported having back pain.
• About 70% of these people – 19.1 million – sought treatment by a doctor.
• More women (10.9 million) received medical treatment for their back pain than did men (8.2 million).

Is There A Solution To Painful Backs?

I sympathized with Angelo and related that I too had problems with my back. I told him that I was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc 25 years ago. Until about a year ago, I had severe back spasms that would keep me immobile for days.

But, I told him, that’s all in the past now. At 61-years-old, I have no more spasms and no more pain. Infact, my back is stronger than it’s been in 30 years and soon I’ll be attempting a 300 lb deadlift.

Apparently I aroused his curiosity because he wanted to know what I did to make my back better. “Simple,” I said. “I do heavy barbell deadlifts, squats, and some additional core training.”

“How old are you again?” he asked. “Sixty-one”, I replied. He just shook his head in disbelief and lamented, “Well, I don’t think I’ll be lifting weights any time soon.” He then excused himself to go make some copies.

The Quirkiness Of Low Back Pain

I noticed, however, that Angelo got up from his chair, seemingly without any pain, and returned to his chair and sat down, again without any obvious difficulty. If he was currently having back pain, he didn’t show it. Apparently, his back had gotten a lot better.

Research has shown that after an acute low back pain event, about 90% of individuals recover in a few months. However, here’s the problem. Recurrent back problems are common, varying between 25 to 50% in a year. Unfortunately, for about 10% of the adult population, an acute back pain episode will turn into chronic low back pain.

My Strengthened Back

Since I’ve learned how to properly protect and strengthen my back, my back problems are just a bad memory. Also, my back is getting stronger. Here’s a 300-pound deadlift I did a few months ago. I’m 61 years old and weigh 165 pounds.
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Perhaps this strategy will help you to continue lifting heavy things well into your senior years or even help you get your back strong again so that you have no need to fear lifting up your young children or even your grandchildren.

First though, let’s take a look at why our backs are failing us.

Why Are Our Backs Failing?

Our spines are a wondrously created biological system. They’re called upon to be stiff enough to bear loads and at the same time flexible enough to allow us to twist and bend. They’re composed of a series of stacked vertebrae that are separated by fibrocartilaginous water filled discs that provide shock absorption.

The discs are composed of two parts: a tough outer membrane (annulus fibrosus) and an inner water segment (nucleus pulposus).

Unfortunately, as we age these vertebral discs begin to degenerate.

Degenerative Disc Disease

The accumulated daily stress from compression and minor injuries will cause our discs to break down. This is known as degenerative disc disease (DDD). Technically, DDD is not a disease but a normal process of aging. Nearly everybody over the age of 40 is experiencing some disc degeneration.

However, not everyone who experiences DDD will have back pain. Some people with awful looking back x-rays never have any pain. But for most of us, a degenerative disc spells trouble.

These problems occur when the annulus fibrosus degenerates to a point where it tears or ruptures. If the tear is serious enough, the contents from the nucleus pulposus may leak out causing the disc to gradually collapse. This may result in decreased shock absorption capacity and/or create pressure on surrounding nerves.

Specific Causes Of Back Pain Associated With Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)

Back pain from DDD is usually caused by four scenarios.

1. Annular Tears
2. Inflammation
3. Disc Herniation
4. Abnormal Micromotion Instability
5. Spinal Stenosis

All of the above conditions can result in lower back pain. Sometimes pain may also radiate to the hips, buttocks, thighs or legs. If pressure, is placed on an adjacent nerve by the nucleus pulposus of the disc, then sporadic tingling or weakness through the knees, legs, and feet can also occur. See sciatica.

Severe muscle spasms can also result from DDD. These spasms are the result of your body’s attempt to stabilize your spine. If you’ve ever had a back spasm, you know how painful it can be.

A Sedentary Lifestyle Can Worsen Degenerative Disc Disease

Though DDD is a normal process of aging, our less active lifestyles may be worsening the condition. Research (and here) has shown that approximately 25 percent to 35 percent of American adults are inactive. Inactivity is defined as having a job that requires little physical labor, engaging in no regular physical activity program, and being generally inactive around the house or yard.

Further, consider that many of us have office jobs that require sitting for eight to nine hours a day. Now add another hour or two of driving time and that adds up to a lot of sitting.

The result of a sedentary lifestyle compounded by prolonged sitting is disastrous for back health because it leads to a weakening of the muscles of your midsection or core. A weak core contributes to back instability. An unstable back is not something you want when your discs are degenerating.

Disc Herniation Due To Injury

Disc herniation doesn’t always have to be the result of DDD. Injury, especially from sports-related activities, can also cause herniation. I initially injured my back in high school during wrestling practice. Twenty years later, I injured it again on the Back To The Future Rideat Universal Studios. Go figure. But any sudden bending or torsional movements can cause a disc herniation.

Treatment Of Acute Pain With DDD And Disc Herniation

My purpose in this post is not to discuss what to do with acute low back pain or a herniated disc. Forinformation on that, you can check out WebMD and the Cleveland Clinic.

Fortunately, according to research, most annular tears and minor disc herniations will get better over time. Orthopedic surgeons at the University of California, Irvine, estimate that only 5% of us who have back pain will need surgery. However, if your pain is intractable, surgery may be an option. See Dr. Peter Attia’s story.

Healing Chronic Back Pain

If you’re someone who has suffered from chronic back pain, I’m sure you’ve heard the same advice from well-meaning friends that I’ve heard over the last 30 years. It goes something like this. Why don’t you see my chiropractor? Have you tried physical therapy? I have some good stretches you need to try. You need to strengthen your core with sit-ups. Rolling on a big stability ball did the trick for me.

All of these techniques are supposed to cure back pain and prevent problems in the future, right? Well, some of them worked for me over the short term, but not over the long term.

The reason was that they didn’t fully address the number one factor we can control when it comes to DDD. That’s back stability.

Spinal Stability

As I mentioned before, our spines are to be rigid enough to bear loads and at the same time flexible enough to allow us to do crazy things like dancing, simple things like tying our shoes, or wondrous things like looking up at a beautiful nighttime sky.

In order to do that, your spine has to be stabilized by muscles and other soft tissue. These structures act as a guy wire system to stiffen and stabilize the spine when it is required to bear loads.

If these muscles are weak, the stability of your spine will be severely compromised. That makes it possible for vertebrae to pinch and poke around soft tissue and squeeze discs. That’s disastrous to a back that is already in decline.

In order to increase spine stability, you’ve probably heard that you have to strengthen your core muscles. This is good advice but is usually not sufficient. Let me tell you why.

The Limitation of Bodyweight Core Training

Your core muscles are those found in your midsection and the mid and lower part of your back.

To strengthen those muscles, we’re told to do exercises like planks, crunches, bird dogs, etc. This is excellent advice, and I’ll talk about those exercises shortly. However, these exercises usually target smaller muscles which are not the only muscles that support the spine.

The largest stabilizer muscles of the lower back and the largest amount of abdominal muscle tissue cannot be adequately strengthened by bodyweight-only exercises.

In order for these muscles to get stronger, they must be progressively loaded. This means that once a muscle has adapted to a load (e.g. 200-pound squat) an increased load (205-pound squat) must be employed so that muscles can continue to adapt and grow. Body-weight only exercises can’t accomplish this.

This is not to disparage body-weight only exercise routines. Dr. Ted Naiman has a body-weight weight only exercise plan that is extremely intense.

That brings me to the 10 strategies for protecting my back.

1. Barbell Squats And Deadlifts

Performing heavy deadlifts and squats to strengthen a bad back may sound counter-intuitive. But it’s not. These exercises performed with progressive loading over time strengthen the largest back stabilizer muscles. Deadlifts strengthen the erector spinae, and squats strengthen the abdominals. At the same time, they will also strengthen the smaller muscles responsible for stabilization.

