There’s a lot things you could do to try to live longer but none as simple as the one proposed by the doctor michael mosley.
At a time when biological age has become the buzzword, there are people willing to do anything to turn back the clock. Getting up at 5 in the morning, following the same diet as in the Paleolithic, or taking dozens of supplements and medications every day are some of them.
But according to Mosley you can get similar effects with much less effort.
The popular doctor has been providing health and healthy lifestyle advice to the UK public since 1985. A lover of the benefits of fasting and ketogenesis, he is the creator of the 5:2 diet, based on the premise of eating everything 5 days a week, and fasting another 2, reducing intake to about 500 calories a day.
On his podcast for BBC Sounds, Just One Thinghas revealed the one thing that anyone can do without much complexity to extend your life and even rejuvenate.
The strength training you must do to live longer and rejuvenate
Based on current evidence, Mosley says that doing muscle strengthening exercises for just a few minutes a day can “confer some remarkable health benefits,” including living longer.
“An American study found that muscle mass is one of the strongest predictors of longevityeven more than weight or body mass index,” he says on the podcast. “Researchers followed 3,600 men and women over the age of 50 for a decade and found that those with more muscle mass had a lower risk of death for all causes.”
Conclusions similar to those of another investigation published last year. According to this, the risk of premature death is reduced by up to 22% in those who do strength training.
Another study, also from 2022, found that invest between 30 and 60 minutes per week to the muscles it has an incidence of between 10 and 20% less risk of death from all causes and, in particular, from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and lung cancer.
It’s not the only benefit to be gained from lifting weights. Mosley also claims that muscle training can benefit metabolism, waist contour and reduce blood sugar levels. Some trials suggest that it even reverses aging at the cellular level.
“In a small but fascinating study, scientists asked 14 older people to do strength training twice a week for 6 months and then compared their muscles to those of younger adults. They looked at the parts of cells that generate energy, mitochondria. Normally, these decline with age, but older adults who had been doing strength training had increased levels of mitochondria similar to those seen in younger men and women.”
To avoid the loss of muscle mass that comes with age, Mosley advises doing 3 simple exercises using household objects:
- biceps curl using a large milk bottle
- calf raises pushing off your toes with the help of a countertop
- weighted squats filling a backpack with books.
To live longer make sure you do 3 sets of 10 each dayrecommends.
