Let me introduce you to some truly curmudgeonly oldsters, filled with hostility and resentful of the world, lol. Again, for every piece of advice by one centenarian, you’ll find the opposite by another. My interest is piqued by the peculiar cases. The hard drinking heavy smoking 110 year old. The wreck of a human being with multiple heart attacks and a plethora of health issues already in their early 30’s and addictions and massive hostility, who nonetheless lives until 90 or beyond (check out Jerry Lewis, lol). I think it’s instructive. Whenever I hear a piece of advice or claim, I say “well, that’s very nice, but just how true is it?”. Sure being zen sounds fantastic on the surface of it. But I can easily point to tons of zen masters who passed away at a young age, and hostility filled a$$holes who keep on trucking into their 90’s and beyond. Too bad Alan Watts didn’t have Dick’s constitution to handle alcohol and other vices. In other words, don’t just take anyone’s word for it - trust, but verify. And keep that inner skeptic alive - it’s your only defense against self-induced deception (you are the easiest one to fool by yourself). YMMV.
Well, then there’s the fact that you tend to be happier in life following Dick’s advice. I think I’d rather live long and be happy instead of live long and be a curmudgeon. 
Not drinking or smoking definitely gives them an advantage.
I’d love to do this hike one day…
In my view/opinion the female version of Dave Pascoe.
Here is a tidy transcript, summary, and critique of the video featuring Dr. Natasha Vita-More.
Video Information
Title: 75-Year-Old Futurist’s Longevity Routine: Diet, Exercise & Transhumanism
Source: YouTube Link
Subject: Dr. Natasha Vita-More, a 75-year-old transhumanist, discusses her approach to aging, health, and the future.
1. Summary
Overview
In this episode, host Sierra visits Dr. Natasha Vita-More in Arizona. At 75, Natasha is physically fit, cognitively sharp, and a leading figure in the transhumanist movement. The interview covers her daily protocols for longevity, her philosophical outlook on life extension, and the habits she maintains to stay “jacked” and vibrant.
Key Takeaways:
- The Morning Protocol: Natasha wakes up naturally around 6:00 AM but utilizes the “4 AM creative window” for writing affirmations. She skips traditional breakfast (intermittent fasting) and prioritizes Pilates for core strength and flexibility to counteract the shrinking that comes with age.
- Nutrition: Her first meal is “brunch,” consisting of high protein (fish/salmon) and vegetables (kale, cucumber). She avoids fried foods and excessive carbs but allows flexibility for treats like ice cream and chocolate to avoid rigidity.
- Supplementation: She takes a personalized stack including Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin D with K (specifically for a deficiency she discovered via hair analysis), Omega-3s, and a multivitamin. She emphasizes testing over following trends.
- Exercise Philosophy: She works out seven days a week. Her philosophy is “suck it up and keep moving,” even when facing pain from arthritis or past cancer battles.
- Neuroplasticity & Work: She refuses to retire, viewing her work as play. To prevent dementia, she forces her brain to do challenging tasks she doesn’t want to do to create cognitive stress and new neural pathways.
- Transhumanism: Along with her husband Max More, she advocates for cryonics as a “safety net” and is optimistic about AI and future technologies that might allow for consciousness uploading.
- Evening Routine: She prioritizes laughter (comedy shows), dancing with her husband, and stargazing to maintain perspective and reduce stress.
2. Critique
Strengths
- Living Proof: Natasha is a compelling subject because she embodies her advice. At 75, her physical agility and cognitive speed are demonstrably impressive, lending credibility to her routine.
- Holistic Approach: Unlike some “biohackers” who focus solely on supplements or data, Natasha emphasizes the psychological aspects of aging—vanity, creativity, laughter, and human connection—as equally important to diet and exercise.
- Pragmatism: She offers a refreshing counter-narrative to rigid health influencers. She admits to eating ice cream and chocolate “gingerly” and advises listeners to do what works for their specific biology (e.g., her Vitamin K deficiency discovery).
- Production Quality: The interview is well-paced, mixing sit-down conversation with active demonstrations of her workout and cooking, keeping the viewer engaged.
Weaknesses & Limitations
- Anecdotal Evidence: While inspiring, the advice is largely N=1 (based on one person’s experience). Her success may be heavily influenced by genetics (“good genes” is admitted by her husband) rather than just her protocol.
- Accessibility: The lifestyle portrayed (organic salmon, extensive supplement stacks, cryonics memberships, Pilates equipment) implies a socioeconomic status that may not be accessible to the average viewer.