When done correctly (with a flat back), these exercises strengthen and stabilize the back. They mimic normal body movements which will train your body to perform daily movements correctly.

In other words, when you bend down to pick up your child, your body will assume it’s performing a deadlift and stabilize the spine accordingly.

My Start To Deadlifting

When I started deadlifting, I wasn’t experiencing acute back pain. I had slight achiness when I stood up after sitting for prolonged periods, but it would subside after I walked around a bit. That was about it.

At 58 years old, I started deadlifting with 65 pounds and have progressed up to 300 pounds. Never despise the day of small beginnings. You never know where hard work can take you.

In the over 4 years I’ve been lifting, I’ve only missed about five days of training because of my back. More on that later.

I wasn’t able to start squatting right away because of bad shoulders (I couldn’t grab the bar). But I’ve been doing back squats for over 2 years without any significant problems.

2. Proper Technique

Strategy 2 continues to deal with barbell resistance training. If you’re going to do barbell back squats or deadlifts, they must be done with proper technique. Proper technique will reduce your chance of injury and improve your strength.

If you can find a good coach, fantastic. There is online coaching available from the good people at startingstrength.com. If you’re a home gym do-it-yourselfer like me, there are videos online that show how to perform the lifts correctly.

3. Treat every weight as heavy

Sometimes we assume because a weight isn’t near our max, that it isn’t heavy so we can’t get injured on it. That couldn’t be more false. The one time I did tweak my back on a deadlift, it was on a warm-up that was well below my workout weight.

Check out this video from Aaron Lipsey featuring the instruction of world-renowned back expert Dr. Stuart McGill on proper deadlift form.

The takeaway is to prepare for the lift by mentally and physically activating your core.

McGill has helped numerous athletes return to their respective sports after back injuries. In this video series, elite lifter Layne Norton from Biolayne.com, documents how Dr. McGill was instrumental in his rehabilitation from a severe back injury.

A key to that rehab was the incorporation of McGill’s Big Three.

4. McGill’s Big Three

Let’s get into some of the body weight core exercises. While deadlifts and squats made my back stronger, they didn’t solve all my back problems. They did relieve a lot of chronic lumbar pain, but I was still experiencing occasional severe spasms while not lifting. This occurred about twice a year for the first three years I was lifting.

For the last year, however, I haven’t experienced any spasms or injury. I believe this is because I have incorporated Dr. McGill’s big three core exercises into my daily workout.

The Core Strengthening Exercises

McGill recommends these three core exercise for back rehabilitation but they are also used as a preventative measure. These exercises include:

1. Curl-ups
2. Bird dogs
3. Side planks

McGill demonstrates these exercises in the video below.

The curl up and bird dog workout sets are based on a descending pyramid structure. Six repetitions on each side, 20 seconds of rest, then 4 reps, then 2 reps. Each rep is held for 10 seconds. On bird dogs, this is done for both sides. For curl-ups, I use the same pyramid for each side of the raised leg.

For side planks, I hold it for 45 seconds on each side. You could also alternate 10 seconds per side.

I do these exercises religiously at least once a day.

5. Daily Walking

One of the ways to keep your spine healthy is by engaging in a program of walking. According to McGill, proper walking prevents the pelvis from tilting to one side, thus keeping your spine in alignment.Also the process of walking deloads the spine. (McGill, Back Mechanic. pg. 114).

Here are important tips for a good walking program for back health.

1. Walk with your chest out and your head up
2. Maintain a brisk pace (I usually maintain a 3.5 mph pace). A slow pace is not good for back health.
3. Walk 3/day for 10 minutes or 2/d for 15 minutes.
4. Let your arms swing from your shoulders.

I started walking 10 years ago as a therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. When I started, I could barely make it around the block. Now I walk between 1.5 to 2 miles at least 6 days a week.

For those of you who like scientific studies check out this one showing the efficacy of walking for back pain.

6. The Cobra Pose

As I mentioned earlier, I did have a lumbar disc herniation. While I never had severe sciatic pain, I often had recurrences of tingling and other paresthesias in my foot. To solve this, I used a yoga exercise called the cobra pose.

It’s essentially a back extension exercise that is supposed to push the disc back into its proper space.

I first found out about it from these physical therapists in the video below. They’re a riot.

I do this exercise 3 times a day. I hold the pose for 30 seconds and do 3 sets.

7. Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

When you lift your knee while standing, the muscles responsible for doing this are your hip flexors. The major hip flexors are the iliacus and the psoas. Often they are grouped together and called the iliopsoas.

The psoas muscle starts at the vertebrae T12, L1-4 (and possibly the discs), runs down to the pelvis where it joins the iliacus, and then to the femur. One of its major functions is to provide stability to the spine.

Often, from constant sitting or other reasons, this muscle can become tight. The effect of this is to cause your pelvis to tilt forward. This causes instability in your spine and an abnormal pressure on the lumbar discs.

Below is an excellent tutorial on how to stretch the hip flexors. I do it 3 times a day. 30 secs on each side for 3 sets.

8. Back Bridges

Back bridges are another stretch that I do as part of my core routine. Dr. McGill tells us why they are an important exercise.

“Chronic back pain tends to cause people to use their hamstring muscles, instead of their glutes to extend the hip. This changes patterns that increase spine load when squatting. Performing the back bridge, squeezing the gluteal muscles, and eliminating hamstrings, helps to establish gluteal dominance during hip extension.”

When we arise from a squatting or stooping position, we want the glutes to be the dominant muscle extending our hip. If the hamstrings predominate, then more pressure than necessary will be put on the spine.

Here’s a video on how to do back bridges.

9. Be Back Conscious During The Day

If you have a bad back or an aging back, one precaution you must take is to be back conscious during the day. You’ve heard the saying, “lift with your legs, not your back.”

Well, you can’t totally eliminate the use of your back when lifting. So that means you have to be especially careful when lifting anything or even when bending.

If you have to lift something, remember to stiffen your core first. Brace yourself with your arms if possible.

When getting out of the car, use the handle to help yourself out. When lifting, brace yourself and make sure your back is stabilized.

Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way. If you’re going to sneeze while standing, stiffen your core first.

This is pretty common sense advice, but it’s so easy to forget.

10. I Take Collagen Every Day

There is some evidence that a possible cause of degenerative disc disease is a reduction of collagen in the disc. Further, as we age, our natural collagen synthesis decreases.

Also, because I lift heavy weights, I know I’m causing significant tissue damage.

So in order to make sure my body is getting enough collagen, I take collagen peptides as a supplement.

The evidence that collagen supplements actually helps your spine is scant, but it may certainly help in keeping other bone, tendons, and ligaments healthy. It seems to work for me.

Okay, that’s what I do to protect and strengthen my back. Hopefully, some of these strategies may help you. God bless and have a great week.

Please remember…
The information in this post is not intended as a substitute for professional medical help or advice. These are the things I do to help my back. Everyone is different and not everything works for the same person. A physician should always be consulted for any health problem.

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post 10 Ways I Protect My Back So I Can Barbell Train At 61 Years Old appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

For part one of this series click here.

I’m writing this post from my new home office in Raleigh, North Carolina. My family and I are almost finished moving in, and so far we’re absolutely loving Raleigh. The new home we’re renting is magnificent, the area is beautiful, and Raleigh has so many activities to enjoy.

Over the weekend I finished setting up my home gym. That meant I was finally able to get back to pulling some decent weight. I deadlifted 250 lbs x 4 at 158 lbs body weight. Since I hadn’t deadlifted since August 4, that wasn’t too bad. And more importantly, following my workout I experienced no signs of severe fatigue associated with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Hopefully, I’ll be back to my personal record (PR) within a few months. Below is my 300 lbs PR I set in June. Not too shabby for an almost 62-year-old.

