My entire life, I have had a strong connection to my great grandmother—Peewee as she was nicknamed. She lived to be 102 years old. She and I have several things in common (our tastes in perfume, our love of bacon and eggs, our height [don’t laugh], we are both the mother of twins) and as long as I can remember, I’ve told my kids that I’m going to live to be 102 just like Peewee. But I always assumed that I would get there on sheer luck and awesome French genes that I inherited from her.
I remember talking to my grandmother (one of Peewee’s twin daughters) a few weeks before her 90th birthday. She told me about how she does her “stretches” every day. I said, “Mere, (pronounced “mare” which is French for mother), what do you mean you do ‘stretches’ every day?” She replied, “you know, my stretches.” Turns out my grandmother did yoga every day for almost 50 years. When I talked to her on her 90th birthday I asked her if she did her “stretches”. She said, “You know, Allyson, I woke up and said—I’m 90 today, I can’t skip them. But then I realized that the reason I’m 90 and can still do them is because I do them every day so today’s no different.” And while my grandmother did not make it to 100 like her mother did, I started thinking maybe I need to start planning for the long game and how I’m going to be able to break the century mark.
Years later, I listened to a podcast wherein Dr. Peter Attia (a well known physician who focuses on the applied science of longevity) described how he has changed his focus from extreme exercise to what he describes as the Centenarian Olympics. He has compiled a list of tasks he wants to be able to do when he is 100 years old. Being inspired (and believing I’m going to crack the century mark myself), I made a list as well. Here are a few of my “events”.[1]
· get off the floor with little support
· pull myself out of a pool
· walk up and down three flights of stairs with something in your hands
· touch my toes
· stand on one foot with your eyes closed for 30 seconds
· do the 4-7-8 breath[2] 5 times without gasping
· get in and out of a tall car/bed without help
· stand up from a seated position without using your hands
Dr. Mark Hyman, American physician and founder of the UltraWellness Center said it perfectly, “My goal is to die young at a very old age.”
Making it to Triple Digits
Life expectancies in developed and developing countries have been rising, causing the number of centenarians to rise as well. In 2020, the number of centenarians rose to approximately 573,000 worldwide. That is over four times as many as in 1990. And the predicted growth is only accelerating. There is evidence that shows that by 2050, there may be 3.7 million centenarians across the globe.
Right now, the United States has the most centenarians with about 97,000 living in the U.S. Japan comes in second with 79,000 and home to the oldest known living person,Kane Tanaka who is 117 years old, which also makes her a supercentenarian (someone who is older than 110).[3] Japan is also the country with the highest rate of centenarians at 4.8 for every 10,000 people (while the US is at 2.2 centenarians for every 10,000 people).
The bad news is that as we age, our body becomes less flexible. Being less flexible can cause instability and stiffness and make us become less stable. Sarcopenia (muscle loss) and osteopenia (bone loss) are common results of aging as well. The good news is that we can do exercises that keep us more flexible and keep our bones healthier for longer.
There’s a reason why no one wants to buy a 10 year old used car with 200,000 miles on it. It’s because there’s a high chance some of the parts have been worn out and need replacing and the car will never work the same as a brand new model. Same thing with a human body. Overdoing physical activity at a certain age can do the same thing to our joints and tissues. And we can’t ever get back that same spring we had as a spry young chicken (I’m pretty sure I just aged myself with that sentence).
Conversely, you also don’t want to buy that car that’s been sitting in the driveway (or the front lawn—you know you were thinking it too) collecting dust and that hasn’t been turned on in 5 years—because that too will cause damage to the car. Same with a sedentary human body. Muscles, joints and bones need to be moved to work correctly.
How to Train for the Centenarian Olympics
According to Dr. Attia, there are four pillars of physical training that he recommends for his patients regardless of the goals or events that you plan on showcasing in your personal centenarian Olympics:
Stability
When we get older, our body’s systems that detect gravity, identify exact body positioning and promote balance and stability become less effective. These declines increase your risk of falling, but they often occur alongside losses in muscle strength and mobility. Put this all together and it is easy to see why falls are the number one cause of injuries among older Americans according to the National Council on Aging. [4].
Strength
Stronger muscles equal a longer life. This is the conclusion of one study in theAmerican Journal of Medicine that shows muscle mass is an indicator of longevity and health in older adults. However, as we age, we lose muscle mass (sarcopenia) so we have to work harder at maintaining our muscle strength. In fact, we start to lose muscle mass at age 40 and it accelerates at age 50. The great news here is that our bodies are so amazing that muscle loss can actually be reversed. The take home is—it’s never too late to get muscle mass.
