Pro-Longevity Training

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by Christian Thibaudeau

Get Older, Stay Awesome

Want to stay fit and strong as you age? Here's how to adjust your training. Don't worry, lifting weights is still a big part of it.

As I get older, instead of focusing mainly on being the biggest and strongest guy around, I’m shifting my focus toward pro-longevity training. Should you? Let’s talk about it.

The Bullet Points

  • Increasing lifespan beyond what you could achieve in a healthy state is a slightly different, complex topic. Exercise may not be as important as increasing telomere length, increasing the number of satellite cells, maintaining hormone levels, etc. Pro-longevity training, however, means maintaining or improving your level of fitness and functioning as you age.
  • The key is to train the things that naturally decrease as you get older: muscle mass, power, strength, speed, mobility, and endurance. Of those, aging impacts speed, agility, and power more than endurance. Strength and muscle fall somewhere in the middle.
  • Minimizing or preventing sarcopenia (loss of muscle) is certainly part of it, but basic hypertrophy training will take care of that. Most dedicated lifters maintain decent levels of strength and conditioning because it’s part of what they already do.
  • However, few lifters work on power, speed, and agility, important parts of pro-longevity training. These capacities tend to “go first” as we age.
  • Explosive work prevents the conversion of fast-twitch fibers to slow-twitch fibers, which comes naturally with aging. It also increases neurological efficiency (preventing brain degradation) and improves insulin sensitivity.
  • Mobility is a huge part of pro-longevity training.
  • For conditioning, many do steady-state work, which is good, but they neglect harder conditioning: anaerobic capacity. How much hard work can you perform in three minutes?
  • A good program should address all of these aspects in some regard. We’re not talking about maximizing your potential in each of these areas, which would require a periodized approach focusing on different aspects at different times. Rather, we’re talking about concurrent training, increasing everything simultaneously, though to a lesser extent.
  • Do two or three hypertrophy-based workouts per week and two athletic days (one for power and anaerobic capacity, one for conditioning with some skill/explosive exercises). Low-intensity cardio can be performed at any time.

For more info, check out my Eternal Warrior strategies.

Note: For more videos like this and Q&A with Coach Thibaudeau, join him in his exclusive T Nation Plus forum.

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3 Likes
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I turn 50 next year so this sounds like the direction I need to be headed.

I started your effort based Hypertrophy plan and figured I would use the Push/Pull/ Legs as my 3 Hypertrophy workouts and drop the bonus day.

Can you give an example of what the other two athletic type days should look like or point me in the direction to research how it should be designed? Thanks!

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Here’s what I came up with taking some info/exercises from another program (think its an old one by you) and some exercises I just like. Any suggestions is appreciated.

Upper

A1. Drop Catch Bench 5x5
A2. Football Bar Floor Press 5x5 (60-75%)

B1. Speed Alternate DB Row 5x5
B2. Bent Row (60-75%) 5x5

C1. Incline Medicine Ball Throw 5x5
C2. Incline DB Press (60-75%) 5x5

D1, One Arm T-bar Shoulder Press 5x5
D2. DB Push Press (60-75%) 5x5

Lower

A1. Broad Jump 5x5
A2. Snatch (Focus on speed, not weight) 5x5

B1. Vertical Jumps 5x5
B2. Lumberjack Squats (60-75%) 5x5

C. Sled Sprints 3x15 meters

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Here’s an example of what I’m typically doing.

Keep a few things in mind:

  1. I don’t actually follow a program, in that my sessions are highly variable. I do respect the “theme of the day” but the actual content of the session is not planned in advance. I think that a program is important when you learn to train (like following a recipe when you start cooking) and when you want to peak at a certain time or to maximize results in one element. But when your training is more “hollistic”/aimed at improving everything as well as overall health, I think that following a rigid plan is less important. Of course, I have 30+ years of training behind me so I’m likely better than most at autoregulating my training.

  2. I’m now more of an educator than a coach. This means that the bulk of my work is now giving seminars, writing articles, answering forum questions, and creating social media content. I still train clients, but only online. This means that I have a lot more free time and less stress than most. I do have two kids but Jayden started school and Mady goes to daycare. So from 7:30am to 4pm I can do my own thing (I also wake up at 5am to do work).

  3. I have a very good capacity to tolerate physical work; I recover pretty fast. As I’m getting older, it takes a bit more time but it’s still faster than many.

With that in mind, here is my typical weekly content:

Strength & Hypertrophy: twice per week: For strength I currently focus on the following lifts:

  • Zercher squat
  • Snatch-grip high pull from blocks
  • Dips
  • Barbell curl

I will do two of those in a strength session and 2-3 simpler hypertrophy exercises.

I will sometimes replace a strength session with a pure hypertrophy workout (typically on machines) if I feel more tired.