 

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Okay, let’s get right to it. Last week I presented the first three strategies I used to heal from ME/CFS. Here are the next seven:

Strategy 4: Juicing

About 7 years ago in my search for healing for my ME/CFS symptoms, I came across the Gerson juicing protocol. The Gerson Therapy, as it’s called, was developed in the 1930s by Dr. Max Gerson to treat his own migraines. Eventually, it became a treatment for degenerative diseases such as skin tuberculosis, diabetes, and cancer. Individuals who rigidly adhered to the protocol supposedly obtained excellent results.

The protocol requires the consumption of 15- 20 pounds of organically-grown fruits and vegetables daily. Most of this is consumed as a juice. The idea behind the therapy is that the abundance of nutrients from the organic juices provides your body with high doses of enzymes, minerals, and nutrients that will restore the body’s ability to heal itself.

The protocol theoretically made sense, but I just couldn’t consume 15 pounds of veggies a day.

But I needed help, so I decided to give it a try in a modified form. I juiced (technically I blended in a Vitamix) enough produce to make about 40 ounces of juice daily. This drink consisted of kale, carrots, spinach, avocado, and a green apple. After consuming this amount of juice for about 3 months, I noticed a slight improvement in my energy but nothing substantial.

While I didn’t have the enormous boost in energy that some people get from juicing, I was helping my body. By juicing, I was increasing my nutrient levels significantly, detoxifying my body, and helping to restore the good bacteria in my gut.

Strategy 5: A Paleo Diet

As I said, after about 3 months of juicing, I experienced some improvement in my fatigue levels but not a lot. But that was about to change. At this time a friend of mine sent me some information on the paleo diet and suggested I take a look at Mark Sissons’ site: Mark’s Daily Apple.

Once on the site, I was captivated. After spending hours and hours reading about the paleo diet and all the success stories attributed to it, I was convinced of its efficacy. This wasn’t because of its reliance on evolutionary theory. It was the science that convinced me.

Paleo Basics

1. Nutrient Dense Foods

The paleo diet stresses the importance of consuming nutrient-dense whole foods such as antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits, fermented vegetables, pastured eggs, extra-virgin olive oil, spices like turmeric and cinnamon, bone broth, foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (like wild caught salmon, sardines, and herring), and meats from pasture-raised animals. The nutrients from these foods are vital for healing and preventing chronic inflammatory conditions.

2. Elimination of Anti-nutrients

The paleo diet also stresses the elimination of anti-nutrients. One of these is gluten. As we saw in my last post, gluten (a wheat protein) causes intestinal permeability and possibly systemic inflammatory reactions.

Many plants and grains also contain lectins, phytates, and saponins (see my post here). These compounds are naturally occurring in plants and are part of their defense mechanism against pests. Unfortunately, they are also disruptive to our digestive systems. Someone on a paleo diet seeks to limit foods high in these compounds. The biggest culprits here are legumes and grains.

Since a paleo diet eliminates most grains, it is a naturally low carb diet. Many hardcore paleo adherents will eliminate potatoes, but I didn’t except for the skins (saponins). I also didn’t eliminate white rice. See my post on rice.

3. Elimination of Processed Foods

The paleo diet eliminates processed foods because the chemicals used in processing could be inflammatory. The saying goes that if it comes in a package, stay away from it. It also eliminates processed vegetable oils, refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, synthetic sweeteners, artificial additives, and foods high in omega-6 fatty acids. These also can be highly inflammatory.

4. Avoidance of Dairy Products

The paleo diet discourages the consumption of dairy products. The idea here is that lactose is an intestinal irritant. However, since aged cheese and probiotic yogurt have very low to no lactose, some paleo experts have no problem with these foods in moderation. I personally continue to eat both. For more on the nuances of the paleo diet see here, here, and here.

As you can see, the general idea behind the diet is that it encourages the consumption of nutrient-dense foods that aid in fighting inflammation and discourages those that can cause it. But it also does another important thing.

5. Gut Healing

The paleo diet also promotes the healing of a damaged gastrointestinal tract. It does this by eliminating anti-nutrients and introducing fermented vegetables (sauerkraut and kimchi) that help restore the gut microbiota.

As I said, some strict paleo followers frown on yogurt but homemade probiotic yogurt can be a big help for those who have had their microbiome destroyed by years of antibiotic use. See here for how we make our own probiotic yogurt. See here for our post on how to make homemade sauerkraut.

Bone broth is also extremely important in a paleo diet. It’s packed with nutrients and will aid in gut healing. See here. See Barbara’s recipe for bone broth here.

I jumped into this diet head first. The only deviation I took was consuming a moderate amount of potatoes, white rice, and probiotic yogurt. Within a few months, my health transformation was remarkable.

I regained about 20% of my lost energy levels to where I was about 80% – 90% of normal. I rarely fell below 70%. Healthwise, things were really starting to look up. However, there were a few more tweaks that I needed to make.

Note: I continued to juice throughout my time on the paleo diet.

Strategy 6: Cutting Back on Work Stress

About the same time that I went paleo, I finally began to realize that a big part of my problem stemmed from the stress that accompanied my work. Apart from the psychological toll resulting from stress, researchers now know that prolonged stress can induce a chronic inflammatory state in the body and thus become a key risk factor in numerous diseases.

Our reaction to stress is not a bad thing. When we perceive a threat, our bodies will react so that we either avoid or eliminate the stress. Think of encountering a violent bear in the woods. That’s a stressful situation. To avoid this stress, our bodies will react. Our body will either prepare us to fight the bear a laDaniel Boone, or it will put us into flight mode so we can run for our lives.

So our body’s reaction to stress keeps us alive.

The Dangers Of Constant Stress

Constant stress, though, is dangerous. This is why. Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. These systems are activated when our bodies perceive a threat. They prepare us for the fight or flight situation. When the threat passes, they return to a resting state.

However, chronic stress may keep these systems overly activated. When this happens, pathophysiology results. This sets the stage for chronic inflammation and subsequently disease. See my post on adrenal fatigue. See also my series of posts on chronic stress and belly fat.

Also, a constantly activated SNS means that there will be an imbalance between it and the parasympathetic nervous system. This chronic imbalance can cause further dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Remember that a dysfunctional ANS is associated with ME/CFS.

Though I intuitively sensed from the beginning of my illness that chronic stress played a part in its genesis and continuance, it took 26 years for me to finally deal with it properly.

Some Stress Solutions

The Gallup Poll found that most people hate their jobs. Not only did I dislike my job, but it was also often a source of extreme stress. If I was going to heal, I knew I had to do something about it. About seven years ago, instead of making the daily drive into Manhattan, I was able to structure things so that I could work 3 days a week from home. This helped immensely. It’s something I should’ve done a lot earlier.

By working from home, I then had the opportunity to engage in projects that allowed me to achieve more significance than simply making money to pay the bills. I led a debate club for home educated children, taught co-op classes on apologetics and history, produced history videos on youtube, did a lot more writing, and continued to research health and wellness strategies.

Here’s the amazing thing. Often, when I was in the midst of doing these activities, the fatigue would simply vanish!

Why did the fatigue temporarily vanish?

Standing up for an hour while teaching a group of 15 and16-year-olds can be physically taxing. But I never became fatigued while doing it. Why? Obviously, I was doing something I loved and that meant no negative stress. My body wasn’t being worn down by stress but was actually gaining energy.

Finally, the light switch turned on. Maybe I should find a “day job” that I loved and get paid for doing it. It wasn’t an easy task, but after 5 years I did exactly that. Is there still some stress involved? Yes. But not nearly as much as I had in the previous 35 years.