Aerobic Efficiency
Aerobic Efficiency is the measure of your body’s ability to create energy through the combustion of carbohydrates, amino acids and fats in the presence of oxygen. Aerobic exercise is essential for longevity in that (among other things), it keeps your muscles strong, reduces the risks of such conditions as obesity, heart disease and diabetes, keeps your arteries clear, boosts your mood as well as keeping your mind sharp.
Anaerobic Efficiency
Anaerobic efficiency on the other hand is the measure of your body’s ability to create energy through the combustion of carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. When there is not enough oxygen in the bloodstream, glucose and glycogen cannot be fully broken down to carbon dioxide and water. Instead, lactic acid is produced, which can build up in the muscles and degrade muscle function. Aging has a greater impact on our body’s anaerobicendurance which means that there is a greater risk of injury for certain activities that require anaerobic activity as we age.
Why Should We Care if We Can Participate in these Centenarian Olympics?
This article is not mean to tell you how to get to be 100 years old. There are several really great articles out there that focus on what factors you should look at in order to live to be 100[5][6][7]. Rather, the purpose of this article is to make you think about what do you (and you as in really you not the universal ‘you’) need to work on that would help you be where you need to be in terms of activities when you reach 100. My list focuses on survival and being able to be self-sufficient.
· If I can stand on one leg with my eyes closed at 77, I’m helping my balance and I’m teaching my brain to work without my eyesight (in case I continue on this path to wear glasses at all times or even in the dark).
· If I can touch my toes, then if I drop something when I’m 88 years old, I can pick it up off the floor and don’t need to call for help.
· If I can do the breathing exercises when I’m 99, my lung capacity is such that I can be better equipped to ward off common colds and pneumonia. I
· If I can lift myself up from a seated position or off the floor, it can help prevent falls and all those ER visits we talked about earlier.
So, it’s not really about being super fit and running marathons at 100, rather, if we start to “train” our bodies to last longer now, we can head off certain problems before they happen.
So What Now?
The short answer is—a little of everything. As in—if you lift weights, go for a walk and do some yoga. If you do yoga, do some HIIT classes. And so on. That’s the “bad” news—you need more of what you’re not getting. The good news though is—you don’t need a lot of it. When we are in our 20’s we think we need to push ourselves and “feel the burn” in order to make exercise count. But in your 40’s too much of a good thing is a bad thing. A little goes a long way in terms of stability and strength as we age. Bottom line—just keep moving and doing and get a variety of exercise that works on stability, strength, and aerobic and anaerobic activities.
And come see me and say hi in 40 or 50 years—I’ll still be here.
Allyson Brupbacher was born and raised in New Orleans until she enrolled and then graduated from University of Houston Law School in 1997. She has been practicing family law for over 20 years. She is board certified in family law and a licensed mediator. She has been practicing yoga for about 5 years and made a dream come true when she became a certified yoga instructor RYT 200 in June 2020. She lives in Houston, Texas. She describes herself as a lawyer, mother and badass but not necessarily in that order. She also calls herself the yoga lawyer. Her background provides a unique perspective to help parties in the middle of a divorce. If you are in need of a divorce coach, contact her at www.coachingbyallyb.com or email at allyb@coachingbyallyb.com or follow her on Instagram (@txyogalawyer, @yogalawyer1123, @coachingbyallyb, @texasdivorcecoach) Facebook (@txyogalawyer and @coachingbyallyb) and Twitter (@coachingbyallyb). And visit her blog-- https://coachingbyallyb.blogspot.com
[1] I plan to post a more comprehensive list on my podcast in the near future.
[2] I will also have a podcast and blog on why this breathing technique is so helpful.
[3] The oldest person to ever live was Jeanne Louise Calment (b. 21 Feb 1875) from Arles, France who died at the age of 122 years and 164 days old.
[4] Every 11 seconds an older adult is treated in the ER for a fall; every 19 minutes an older adult dies from a fall
[5] Sally Wadyka, Simple Rules to Follow if you Want to Live to 100, The Health Newsletter, May 2019
[6] Diana Licalzi, Science-Backed Habits Live Past 100: Lessons from the Blue Zones, InsideTracker, October 2020
[7] Rachel Swalin, 10 Ways to Live to 100, Health.com, February 2021
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