- Vague Specifics on “Science”: While she mentions “scientific research,” the video stays quite surface-level regarding the specific clinical data behind her choices compared to other longevity content creators (like Bryan Johnson or Peter Attia).
- Transhumanism Polarisaton: The segment on cryonics and uploading consciousness is a radical shift from the practical health advice. While fascinating, it may alienate viewers looking strictly for wellness advice who find the concept of “living forever” via technology dystopian or unrealistic.
3. Tidy Transcript
(Note: This transcript has been edited for clarity, removing filler words like “um/uh,” repetitive stammers, and the mid-roll advertising segment to focus on the content.)
[00:00] Intro
Narrator: This is Dr. Natasha Vita-More. At 75, she’s jacked and unbelievably healthy. And she lives by one clear motto:
Natasha: I do things that are challenging that I don’t want to do.
Narrator: But her health journey hasn’t always been easy. Natasha battled cancer and arthritis.
Natasha: I was so embarrassed. I started crying. “Why can’t I do this?” [But] there’s nothing you can do. Just keep on moving and suck it up.
[00:38] The Longevity Routine
Sierra (Host): 75 and so full of life. Your longevity routine—is this something that anyone could do?
Natasha: Yes, I think so. They have to commit legitimately and get on with it.
Sierra: Try to wake up as late as possible?
Natasha: Really, I do wake up automatically around 6:00 or 6:30. While I’m still in bed, I like to nurture that creative time in the middle of the night, that 4:00 in the morning. I wake up… I have a creative moment that can last anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour and write some affirmations or positive action items for me to do throughout the day. And then, Pilates.
[01:12] Pilates & Flexibility
Natasha: Show me the magic. Okay, the first position, 90 degrees. Point your toes. Very good. Okay, now go back. Arms straight up.
Sierra: This is hard.
Natasha: Oh yes. And roll up and stretch your legs out.
Sierra: Why Pilates?
Natasha: Pilates because it’s all about the core. The core of your body aligned and tight so that you can stand tall rather than shrinking. Remember, as we age, we kind of go down.
Sierra: Do you feel like Pilates is something that everyone should do?
Natasha: Being flexible is most important. You don’t have to be a big bodybuilder. You don’t have to be a ballerina or a gymnast, but you need to be able to get up and down and to move about. Keep those muscles going. Keep the bones going. Pilates helps with flexibility, especially the joints in the hips and the shoulders.
Natasha: Then I can get up and do the standing head-to-knee. Put all your weight on your left leg. Lift your legs up and stretch out.
[02:24] Meditation & Max More
Sierra: After Pilates, what happens next?
Natasha: I usually take a break and meditate.
Sierra: I’m going to leave you to that. Is Max home?
Natasha: Yes, just down the hallway on the left.
Narrator: Max More is a philosopher and futurist who, alongside his wife Natasha, helped shape the transhumanist movement, advocating for the use of science and tech to elevate human potential.
Sierra: So, Max, how did you meet Natasha?
Max More: First of all, I’m kind of amazed there was a Natasha to meet. She was so unusual. Timothy Leary, who was well known in the 60s… hosted a party for people interested in life extension and cryonics. That’s where I met Natasha. We kind of spotted each other across the room and locked eyes.
Sierra: If science and technology were to allow us to live for centuries, how do you think that would change love and relationships?
Max: That’s one of those questions where the main answer really is “I don’t know.” But I would speculate that… people tend to let themselves go as they get older because it seems like an inevitable thing. But if it’s not, you got to take better care of yourself.
Sierra: What do you feel has enabled Natasha to age so beautifully?
Max: I think some of it must be good genes. People consistently underestimate her age by quite a bit—something like 15, 20 years off easily. It’s amazing how much she exercises. That definitely has a lot to do with it. You want a pill or something? Not going to happen. You got to put in the work. I think also diet. We are very keen on healthy diets.
[05:36] Brunch & Diet
Sierra: Brunch. First meal of the day. Why don’t you eat breakfast?
Natasha: There’s no reason. I just enjoy a morning free of food and just with my thoughts. I do my writing, my journal, a meditation, Pilates… and it just fits.
Sierra: What do you tend to make?
Natasha: I tend to have a protein and vegetables. I try not to have carbs. Maybe a little piece of toast if I have acid in my stomach. Otherwise, I’ll go straight with a fish like salmon or tilapia. With avocado, cucumber, and some kale.
Sierra: How do you think about food?
