In our last several +1s, we’ve been spending time hanging out with Dr. Robert Lustig and Dr. Casey Means.
We started by chatting about how to optimize the QUADRILLIONS of micro-energy engines in our bodies so we can show up feeling Heroically Energized. Then we talked about the fact that one Coke = 1 YEAR’s worth of sugar 150 years ago (👈 that’s crazy! 🤪!) and the fact that we want to quit drinking our calories. Then we talked about the Unholy Trinity of Bad Energy (aka the THREE things we want to reduce/avoid: added refined sugar, refined vegetable/seed oils, and refined grains), then we had a special shout-out to PARENTS who might be making more trips to the doctor’s office than they’d like.
And…
In our last +1, I promised to share Dr. Lustig’s #1 tip on how to optimize your ol’ mitochondria.
Here it is…
He tells us: “The single best stimulus to make more and fresh mitochondria is exercise—but even your mitochondria can’t outrun a bad diet.”
As it turns out, Peter Attia emphasizes the same wisdom in his great book, Outlive.
In fact, he tells us that EXERCISE is THE #1 thing we can do to crush it.
Here’s how he puts it: “More than any other tactical domain we discuss in this book, exercise has the greatest power to determine how you will live out the rest of your life. There are reams of data supporting the notion that even a fairly minimal amount of exercise can lengthen your life by several years. It delays the onset of chronic diseases, pretty much across the board, but it is also amazingly effective at extending and improving health span. Not only does it reverse physical decline, which I suppose is somewhat obvious, but it can slow or reverse cognitive decline as well.”
He continues by saying: “So, if you adopt only one new set of habits based on reading this book, it must be in the realm of exercise. If you currently exercise, you will likely want to rethink and modify your program. And if exercise is not a part of your life at the moment, you are not alone—77 % of the US population is like you. Now is the time to change that. Right now. Even a little bit of daily activity is much better than nothing. Going from zero weekly exercise to just ninety minutes per week can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 14 percent. It’s very hard to find anything that can do that.”
That’s from the first practical chapter in Part III of his book.
Once we’ve established the high-level intellectual framework (he walks us through the evolution of Medicine 1.0 vs. Medicine 2.0 vs. Medicine 3.0!) and clarified our objectives and strategies (optimize our metabolism/mitochondria to increase BOTH our lifespan AND our healthspan!), we get to work on the TACTICS that will enable us to succeed.
Attia tells us we want to dominate the same core fundamentals we come back to ALL THE TIME:
Eating, moving, and sleeping.
But...
He tells us the place to start is with...
EXERCISE.
I’m going to repeat this line: “So, if you adopt only one new set of habits based on reading this book, it MUST be in the realm of exercise.”
Attia italicized “must.”
I put it in ALL CAPS bold italic just to make sure you got the memo.
And, I want to emphasize that Attia isn’t a bio-hacking nut. He’s a relatively conservative (and VERY rigorous thinking!) Stanford-trained medical doctor.
So...
I personally took him at his word and have rearchitected my training protocol to meet his standards.
The biggest shift for me? Zone 2 training.
Although my VO2 max (I got it tested immediately after reading his book!) was in the highest/“superior” category for my age (I guess the 101 burpees, 1,000 meters of rowing, and 10,000 steps a day EVERY DAY for a decade have helped!), I was only getting about an hour of Zone 2 in per week. Frankly, I was seeing how LITTLE I could train to feel great.
But...
I wasn’t even hitting the standard American recommendation of getting 150 minutes (or 2 and 1/2 hours per week) of Zone 2. Attia recommends THREE to FOUR hours per week. I can assure you I hit 3 hours the week I read the book and I’ve hit 4 hours the last three weeks since.
He says this about Zone 2 (which is 60-70% of your max): “I am so persuaded of the benefits of zone 2 that it has become a cornerstone of my training plan. Four times a week, I will spend an hour riding my stationary bike at my zone 2 threshold.”
In addition to strength and stability training as part of our new exercise protocol, he’s ALL about optimizing our VO2 max which is why hitting his standard is my current #1 Energy goal.
He tells us: “I push my patients to train for as high a VO2 max as possible, so that they can maintain a high level of physical function as they age. Ideally, I want them to target the ‘elite’ range for their age and sex (roughly the top 2 percent). If they achieve that level I say good job—now let’s reach for the elite level for your sex, but two decades younger. This may seem like an extreme goal, but I like to aim high, in case you haven’t noticed.”
And…
That’s Today’s +1.
How’s YOUR training looking these days?
And…
How can you step it up and give your mitochondria a little more love?
Let’s do that.
TODAY.
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