Physical Capacity
Retire. Spend. Give has become my mantra. Do it with who you love, and do it when you are most physically capable of enjoying it. But how do we extend our physical capacity, how do we ensure we are aging not only with grace, but with a bit of rage.
So, I had a conversation with the man himself, Jeremy Tucker, the owner of Elite Strength & Conditioning, in San Antonio, TX. Not only is he one of the fittest 50 year old men in the world (33rd to be exact), his gym has an astounding amount of extremely fit 50, 60, and 70+ year old men and women. There are several that I have a hard time keeping up with. It’s a long conversation, but it’s timestamped so you can scroll to what you may find most relevant.
My very unscientific approach revolves around improving my physical fitness. The more capable I am, and the more my diet revolves around improving that physical capacity, the less I concern myself about “longevity.” In my opinion, improved physical capacity will drive longevity.
There’s good company that supports this view. Dr. Peter Attia, author of Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity, writes ,“Your VO2 max is more strongly correlated with your lifespan than any other metric I can measure.”
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon touts the quality and health of our muscle mass: “Muscle is the organ of longevity®. As we age, our quality of life depends on our muscle health.”
Find what works for you and do it across generations if you can.
I ran a half marathon in the inaugural San Antonio Marathon this past December with the old man. What an experience.
I train Jiu Jitsu with the kids.
I run with my wife. (She races, I run. lol)
And every once in a while, we chow. Have some fun!