Bottom line: A key to improving from ME/CFS is reducing stress. For me, I did this by walking, changing my diet, reducing work stress, and by engaging in deep breathing. 

Strategy 7: Deep Breathing

As I have mentioned in previous strategies, I believe that in my particular case of ME/CFS an imbalance in my autonomic nervous system played a major role. This accompanied by chronic stress also contributed to that imbalance.

One of the strategies I used to realign my ANS was to employ deep breathing techniques. Researchers have found that slow diaphragmatic breathing has the ability to slow down SNS activity and enhance PNS activity. See here. This is why physicians and psychologists prescribe deep breathing as a way to reduce stress.

When I first came across this strategy about 5 years ago, I thought it was ridiculous. How could simply breathing deeply help me? Well, I thought the same thing about walking and was I wrong! After doing some research on the autonomic benefits of deep breathing, I decided to give it a try.

Learning To Do Diaphragmatic Breathing

I generally like to keep things simple so I started with this very simple tutorial on diaphragmatic breathing from the Cleveland Clinic. The cue of placing my hand on my stomach and causing it to raise as I inhaled allowed me to quickly learn how to breath using my diaphragm.

I practiced this technique for about a day, and then I decided to try it at bedtime. At the time, I was under a lot of stress and suffering some relapses of fatigue. This was causing me to have trouble falling asleep at night.

Well, I tried it, and it worked. Within a few minutes, I dozed off and slept through the whole night. Since that time, I use it every night before I go to sleep and also throughout the day.

Paul Chek has an in-depth youtube series on deep breathing. See here.

Strategy 8: Improve Sleep

Sleep disturbances, particularly non-restorative sleep, are a common symptom of ME/CFS. Non-restorative sleep is where you’ve had at least 8 hours of sleep but wake up feeling totally unrefreshed. Researchers are not exactly sure why this happens in ME/CFS, but again some clues may be found in a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system.

I’ve experienced non-restorative sleep for most of the time I’ve had ME/CFS. At times, I also experienced apnea and insomnia.

The problem with sleep disturbances is that not only do you wake up tired, but they also have other damaging effects on our bodies (not to mention damage to other peoples bodies by keeping them from enjoying refreshing sleep).

Research has shown that sleep deprivation leads to inflammation. So whatever inflammation is already taking place in ME/CFS, it will be compounded by a lack of sleep.

Also, it’s during sleep that the body restores and repairs itself. This occurs during specific cycles of sleep. If these cycles are disrupted, the body’s ability to repair itself may be severely impaired. See here.

Optimizing Sleep

Here are 15 techniques I use to optimize conditions so that I get a better night’s sleep.

1. Avoid blue light 2-3 hours before bedtime (I use these blue light blocker glasses)
2. Keep your bedroom temperature at 60 – 65 degrees
3. Wake up in a completed sleep cycle (See here)
4. Wake up with a calming, not startling alarm
5. Use deep breathing techniques to fall asleep (see above)
6. Go to the bathroom before you go to sleep
7. Use a comfortable mattress and pillow
8. Create a bedtime habit such as reading or writing
9. Find an activity that helps you wind down
10. Make sure your bedroom is completely dark at night, but remember you need light in the morning to wake you up
11. Try to get regular exposure to outdoor light during the day
12. Stick to a sleep schedule even on weekends
13. Exercise daily but not 6 hours before bedtime (For severe ME/CFS sufferers, exercise may be a problem).
14. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and heavy meals in the evening.
15. If you sleep with your electronic devices near, put them on airplane mode.

See my post for an in-depth look at sleep optimization and the importance of sleep cycles.

Afternoon Naps

For the last 4 years, I’ve made it a daily habit to try and take an afternoon nap. This has helped me tremendously in taking a break from the stress of the day. Sometimes I may not even fall asleep but quiet rest time really helps.

I know a lot of you can’t do that with work and all. But you can take a few minutes to just tune out, close your eyes, and do some deep breathing and meditating.

Incidentally, since going paleo, I rarely suffer from severe apnea. Infrequently, I have periods of mild insomnia. However, when I find it happening, I quickly resort to deep breathing. This always gets me to sleep.

Strategy 9: Supplements

Prior to going on a paleo diet, I experimented with all kinds of supplements. These included high dose vitamin C, other vitamins, minerals, colostrum, botanicals, herbs, and probiotics. They may have been doing me some good, but I didn’t experience any significant relief.

I did continue to take vitamin D3 and magnesium because of their importance for overall health.

I Discover Lauricidin

About the time I went paleo, I came across a product called Lauricidin. Lauricidin is the trade name for monolaurin. Monolaurin is a chemical derived from lauric acid and glycerin and is a byproduct of coconut fat. It reportedly has immune-boosting, antibacterial, and antiviral effects. See here.

If my ME/CFS did have a viral component to it, then perhaps Lauricidin would help. I took it on and off for about 2 years. It’s hard to say if it helped a lot since I was also paleo. But it was during this time that I was making significant health gains, so I would say that it was important to my overall protocol.

Current Supplements

I’m still currently taking vitamin D3 and magnesium. Along with these, I take
Thorne Research – Meriva (Curcumin) as an anti-inflammatory and vitamin K2 (see the link on vitamin D3 above). This is the vitamin K2 that I use.

Since I’m on a ketogenic diet now, I also supplement with at least 2 teaspoons of Himalayan Pink salt daily and one tablespoon of MCT oil daily.

Also, because I lift heavy weights 4 times a week, I take collagen daily. Collagen helps to keep my tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and bones healthy.

That’s about it for supplements.

Strategy 10: Low-Carbohydrate (Keto) Diet

By August of 2017, I had been on a paleo diet, which was relatively low-carbohydrate (<100 grams of carbs per day), for approximately 5 years. My energy levels were at between 80% – 90% of normal with some days at 100%. I had healed enough that I could lift heavy weights for the previous 2 years without a severe relapse.

It was now time to take my diet to the next level.

I had read stories of how a ketogenic (ultra low-carb: <25 net grams/day, healthy fat, moderate protein) diet was helpful in healing people from all sorts of illnesses (type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, etc.). It also appears that a ketogenic diet has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. So I decided to give it a try.

Amazing Health Gains

Within a few months, my health gains were amazing. My energy levels were consistently between 90% – 100% every day. A year later, I am even starting to do some high-intensity interval training on my treadmill. That’s something that would not have been possible even 2 years ago.

Check out the series of posts Barbara and I wrote on how we went keto and how we are continuing on the diet.

Many people on a keto diet do extended fasting (> 1 day). Since I’ve found that prolonged fasting puts a lot of stress on my body, I avoid it. I do practice delayed eating though. In this instance, I generally eat within an 8-hour window, usually between 12 PM to 8 PM.

The Bottom Line

I suffered from ME/CFS for over 20 years before I started to make significant gains in my health. The strategies I used to get well didn’t come to me overnight. It took years of trial and error to determine what worked and what didn’t.

I am not recommending these strategies to anyone suffering from ME/CFS. I can’t do that. But they worked for me and they do have the science behind them that proves that they can reduce inflammation and promote healing.

ME/CFS is a serious disease. Please don’t try any of these strategies without consulting with your physician.

Click here for a free PDF of the products I mentioned in these posts.

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Part 2 appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

I did it! I beat CFS! After suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for 28 years, I believe I’m finally healed. I know, I should be a little cautious about saying that because when a person with CFS starts feeling better, the crushing fatigue usually rushes right back upon them.

However, for a year now, I haven’t experienced the debilitating fatigue peculiar to CFS, and I haven’t suffered from any of the many symptoms associated with it. During the last year, I’ve strength trained 5 days a week, power walked most days, engaged in some high-intensity training, and moved my family to another state while experiencing no downtime because of fatigue.