Natasha: I’ve experimented over the years. Everyone’s body is different so you have to know what works for you. I think how we prepare our food is crucial. Fry it in oil to a hot temperature? It’s going to destroy the elements of the food. I want to cook my salmon fast on either side. Japanese food is the best for me.
Sierra: Do you eat ice cream?
Natasha: Yes, I do. And I love chocolate.
Sierra: How do you decide if that’s okay?
Natasha: Very gingerly. Very delicately. It’s not part of my daily diet, but if we’re too rigid with our taste buds, it’s going to affect us in other ways.
Sierra: Have you always been that way?
Natasha: I learned it as a child. I was addicted to sugar like most children.
Sierra: How did you break that sugar addiction?
Natasha: It was tough. I just one day said, “Stop it. You have a sugar addiction.” I became a vegetarian in my 30s… but that made me sick. I have to have the meat.
[08:50] Supplements
Sierra: Besides food, is there anything else that you take?
Natasha: In my vitamin pack: Vitamin B complex. I take calcium. Every night, I take Vitamin D with K. And I take Omega-3.
Sierra: How did you decide what to take?
Natasha: You read so much and it’s confusing. I think the most important thing is to check what our body needs. I take Vitamin K because I had a deficiency and I didn’t know it.
Sierra: How did you find out?
Natasha: I went to a nutritionist just out of curiosity. She did a sample of my hair… the report came back, everything was great, but I did have a Vitamin K deficiency.
[10:30] Work & Neuroplasticity
Sierra: What does your work look like? Do you work non-stop?
Natasha: I think there’s a difference between work and a job. I have a number of different projects I’m committed to right now deeply involved in scientific research and longevity.
Sierra: You’re 75 and still working. What keeps you wanting to work?
Natasha: I don’t think of it as work, it’s play to me.
Sierra: Is working a part of your longevity practice?
Natasha: You’re spot on with that. Neuroplasticity is really important to me. More and more people are going to suffer from dementia. Those of us who want to do something about it need to exercise our brains.
Sierra: How do you exercise your brain?
Natasha: I do things that are challenging that I don’t want to do. My mother had dementia… she did crossword puzzles every day. Don’t do crossword puzzles every day. Once you do something every day, it becomes a habit. Do a challenging task that is going to stress you a little—enough to make you go, “I don’t want to do this,” and then do it.
[13:03] Cancer & Mindset
Narrator: Another challenge she’s overcome: cancer three times. She beat bladder cancer in 2001, then faced skin cancers in 2010 and 2023.
Sierra: What drives you to keep going even when facing difficulties like arthritis?
Natasha: Number one, love of life. Number two, vanity. I have to be very honest. There’s that side of me that was the beauty queen, a model for years. That’s surface. The bottom line is that if you feel good on the inside, you’re going to feel good on the outside.
[14:10] Fitness Strategy
Natasha: Seven days a week I work out. I leave myself a flexibility one day where I just want to meditate or take a walk. Exercise is the number one most important thing for longevity. Even before diet, even before attitude. The old saying “get up and move” is so important.
Sierra: Has there ever been a time where you felt defeated working out?
Natasha: Oh gosh, just recently. I was at the gym trying to lift a 45-pound weight… and I couldn’t get the weight up past my shoulder. A guy came over to help me. I was so embarrassed. I started crying. I thought, “What is going on with my body?” And I sat down and thought about it… there’s nothing you can do. Just keep on moving and suck it up. I have friends who complain about their bodies not working… and they stop. No, you can’t do that. You just got to keep on going.
[16:38] Cryonics & The Future
Sierra: There are some biohackers who plan to live forever. Is that something that you want?
Natasha: I want to live as long as feasibly possible in the best conditions possible.
Sierra: Is that where cryonics comes into play?
Natasha: Cryonics is the best safety net we have today. The only alternative would be death. Cryonics gives us an option to maybe be put in stasis, preserved until a time when science and technology can advance to a point where our disease could be cured.
Sierra: Speaking of AI, do you think AI will kill us all?
Natasha: I don’t know. No. There’s a big theory about existential risk… but technology has only improved and made life better for us.
[18:30] Evening Routine
Sierra: Your evening routine, what do you do?
Natasha: I watch TV.
Sierra: Is that part of your longevity routine?
Natasha: Yeah, it is. It does two things. First, I watch comedy—laughter is one of the greatest anti-aging therapies there is. Second, it keeps me in the flow of the majority of people.
