32 Tips to Improve Your Health and Fitness
#26. The Science of Longevity
What are the three main indicators of longevity?
1. Build More Muscle
2. Reduce Body Fat
3. Improve your V02 Max
Build muscle!
To live longer healthier lives we need to look at overall body composition, specifically we need to build muscle mass! “The greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death,” said Dr. Arun Karlamangla a co-author on the study of body mass and longevity.
How to build muscle (in a nutshell): Include resistance training in your workouts, add more protein to your diet, eat carbs and protein before & after your workouts, get more sleep.
Reduce body fat and you’ll live longer!
Studies show the relationship between excess body weight and early mortality is clear. Excess body fat is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.
How to Reduce Body Fat (in a nutshell): Eat in a slight caloric deficit, increase your workouts, sleep at least 7 hours, manage stress & anxiety, and drink enough water to live optimally.
Improve your V02 Max
Our VO2 Max, a measure of aerobic fitness (how our body utilizes oxygen for high intensity workouts), is a single measurement that is associated with heart disease risk, all-cause mortality, and even cancer-related deaths. One study found that the higher levels of VO2 Max extended life by about 5 years!
How to improve your V02 Max (in a nutshell): add more cardio & high intensity interval training to your workouts. When we challenge the heart, lungs, and bones to deliver oxygen during high intensity workouts, we adapt by improving our aerobic systems and improve our VO2 max.
None of us can predict when it is our time to die, but when we improve these three markers for longevity: 1. increase muscle mass, 2. reduce body fat, 3. improve our V02 Max, we might just live a little longer, and we will certainly be healthier & fitter individuals during our remaining years!
CrossFit helps us with all 3!
1. Resistance training to help us build muscle.
2. Cardio & HIIT workouts to help us improve our VO2 max.
3. High power output workouts that increase our net energy expenditure to help us lose body fat!