Yes, I think that qualifies as being finally healed from CFS. But, again, I have to be careful.

A review of 14 studies found that only 5% of people diagnosed with CFS ever fully recover. That means that even though I feel great, I have to continue to be disciplined to adhere to all the strategies that got me this far.

In this post and the next, I’d like to highlight for you the 10 most important strategies I used to beat this debilitating disease.

Caveat To Healing

Will these strategies work for everyone who has CFS? I don’t know. Since no one knows what causes CFS, there is no single proven treatment protocol. But I do know this, every one of the strategies I used is scientifically proven to make my body stronger and better able to heal itself from the disease.

Here’s something I also know. I suffered from this disease for 20 years before I began to make significant progress towards recovery. It wasn’t until I started using these strategies that I turned the corner away from sickness and toward wellness.

No Help From Mainstream Medicine

When I first developed CFS in 1986, very few physicians were aware of CFS. All of the doctors I visitedwere completely clueless as to what was wrong with me. My blood tests were always normal. I tested negative for Epstein-Barr, Lyme, Hep C, you name it.

Yet no one could figure out why I was not only chronically fatigued but also suffering from a slew of seemingly unrelated symptoms. Some doctors even raised an eyebrow when I mentioned how many different symptoms I had. Meaning, they thought I was some sort of a hypochondriac.

As time went on, mainstream physicians began to recognize CFS as an actual condition. However, they still had no idea what caused it or how to cure it. Their standard reply to me was, “Yes, you probably have CFS. You should rest more and see what happens.”

Of course, that’s not what I wanted to hear. I wanted someone to tell me that I would eventually get better! But that promise never came.

No Help From My Naturopath

About 10 years ago, I traveled out of state to see a naturopathic physician. He was very thoughtful and understanding and convinced me that I was not a hypochondriac. However, he also couldn’t give me a comprehensive plan for combating the syndrome. His primary suggestion was to take the numerous supplements he recommended.  After many months of doing that and spending no little amount of money, I still had little relief from the fatigue.

A Lack Of Information

When I developed CFS in 1986, there was no such thing as the internet. That meant that we had little access to important medical information. Unless you had access to a medical library, it was virtually impossible to find information on CFS.

So, for the first 20 years of having CFS, mainstream medicine couldn’t help me at all. The best I could do was to reduce my fatigue by relying on trial and error. In other words, I learned which activities caused me the most fatigue, and I tried not to do them.

After about 20 years living with the disease, I regained about 20% of my former energy level. This allowed me to function at about 60% of normal. Some days I did reach 80%. But that generally lasted for only a short time. And even when I was at 80%, some aspect of the disease was always with me whether it was muscle aches, IBS, or headaches.

However, there would also be days when I would regress to about 40% of my energy levels. This could last for weeks at a time. For 20 years, I can honestly say that I didn’t have one single day where I felt perfectly healthy. I was beginning to forget what it was like to feel good.

Pathway To Healing

My healing didn’t really begin in earnest until about 8 years ago when I began searching out health and wellness websites that suggested alternative paths to healing. These sites emphasized strategies that stressed the elimination of toxicity, the reduction of chronic inflammation, strengthening the immune system, and optimizing cellular metabolism.

The idea was that by following specific practices my body would strengthen and eventually heal itself.

It took me about 7 years to put all these strategies into a comprehensive protocol for getting well and staying well.

I will be very specific concerning what I did to be healed, but first I want it to be clear that I didn’t just have a general fatigue or malaise. I had full-blown CFS. For those unfamiliar with CFS, let me tell you how bad it really is.

What Is CFS?

There is no confirmed diagnostic test for CFS or it’s lesser known name, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (from now on I’ll use the abbreviation ME/CFS for CFS). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, suggests that the three following core symptoms are required to make a diagnosis.

1. Greatly lowered ability to do activities that were usual before the illness. This drop in activity level occurs along with fatigue and must last six months or longer. Fatigue is usually severe and is of a different type than one experiences after hard physical work or exercise. It is not relieved by rest and has not been present for someone’s lifetime.
2. Worsening of ME/CFS symptoms after physical or mental activity that would not have caused a problem before the illness. This is known as post-exertional malaise (PEM). ME/CFS sufferers often improve to a point where they think they’re healed. They then resume their normal activities only to experience a severe relapse of fatigue and other symptoms.
3. Sleep problems.Individuals with ME/CFS often experience sleep disturbances. That includes falling asleep and staying asleep. Often, a good night’s sleep will not alleviate fatigue.

Additional Symptoms

In addition to these core symptoms, one of the following two symptoms is required for diagnosis:

• Problems with thinking and memory. This is commonly known as brain fog.
• Worsening of symptoms while standing or sitting upright. This is known as orthostatic intolerance and is caused by a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system. In my case, I suffered from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). With this syndrome, one’s heart rate will raise at least 30 bpm in at least 10 minutes after standing from a sitting position. See here.

Those are some bad symptoms, right? Well, it gets worse. Many ME/CFS sufferers also can experience the following symptoms in varying degrees:

• Muscle pain and aches (For years it felt as if I had clamps affixed to my arms and legs)
• Joint pain without swelling or redness (Several of my finger joints were inflamed for years)
• Headaches, either new or worsening
• Tender lymph nodes in the neck or armpits
• A sore throat that happens often
• Digestive issues, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Chills and night sweats
• Allergies and sensitivities to foods, odors, chemicals, or noise

In my case, I hit the jackpot. Over the span of 28 years I experienced every single one of these symptoms to a greater or lesser degree. My worse symptoms were extreme fatigue, PEM, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches, and POTS. I also had an endoscopy done because of IBS.

Note that ME/CFS is considered only after everything else that could cause chronic fatigue is ruled out.

One question still remains unanswered: Why did I get ME/CFS?

Developing ME/CFS?

It was a beautiful autumn day in October 1986. A perfect day for a run. The air was fresh and the trees in New York were exploding with color. My 3-mile jog was uneventful except that I experienced a slight cold feeling in my chest which lasted for about an hour.

I went to sleep that night feeling fine. However, upon waking the next morning I didn’t feel quite right. As I attempted to get out of the bed, I realized that something was really wrong with my body.

My legs felt like they were made out of concrete. I had to literally struggle to get them to move. Eventually, I got out of the bed, but I found that I couldn’t stand for more than about 30 seconds. I had no other symptoms except extreme fatigue when standing and walking.

After a few hours, I gained some ability to walk around for a few minutes at a time, but that was it. I was bedridden for the next 3 days. After about 3 weeks, I did regain some energy, but on the whole, I’d lost on average 40% – 50% of my normal energy levels.

Subsequently, I was forced to give up my podiatry practice and find work that would allow me to rest often. As the years went on, I would at times improve slightly. But, then, thinking I was better, I would engage in some strenuous activity only to eventually relapse back into a state of severe fatigue.

As I mentioned, the only answer I got from doctors was that I probably had chronic fatigue syndrome and suggestions that I should try and rest more. They didn’t know why I had gotten it or if I would ever heal 100%.

That wasn’t something a 30-something husband and father of 4 young children who was now running his own business wanted to hear. Fortunately, my business allowed me to take off and rest whenever I wanted. That helped a lot. But you can never take time off from your family, can you?

Why Do People Get ME/CFS?

To date, no one knows why people get ME/CFS. Researchers have suggested that there is an underlying viral component to the disease. In my case, I didn’t experience any acute flu-like symptoms prior to getting sick.

As the years went by, several physicians stated that I probably had some underlying inflammation going on. This belief was prompted by a slightly elevated liver enzyme. That was the only blood test that showed an abnormality. My sed rate (ESR) and CRP were always normal.