Natasha: Max and I either cook together or trade off. Then we watch a movie or series because it takes us out of our own reality. And then we dance. At least two or three times a week, one of us will put on some cool music, turn it up full blast, and we dance with the boys [dogs]. Or we’ll go outside and study the stars. It’s another way of going, “Okay, we’re here on Earth and we’re tiny little specks.” It puts things into perspective.
[20:04] Advice
Sierra: If you were to give a piece of advice to your younger self?
Natasha: Don’t be afraid. Just because you grew up in an era where you’re told you couldn’t or shouldn’t… don’t pay attention. Do what you want to do, but do it with a level of integrity and authenticity.
Here is a PD Mangan tweet from 2022 about a then 86 year old Japanese bodybuilder, Toshisuke Kanazawa:
https://x.com/Mangan150/status/1581270765567033344
Michael Lustgarten wrote at the time:
https://x.com/mike_lustgarten/status/1581273112192372736#m
There are lots of people that are lean + muscular at that age, but his skin quality (no sag?) is probably the best I’ve seen at that age.
Lajuana is 89, with the body and mind of someone decades younger. What are the secrets of the superagers?
Why do some people age better than others? Five extraordinary individuals – who scientists are studying – share their tips
Lajuana Weathers is determined to be the healthiest version of herself. She starts each day with a celery juice, is always trying to increase her step count, and meditates daily. Weathers is also 89 years old. And she has no plans to slow down. “I wake up in the morning and feel blessed that I have another chance at a day of life,” says the grandmother of six, and great‑grandmother of six more, who lives in Illinois in an independent living facility for seniors. “I look at my life as a holistic entity, and in that life is my physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I have to take care of all of those. That’s what I like about the ageing process. All the clutter of raising children is out and I can concentrate on the wellness of me.”
Weathers is a superager. This isn’t a self-proclaimed label, but one backed up by science – she is part of the SuperAging Research Initiative at the University of Chicago. To qualify for the study, you have to be over 80 years old and have memory performance that’s at least as good as the average 50- to 60-year-old. There are about 400 superagers enrolled across North America.
As life expectancy increases, many of us are keen to know how to stay healthy in our older years. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average life expectancy in the UK is 79.1 years for men and 83 for women. The latest ONS projections show that those born recently will live even longer – boys born in the UK in 2023 can expect to live, on average, to 86.7 years and girls to 90 years, while 11.5% of boys and 17.9% of girls born in 2023 are expected to live to at least 100. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in longevity and healthspan – the period of life spent in good health – rather than lifespan, which is the total number of years lived. So what can this growing area of research tell us about why some age better than others? What can we learn from the superagers?
Enrolment in the SuperAging Research Initiative takes three to four days. It includes a paper‑and-pencil test that assesses memory, attention, language and different aspects of cognition, as well as sharing a detailed family history. An MRI brain scan and a blood test provide data on genetic factors, blood‑based biomarkers such as risk level for Alzheimer’s, and the immune system. “We integrate data across brain structure and function, molecular and genetic measures, lifestyle, medical history, psychosocial factors, family history and other factors to understand how these elements interact to support exceptional cognitive ageing,” explains Dr Emily Rogalski, director of the initiative.
Read the full story here: Lajuana is 89, with the body and mind of someone decades younger. What are the secrets of the superagers? | Ageing | The Guardian
The Northwestern University SuperAging Research Program (NUSAP) was designed to approach aging and Alzheimer’s disease differently. Instead of studying the negative consequences of aging and disease, NUSAP is identifying and factors that allow for a unique aging trajectory where individuals maintain youthful memory function.
“SuperAgers” are defined as adults over age 80 who have the memory abilities at least at the level of individuals 20-30 years younger. The primary goal of this research is to identify factors that may help others maximize their healthspan and may be important for avoiding Alzheimer’s disease pathology or its effects. We are still enrolling SuperAgers!
This woman is amazing… Can anyone here get close to her “hang time” of over 3 minutes?
Full story:
To Set a World Record at 81, All She Had to Do Was Hold On
On a snow-dusted Colorado morning in January, Bonnie Sumner, 81, did a few reps on the assisted pull-up machine, warming up her back muscles.
Wearing floral print spandex shorts and a green sports bra, her task that day was simple but far from easy: hang on a pull-up bar for two minutes and two seconds. If she could do that, she’d earn a Guinness World Record for the longest dead hang by a woman over 80.
Hanging from a pull-up bar is excellent exercise to build grip strength, but it can quickly become grueling and painful. Time slows to a crawl as your hands ache, and then sweat.