Performance/conditioning sessions: twice per week I do a circuit-type workout aimed at improving aerobic power and anaerobic capacity.

These are never the same (kinda like Crossfit without the hazardous movements) but they normally use:

  • 4-5 exercises
  • 5-6 rounds
  • Active rest (stationary bike)

Here are some examples, these are my last two conditioning sessions:

Example 1.
6 rounds of
Bodyweight dips x max reps
Snatch-grip high pull from hang x 5
Farmer’s walk x 40 meters
Abs
Stationary bike x 2 min

Example 2.
5 rounds of
Box jumps x 10
Walking lunges x 30 meters
See Saw press (alternating DB overhead press) x 10 per arm, with speed
KB long pull (from floor to arms fully extended overhead, not as a swing, more like a high pull) x 10
KB rotational/lateralswings x 10/side
Heavy bag. (100lbs boxing bag) carry x 30m
Stationary bike x 2 min

Aerobic work (around 120 beats per minute): 3 x 45-50 min/week (these are normally done as a second daily session)

Other:
Boxing training once a week (which is also anaerobic capacity work as well as explosive/agility work)
Martial arts 3x a week (typically as a second session, in the evening)

A week can look like:

Monday: Conditioning session / Aerobic work
Tuesday: Strength session / Martial arts
Wednesday: Aerobic work / Mobility
Thursday: Conditioning session
Friday: Aerobic work / Mobility
Saturday: Strength session / Martial arts (2 classes)
Sunday: Boxing

My 5-year-old son does the martial arts and boxing classes with me.

3 Likes
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I kinda like it.

Maybe two comments:

  1. The bench drop and catch is a very high-impact method. Might be too stressful if you are getting older and have joint/tendons issues. That doesn’t disqualify the movement, but just something to keep in mind.

  2. If find the 60-75% on the low end for 5 x 5. I’d personally recommend 70-80% (e.g ramping from 70 to 80%).

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Awesome! Thanks !

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60 here. This is my workout trying to use what I learn on here to get away from the pure weight and aerobic workouts of the last 30 years. Trying too work more flexibility and function into my life. (Typical Weekly Program)

M - Rom DL, Lat Pull, Rev Shoulder, Curls, 20 min 12% Grade- 3 mph
T - Front Squat, Chest Press, Incline DB Fly, Tris, 20 1.5% Grade- 3.5
W - Farmers Walk, Push Sled, Pull Sled, Chins, 20 12% Grade- 3
R - Glute/Ham, Row, Rev Lat Pull, DB Curl 20 1.5 Grade- 3.5 mph
F - Squat Machine, Cable Fly, Mil Press, Tris -20 12% Grade 3 mph
S - 1 hour Krav Maga

I also took up surfing this year, which is also training in humility. I am good at falling…

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I actually believe that becoming a beginner in something is great for anti-aging. Having to learn new things is important for brain function

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@Christian_Thibaudeau what do you mean for conditioning how much work can u do in 3 min?

For example could it be max distance on a bike for just 1 bout of 3 min after a workout?

Or do you need to do multiple rounds of 3 min

Thanks

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Multiple rounds. Take my workout example above… I typically do 5-6 rounds.

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How much rest in between the 3 min rounds

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That depends on someone’s level of conditioning as we want a fairly stable performance level.

I personally do 3 minutes but the first 2 are active (on the stationary bike) then I rest 1 minute.

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Thank u

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This is excellent. Read then watch the video. I’m 66 years old and still training. I have incorporated much of what is outlined here. I will be adding 1 Power and 1 Speed/Agility workout per week as recommended. I will be ordering raw pistachios today! Please provide more balanced workout regimens like this. Even if you are young, you need to think about Pro-Longevity in your workouts.

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This is a topic that interests me. Can the days be distributed as follows:
For example, training every other day /3 times a week/, with the first being a Squat, Shoulder Press and Chin-Ups in 5x2-3, the second is a Full Body workout using machines in 2-3x8-12, and the third is a kettlebell workout with swings and snatches. As after each workout, you can do light cardio for 15-20 minutes. For example, a treadmill.

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Absolutely! That is a very good plan!

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…and very frustrating because it takes longer for your body to catch up with your brain :grinning:

Bry

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I have been trying to keep certain non-lifting functional exercises in my training, mainly from different articles I have read on here. I still do long jumps before deadlifts, box jumps before some squat exercise, ball slams before pullups (sometimes), and sprinting as a finisher if I didn’t do box jumps. Lately I have gone back to adding some GPP workouts into my routine, along with a couple of runs a week. I love and hate GPP, but burpees have there place in everyone’s life :slight_smile:

Bry

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Thib, l have a long overdue question for you about moderate-intensity aerobic training, such as jogging. Now everyone says that low and high intensity is good, and medium is evil. Is this so in terms of increasing life expectancy?