A Psychological Component To CFS

Other researchers believe “that physiological and psychological factors work together to predispose an individual to the illness and to precipitate and perpetuate the illness.” They are, however, unsure of what exactly these are.

From my experience, I concur that there is a psychological component to ME/CFS. I was under extreme stress for about 10 years prior to the onset of the disease. As I found out much later, my cortisol levels were completely out of whack. This meant that my adrenal glands were also in very bad shape.

Why did it take 22 years for a physician to finally check their status? Sheesh!

The Dysautonomia Angle

As I mentioned before, some researchers believe that a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a part in ME/CFS. This is the part of the nervous system that controls internal organs. One part of the ANS (parasympathetic) helps the body rest, relax, and digest food and another part (sympathetic) helps a person fight or take flight in an emergency.

What researchers are not sure of is whether dysautonomia causes or simply exacerbates the symptoms of ME/CFS.

After mentioning to one doctor that my pulse seemed to race at night especially after rising, he had me wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours. The data revealed that my heartbeat varied wildly during the night. The cardiologist who examined the data suspected that there was some type of dysautonomia involved.

My doctor told me that there was basically nothing you can do for dysautonomias (Not true! More on that later).

I Have POTS

I figured out later that the dysautonomia was POTS! It’s highly associated with ME/CFS. While there’s no cure for POTS, it is manageable.

As you can see, ME/CFS is a disease that involves many physiological systems. Not only does it cause extreme fatigue, it can also cause disruptions in the nervous system, cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal system, immune system, gene expression, and sleep patterns. And if POTS is involved, the urinary tract can also be affected. See here.

For an extensive list of research being done into how ME/CFS affects the various system of the body, see here. If you want to know more about ME/CFS, the British ME Association has an excellent website with loads of very good information. Also, see Dr. Myhill’s site.

ME/CFS sufferers are not hypochondriacs. We just have a terrible disease without a specific cause and without a specific cure. But, in my case, it was curable.

Could I Have Healed Sooner?

I’ve read that some people with ME/CFS are healed after months of just complete rest. That usually entails no work and eliminating all kinds of stress.

In my case, that wasn’t an option. I had a family and financial responsibilities to consider. Would complete bed rest have healed me, though? I don’t think so. My dysautonomia and poor reaction to stress probably wouldn’t have allowed it.

Now, let’s get on with what I did to heal. Bear in mind that though this process took me many years to discover, I continue to use all the strategies to stay healthy and fit. I will list them in the order I discovered them.

Strategy 1: Going Gluten Free

About 12 years ago, I went gluten-free. This was the first major change I made on my health journey.Though I never had any of the major intestinal problems associated with celiac disease, I did have moderate IBS and a lot of the other associated symptoms.

As it turns out, myself and several family members have non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). With this condition, the ingestion of gluten doesn’t cause the destructive autoimmune inflammatory response in the gut like celiac disease does. However, it does cause an immune response that can result in systemic inflammation. See here.

Even if you don’t have NCGS, gluten has been proven to cause leaky gut by disrupting the tight junctions in the epithelial lining of your gut. Because of this, toxins, pathologic organisms, and their byproducts can pass into your bloodstream causing a chronic inflammatory response throughout your body. See here.

Strategy 2: Avoiding Antibiotics

From the time I had my tonsils out at age 4 to about 24 years old, I suffered from one throat and sinus ailment after another. Of course, the first treatment of choice for most doctors was to prescribe antibiotics. Needless to say, I took a lot of antibiotics throughout my life.

While antibiotics can be a life-saving gift from God, they also come with a downside. Often antibiotics don’t discriminate in their killing of bacteria. Meaning they eliminate bad bacteria but they may also destroy good bacteria found in your gut.

In a healthy situation, there are good bacteria (microbiota) that inhabit your intestinal tract. These beneficial bacteria aid in digestion, fighting bad bacteria, and in the production of some vitamins.

When your microbiome is disrupted, as when you take antibiotics, a condition called dysbiosis can result. Dysbiosis has been associated with a number of serious diseases including ME/CFS.

Since I went GF, I’ve only taken antibiotics one time. That was only to determine if I had Lyme disease.

These first two strategies didn’t result in a fantastic immediate improvement in my condition. But what they did do was begin to reduce the inflammation in my gut, help restore a healthy microbiome, and stop my gut from leaking dangerous toxins into my bloodstream.

A healthy gut is key for overall healing.

I didn’t yet understand how to fully heal my damaged gut microbiome. I’ll explain how I further did that when I get to diet strategies.

Next, I’ll reveal the first major strategy I used to gain back some significant energy.

Strategy 3: Daily Walking

About 10 years ago, I read an article about a condition called neurasthenia. This was a mysterious medical condition reported by doctors in the 19th and early 20th century. The description of the symptoms of the disease was very similar to what we now call ME/CFS. One of the treatments recommended for that condition was a daily walk.

I initially thought that that idea was absurd. Walking requires energy, right? Why would I want to expend energy when I had such little energy to start with?

Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. I started out slowly by walking around the neighborhood for just a few minutes. Surprisingly, I found that I felt energized during the walk.

After gradually increasing the distance, within a month I was walking about 1.5 miles daily at a moderate pace without any fatigue at all. After the walks, I felt fine, though the fatigue returned after an hour or so. But I found that over a few months I actually did gain back, and keep, about 10% of the energy I lost.

There is some evidence (also see here) that graded exercise can help some ME/CFS sufferers. For me, a gradual increase in walking distance and speed seemed to work.

I Walk No Matter What The Weather

Walking continues to be an important part of my fitness routine, and I walk regardless of the weather. When it rains or the weather gets cold, I use a treadmill. For me, my treadmill is not only an important piece of fitness equipment, it’s also an indispensable piece of healthcare equipment. I’ve used this one for over 4 years without any issues.

Why Did Walking Work For Me?

I mentioned previously that a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system is closely associated with ME/CFS. This dysfunction usually presents with the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight) dominating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).

Studies have shown that moderate aerobic exercise especially daily walking can enhance parasympathetic activity thus bringing the autonomic nervous system back into balance.

Recent studies have also shown that walking in nature is a powerful therapy for enhancing parasympathetic activity.

To this day, I continue to do a brisk walk (3.5 mph) for at least 1.5 miles 5 -6 times a week.

For the extraordinary health benefits of walking, see my post here.

Okay, that’s it for this post. I’ve given you the first three strategies I discovered that set me on the road to healing from ME/CFS. In my next post, I’ll give you the remaining seven.

I want to emphasize that these are the strategies that worked for me. I’m not recommending them for anyone. However, I believe that science has proven that they are efficacious for health and wellness. Remember, always check with your doctor before you start any treatment protocol.

Have a healthy and blessed week. In my next post, I promise I will present the next 7 strategies that helped me heal from ME/CFS. Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post The 10 Most Important Strategies I Used To Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Part 1 appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.

I remember when I was 15 years old thinking to myself, “If I live to be 65 years old, that means I’ll be around for 50 more years. Wow, that’s a long time!” When you were 15, 50 years seemed like forever, didn’t it?

We’ve all had these kinds of thoughts when we were young. Our bodies were strong and vital and we thought we’d never grow old. But years sneak up on us, don’t they?

At 40, you start to notice that you don’t recover from exercise like you used to. The aches and pains that disappeared after a few days now linger for months.

At 50, you realize that your body has definitely seen better days. Fifty-five brings a medicine cabinet that is starting to get populated with prescription meds for what our society calls lifestyle diseases. You know what they are: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and even heart disease.

At 60, aging starts to become a concern. Maybe you notice it’s a little bit of a struggle getting up the stairs, maybe at times you forget where you put your car keys, maybe you hesitate to pick up your grandkids because your back isn’t as strong as it was 20 years ago.