“The only thing I worry about is my hands and how much it’s going to hurt,” said Ms. Sumner, who has arthritis. Also, unlike many gym-goers, she always wears her wedding band while she’s hanging.
Mastering the Dead Hang
In July of that year, Ms. Sumner read about the health benefits of the dead hang: how it was tied to longevity and could help people perform daily tasks as they aged. She’d never heard of it but wondered how her grip strength measured up after years of shoveling snow.
She brought the article to Ms. Lawrence who agreed to let her try. Most of her clients in their 40s and 50s managed about four seconds on their first attempt — 10 seconds if they were unusually strong.
…
Ms. Sumner, who is 5-foot-4 and 115 pounds, dangled for 21 seconds.
After that, dead hangs became a part of every session. “When I got 53 seconds, my hands really hurt, and I said, ‘This isn’t fun,’” Ms. Sumner said. But, by her own admission, she has an obstinate streak. “Are you really going to tell me I can’t do three more seconds?” she said.
In February of 2025, she hung for 2:01. At the prodding of the gym’s owner, Ryan Baade, she looked up the dead hang world record for her age group. It was just over two minutes.
For the first two minutes the only sound was Ms. Lawrence giving 30-second updates. At 2:00, Ms. Sumner’s upper body began to shake, and at 2:22 she said one word: “Ouch.” She could have dropped off then and earned the world record, but Ms. Sumner kept hanging.
At 2:30, Ms. Sumner opened her eyes. She asked Ms. Lawrence to tell her when she’d reached 2:45. Her hands began to slip, but she kept hanging.
Finally, at 3:03, her calf cramping, Ms. Sumner let go and dropped down. She’d beaten the previous time by more than a minute. And just like that, it was over. Ms. Lawrence gave her a hug. Ms. Sumner picked up her water bottle and walked away from the crowd. It was Tuesday, and she had library books to return.
When asked what the record meant to her, she thought for a moment and said, “It’s never too late to begin to make yourself stronger.”
94 years old and still tweeting. That’s the actor portraying Captain Kirk in Star Trek from the 1960’s.
At 82, he’s as fit as a 20-year-old. His body holds clues to healthy aging.
Scientists are studying Juan López García, a world-record holding ultramarathoner, to learn how we can stay healthy as we age.
As a model of successful aging, you can’t beat 82-year-old Juan López García.
Really, you can’t beat him.
Sixteen years ago, at age 66, López García first tried running a mile. He’d recently retired after spending his entire working life as a car mechanic in Toledo, Spain. In all those years, he’d never trained as an athlete or exercised much at all.
He couldn’t finish that first mile. He could barely start it.
Now, at age 82, López García is the world record holder in the 80-to-84 age group for the 50-kilometer (31-mile) ultramarathon. In 2024, he also won the world marathon championship for his age group, with a time of 3:39:10, setting a European record in the process.
His outsize success caught the attention of a group of European scientists who study aging. They invited López García to their lab for extensive testing. Their findings, published in January in Frontiers in Physiology, are, at once, revealing and “inspiring,” said Julian Alcazar, an exercise scientist at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain and a co-author of the study.
The researchers found that López García has the highest aerobic fitness recorded in an octogenarian, matching that of healthy 20-to-30-year-old men. His muscles also absorb and use oxygen unusually well. But in other ways, his biology, biomechanics and training seem relatively ordinary.
Full article: At 82, he’s as fit as a 20-year-old. His body holds clues to healthy aging. (WP)
The research paper: Exploring the physiological limits of aging: a case study of the male 50-km world record in the 80+ age category
I do lots of chin ups. Once in a while I’ll try to just hang. I have done 2:45. If I dedicated time to it I’m sure I could extend that. I’m only 68, but quite a bit heavier than Ms Sumner.
I can vouch for how painful it gets, though!
When I see some of these men and women doing these extraordinary achievements, particularly in endurance running, they are quite small in weight and stature. This gentleman is 5-foot-2 and 130 pounds for example. Often times also they start their sports later in life. Contrast that with someone like Bill Rodgers who ran as an elite masters athlete after his competitive younger running - he had a sudden severe decline in running times around age 60 as I remember.
Another interesting example of someone rebounding into elite running status after quiting the sport at an earlier age is the following:
She Became an Elite Runner by Leaving Running Behind- Nytimes Published Sept. 7, 2025 Keira D’Amato retired from running in her early 20s, but a decade later she was back and setting marathon records. A new memoir details her journey, which is still unfolding.
