Issue #34: Healthy at 100
Good morning. It’s Friday, September 30th. Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by Fiona and Ian.
Reminder: World Central Kitchen (the organization started by Chef José Andrés) is already on the ground feeding the millions of people that will struggle to find food this week. Link below if you are interested in donating:
Blood will also be in low supply. Check out your local Red Cross or (if you're in FL) OneBlood donation centers to schedule time to give a pint to save a life.
The total cost of billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events over the last 5 years in the U.S. This is more than 1/3 the total cost of disasters over the last 43 years (1980-2022), which exceeds $2.275T (inflation-adjusted to 2022$).
Weekly Insights
No other Element is proven to extend longevity like exercise.
Even modest improvements - going from Low Fitness Level (bottom 25% percentile) to Below Average Fitness Level reduces all-cause mortality (hazard ratio) by 50%!
This equates to an estimated 6-8 years of improved healthspan.
Why do we feel more energy, more focused, and increase our odds for better longevity?
Lower blood pressure
More good cholesterol (HDL)
Weight loss
VO2 max: Exercise boosts our heart rate and how much blood is pumped with each beat. This increases how much oxygen we can take in. VO2max is the leading indicator for those of us that want to achieve "Elite" fitness.
If we don't exercise, starting in our 30's our VO2 max goes down 10% per decade. That's why it's critically important to get a high VO2 max in our 20's & 30's (as a starting point) and continuously exercise - which can reduce this decline to only 5% per decade.
Weekly Targets by Zone:
Lots of time in Zone 1 (Issue #30) [1+ hrs/day] - easily able to talk and pay attention to what's around you
80-90% of active exercise in Zone 2 (Issue #31) [3-4 hrs/week] - challenging to hold a conversation (60-70% of max heart rate)
10-20% of active exercise in Zone 5 (Issue #32) [0.5 hrs/week] - very challenging (90% of max heart rate)
All About METs
A MET* is the metabolic equivalent to sitting (basically doing nothing). That (doing nothing) would be 1.0 METs.
A MET-hour = METs x # of hours (e.g., playing doubles for 2 hours = 10 MET-hours)
More MET-hours = a longer life
Example METs for Zone 1
Example METs for Zone 2
Bottom line
Stay active throughout the day and the week; and
Find a way to look forward to (even crave) working out.
Dr. Peter Attia
Much of the inspiration and research for this week came from Peter Attia's Drive Podcast.
Who is Peter Attia?
His credentials speak for themselves - M.D. from Stanford, five years General Surgery at Johns Hopkins, and two years as fellow at National Cancer Institute.
He's also a guy that swam the Catalina Channel (that's a 20 mile swim that takes 10 hours if you're crushing it - with some great whites roaming around).
But recently the practicing physician has changed his workout regimen to focus on longevity, not extreme sports.
The Centenarian Decathlon
For Peter, the goal isn't about 10-hr swims, but about maximizing energy today and being able to "thrive" when he's 100.
Here's what he wants to be able to do when he hits that magic number:
Walk 3 miles in 1 hour
Climb 60 8-inch stairs in 1 minute
Carry 20 lbs of groceries to the car and into the house
Be able to get up off the floor with just 1 hand of support
I still want to complete a triathlon or get the top score in my cross-training class - but for me personally, I'm thinking more and more about being fit for my entire life.
Unanswered Questions
Even such a successful entrepreneur and doctor has the same feelings and questions as the rest of us - one quote that really resonated with me:
Much of the drive and the perfectionism that I’ve had most of my life actually came from a set of beliefs that are sad and are beliefs that I don’t want my children to have, which is, 'That I’m not enough, and that I need to do these things to be valued either by others or by society or by myself.'
And what keeps a Dr. Attia up at night?
How to be a great dad when I'm spending so much time with my 'other jobs'?
How to set up my kids to be the best version of themselves when I don't know what that means?
How to balance the comfort and adversity to prepare my kids for life?
Everyone has questions that keep them up - even the experts.
But no matter what you're working through - just being here shows just how committed you are to living your best life and getting answers to these questions.
We'll continue to support you on this journey as we push forward one day at at time.
*To read more about Peter Attia, check out this interview
Friday Flex
Ahh - it's Friday. Here's a little workout to help with that six pack and to stretch it out. The pike (downward dog) is one of my go-to stretches for my lower back, hamstrings, and calves.
Click HERE to view the workout on our YouTube channel.
Workout and video courtesy of Connor J. Obrochta. Check out all of Connor's workouts on Playbook!
While we know there's a lot of people with damaged homes or living without power in PR, CAN and FL, right now - we know we'll all persevere. To crank the positivity, here's a song from one of my favorite bands - 311. Always, remember to look up...
Have an absolutely awesome weekend!
Check out the latest workout videos on our YouTube channel
Got feedback? Tell us what you think at team@thrive25.com
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Rest in Peace Aunt Jeanne 🙏
Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.
To health!
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.