Wow, isn’t this all kind of depressing? Is the best we have to look forward to a continuous descent into ever worsening physical decline? I mean, is a walker or a wheelchair or the assistance from a stranger just to go to the bathroom what we’re destined for?

No! It doesn’t have to be. In this post, I’m going to show you that it’s scientifically and empirically proven that we can delay the aging process or even, possibly, make our bodies young again.

Reversing The Curse

I’m not saying that we can get rid of gray hair (if we have any hair left to gray). I’m also not saying that we can get rid of those crows feet around our eyes or the brown spots accumulating on our hands.

What I am saying is that even if you’re a 57 years old aging couch potato (like I was), you can once again have a strong and vigorous body, perhaps even one to rival the one you had in your thirties or forties.

And here’s something very important. Not only can you recapture strength even into your eighties, but your muscle cells can also actually regain a gene expression that is of a much younger age than your actual chronological age.

Did you catch that? Your muscles can not only get stronger, but they can also get younger as well!!!

Life Span Versus Health Span

Now, no one can guarantee you a long life. Our lifespan (the number of years we live) is in the hands of the Lord. But we can strive to improve our healthspan (the years we live with good health).

In this post, I’ll show a scientifically proven way to improve the cellular age of your muscles.

And I’ll also show you how to develop better muscle quality. That means you’ll have stronger, healthier pain-free muscles and joints.

You don’t have to resign yourself to the fact that your body has to eventually disintegrate into a pool of mush.

Before we look at the science, let’s take a deeper look at the problem.

Aging Muscle – The Danger Of Sarcopenia

After the age of 30, our muscle mass begins to deteriorate. It happens to everyone, and it’s called age-related sarcopenia. However, for sedentary individuals, the loss of muscle mass can be profound and ultimately become a dangerous health situation.

Researchers estimate that physically inactive individuals can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30. This study is a little more conservative and states that age-related sarcopenia begins in approximately the fifth decade of life (our 40s) and proceeds at a rate of 8% every decade.

That means by the time you’re 70 you could have lost about 24% of your muscle mass.

Different muscle groups may also be more affected than others. Research has shown that you could lose as much as 40% muscle mass in your quadriceps muscles (thighs) between the ages of 20 – 80. See my post here on why barbell squats are an important exercise for all adults.

Age-related Loss Of Muscle Strength

Muscle loss translates into a loss of muscle strength. Older adults can expect to be at least 20% to 40% weaker than their younger adult selves. However, after the age of 60, the loss of muscle strength exceeds the loss of muscle mass. This study concluded that,

Muscle strength might be more important than muscle mass as a determinant of functional limitations and mobility status in older age.

Think about how the loss of muscle strength could affect your quality of life. Does your house have stairs to climb? What about taking packages out of your car? Do you get off a toilet every day? If we want to be able to perform these activities well into old age, we must maintain muscle strength.

Losing too much strength due to aging means losing independence and perhaps even a devolution into a life of frailty.

Why Do Our Muscles Decline With Age?

As researchers delve more into the science of aging, they have proposed a number of reasons why our muscles deteriorate with age. These include programmed cell death, oxidative stress, alterations in protein turnover, inflammation, hormonal dysregulation, disuse, and mitochondria dysfunction.

While all these factors play an important role in the aging of muscle mass, mitochondrial dysfunction has caught the attention of researchers.

The Role Of Mitochondria Dysfunction

You’ll remember from high school biology that mitochondria are the power plants of your cells. Researchers are now convinced that dysfunction within these mitochondria is a major cause of aging. They are, however, not as of yet sure of the exact processes involved.

If you’re really into the geeky science behind mitochondrial dysfunction and aging, see here and here. Also, Dr. Rhonda Patrick from the Found My Fitness podcast has a fascinating interview with Dr. Judith Campisi of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging here. They discuss various theories of aging and possible life extension strategies. Again, beware, it’s science heavy.

But consider this. If you could limit mitochondrial damage, you should theoretically be able to slow down the process of muscle aging. Let’s take that a step further. If you could improve the function of your mitochondria, could you reverse the aging process and possibly make your muscles young again?

Researchers suggest that this may be possible.

Strength Training Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle

In a 2007 study, researchers led by Simon Melov of the Buck Institute studied 25 healthy, relatively active, older individuals (65 – 79 years old) and 26 younger (18 – 28 years old), sedentary individuals. Skeletal muscle biopsies were performed on the younger and older individuals. The older individuals were placed on a 6-month progressive (weights gradually increased) strength training program.

After the 6-month exercise period, muscle biopsies were performed on 14 of the older individuals. Okay, you’re probably thinking the population size is not that large. True, but studies of this type are extremely difficult to perform. However, the study was well randomized and controlled.

Okay, you’re probably thinking the population size is not that large. True, but studies of this type are extremely difficult to perform. However, the study was well randomized and controlled.

Nonetheless, the results were astounding!

The Results Of The Buck Study

Strength Increases

After the 6-month strength training program, the study researchers found that,

…the older individuals were able to improve strength by approximately 50%, to levels that were only 38% less than that of young individuals…”. This means that the older individuals who were engaged in the weight lifting program were able to narrow the strength gap between themselves and the 30-year-olds from 50% to 38%.

That’s a 36% improvement in strength in just six months. Imagine what could happen after three years of training. See my results later in the post.

Does Stronger Mean Younger?

Okay, so far this study showed that older people even up to their 70s can recapture strength. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they reversed their age, right?

Well, yes and no. If I’m stronger today at 61 years old than I was at 30 years old, then I’ve in a sense recaptured the strength of my youth. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll have another 30 years to live.

But it may have an important effect on my healthspan. If I can remain strong in my years going forward, then my risk of disability is greatly reduced.

But let’s get back to the question of getting younger. Did the seniors who lifted weights get younger? Let’s see what the study said.

Mitochondrial Improvement

Researchers in the Buck Study performed muscle biopsies on seniors before and after a 6-month training regimen in order to examine their mitochondria. Previous to weight training, even though the seniors were healthy, their mitochondria revealed a gene expression that was consistent with their age.

However, when the researchers observed the muscle biopsies in the seniors who had weight trained for six months, they found,

…a remarkable reversal of the expression profile of 179 genes associated with age and exercise training…Genes that were down-regulated with age were correspondingly up-regulated with exercise, while genes that were up-regulated with age, were down-regulated with exercise.

They continued,

Genes that are downregulated with age show a marked reversal to youthful levels with exercise, and genes that are upregulated with age also show the same trend to return to youthful levels in association with exercise.

In other words, the 14 older individuals who weight trained developed younger muscles as expressed by their genes.

The researchers summed up by stating,

We report here that healthy older adults show a gene expression profile in skeletal muscle consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction and associated processes such as cell death, as compared with young individuals. Moreover, following a period of resistance exercise training in older adults, we found that age-associated transcriptome expression changes were reversed, implying a restoration of a youthful expression profile.

Did you get that? When it comes to muscle mitochondria, weight training can reverse almost 40 years of aging!

Weight training, however, is not the only way to improve mitochondrial function. Let’s take a look at a Mayo Clinic study.

The Mayo Clinic Study — Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Exercise

As I’ve mentioned, researchers believe that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a key role in the aging of muscle. This dysfunction ultimately leads to a loss of strength and endurance.

In 2017, the Mayo Clinic released a report on their finding concerning muscle cell adaptations of younger and older individuals as a relation to different types of exercise.

The younger age group (aged 18 to 30) and the older (age 65 to 80) were split into 3 different exercise groups. These were high-intensity interval training (specifically biking and walking), strength training using weights, and a combination of moderate intensity interval training and strength training.

Following 12 weeks of training, researchers took a biopsy from the thigh muscle of each individual. They then compared the molecular makeup and lean muscle mass of each group, along with sedentary controls.

This is what they found.

Results of the Mayo Clinic Study

The Mayo team found that strength training is more effective at building muscle than the other forms of exercise. That was an expected finding.

Another expected result was that HIIT had the greatest effect at inducing positive changes at a cellular level, especially on mitochondria.

However, what surprised the Mayo researchers was the effect of HIIT on the muscle cells of the older group.

The Older HIIT Group Showed Dramatic Mitochondrial Improvement

While the younger group of HIIT individuals showed a 49% increase in mitochondrial capacity, the older volunteers experienced a stunning 69% increase. Combined training produced the least favorable results.

Also, the HIIT group comprised of older individuals showed the highest amount of increased gene expression which also surpassed that of the younger HIIT group.

The researchers also found that HIIT caused an increased expression of the genes that produce mitochondrial proteins and protein responsible for muscle growth. This means that HIIT may slow down or even reverses the age-related decline of muscle.

The Conclusion of the Mayo Clinic Study Authors

Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, one of the Mayo clinic’s study authors stated,

Unlike liver, muscle is not readily regrown. The cells can accumulate a lot of damage, however, if exercise restores or prevents deterioration of mitochondria and ribosomes in muscle cells, there’s a good chance it does so in other tissues, too.

According to Nair, exercise may prevent mitochondrial deterioration and possibly reverse damage already done, even in other tissues.

The editors from Science Daily were also enthusiastic concerning the results of the study.

… exercise — and in particular high-intensity interval training in aerobic exercises such as biking and walking — caused cells to make more proteins for their energy-producing mitochondria and their protein-building ribosomes, effectively stopping aging at the cellular level.

So, according to this study, the best way to restore or prevent muscle deterioration is to engage in HIIT.

However, is HIIT alone the best exercise for anti-aging?

The Best Anti-Aging Exercise Strategy

Concerning the best anti-aging exercise program, Sreekumaran Nair stated,

Based on everything we know, there’s no substitute for these exercise programs when it comes to delaying the aging process. These things we are seeing cannot be done by any medicine. Exercise is critically important to prevent or delay aging.

Ok, but which is the best? Nair clarified by adding,

If people have to pick one exercise, I would recommend high-intensity interval training, but I think it would be more beneficial if they could do 3-4 days of interval training and then a couple days of strength training.

From a cellular standpoint, HIIT is the best anti-aging exercise program. However, HIIT will not build the muscle quality that strength training can provide. Therefore, in order for you to achieve improved health and possibly a longer life span, it would benefit you to combine both methods of training.

Now, this is all good in theory. But an important saying goes, “the best exercise program for you is the one that you’ll stick with.” While HIIT has been proven to be the best at optimizing cellular function, it’s also extremely difficult to do.

Does it really help our cause if the best exercise for anti-aging is nearly impossible for us sedentary over-45er’s to actually engage in?

The Problem With HIIT

There is no one standardized HIIT workout routine. The Tabata method, though, gives an idea of what’s generally involved. This method calls for 20 seconds of maximum effort and is followed by a short 10 seconds of rest. This cycle is repeated eight times.

For example, you sprint on a treadmill at an all-out pace for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. You rinse and repeat for seven more times.

Greatist has a great infographic on HIIT.

I’ve never tried this type of exercise nor do I expect I ever will. If you can do it, God bless you. It’s supposed to be utterly brutal.

Recovering From Chronic Illness and HIIT

Now, if you’ve been sedentary your whole life or you’re recovering from a chronic health condition like I was (chronic fatigue syndrome), does that mean that we should entirely discount HIIT?

Not necessarily. Dr. Mercola has suggested a modified HIIT here.

Again, at 57 years old and recovering from CFS, I wouldn’t consider Mercola’s HIIT workout. After watching him do it, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to recover sufficiently.

So what kind of high-intensity exercise can we actually do that will give us the best anti-aging cellular benefits?

One thing we shouldn’t do is despise the day of small beginnings. Meaning we start from where we are and then progress. Let me briefly illustrate this from my experience.

57 Years Old Untrained, Sedentary, and Recovering from CFS

Four years ago, at 57 years old, I was about 80% recovered from a 30-year struggle with CFS. I was also recovered from a two-year bout of severe bursitis in both shoulders.

Needless to say from a musculoskeletal perspective, I was in pitiful shape (I had been doing a brisk 35-minute walk at least 5 days/week for about 6 years)

One evening, I happened to glance at my arms and was shocked at what I saw. My arms were puny and frail looking. That was my motivation to start strength training.

Initially, I started with 15-pound dumbbells. I did three sets of eight reps of bench press, overhead press, and curls three times a week. I didn’t have a specific plan.

Since I had no pain and little fatigue, I continued on. After a few weeks, I graduated to a barbell. My son had an inclined squat machine so I used that to exercise my legs.

As the months went by, I thought I could do this consistently, but I needed a plan. I eventually found the Starting Strength method. This system is a barbell program that involves four basic exercises: the deadlift, back squat, bench press, and overhead press.

So, I went out and bought some Olympic weights and a power rack, and I started the program. Remarkably, I experienced very little fatigue from Starting Strength and I progressed rapidly. If you’re interested in Starting Strength, check out Mark Rippetoe’s excellent book here.

See my post here on how I used Starting Strength to get stronger.

Where My Strength Is At Now

After three years of lifting, I’ve graduated to an intermediate level. At this stage, it’s a little more difficult to make gains. However, last month at 61 years old, I pulled a 300-pound deadlift at a weight of 167 pounds.

 

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I’m not saying you have to lift weights to get strong. Some people get ripped on body weight exercises. But strength training with weights the right way is guaranteed to build muscle.

So if a completely untrained individual recovering from CFS can lift weights, many of you can as well. The only thing holding you back is if you have a debilitating illness.

By the way, for you ladies out there thinking weightlifting is not for you, Barbara has been lifting for 3 years as has my 28-year-old daughter Nicole.

If you’re an older adult and you want to get into barbell training, an excellent resource that will answer all your questions is The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40.

But what about HIIT????

Me and HIIT

Until recently, I haven’t been able to do any kind of serious HIIT. Every time I tried, I developed severe fatigue that often compromised my weight training. So, I just continued to walk.

If you can’t do HIIT, then definitely walk. I believe this has been one of the most important factors in my healing from CFS.

Recently though, I’ve started to introduce my body to some HIIT.

I Begin HIIT

I went on a keto diet in August 2017. Within a few months, I felt better than I had in over 30 years. Most of the fatigue symptoms left my body and I experienced a surge of energy.

So last month I decided to start to add in some HIIT to my routine. Here’s what I do on my treadmill.

• 3-minute warm-up at 3.5 miles per hour (heart rate is at 60% of max)
• 1-minute run at 4.0 miles per hour (HR is at 80% of max)
• 2-minutes at 3.5 miles per hour
• Continue the above 2 sequences for 4 more times
• 3-minute warm-down at 3.5 miles per hour

I do this twice a week.

So far this has been working well for me. I suspect over the coming months I’ll probably improve cardiovascularly, and I may be able to intensify the program.

Even though I’m not doing the classic HIIT, I am getting some intensity. As I said, we should not despise the days of small beginnings.

Okay, am I getting younger? I don’t know. I do know I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. And I know I feel better than I have in 30 years. Something must be working.

The Bottom Line

HIIT combined with resistance training is a scientifically proven anti-aging strategy. Experientially, I can attest to that fact.

As the people from Nike say, “Just do it”.

Okay, that’s it for this post. Remember, we would love to hear from you. Have a blessed week.

This article originally appeared on glutenfreehomestead.com.

The post One Scientifically Proven Way To Reverse The Aging Process appeared first on The Progressing Pilgrim.