My personal journey is likely different from many of us here on this forum (although I’m not the only one): I watched my father suffer decades of sarcopenia, and as a result, I am more interested in healthspan than lifespan, and also interested in having a good base of muscle to carry me forward into old age. I’m also low-carb mostly to reduce cancer risks, of which I’ve had, which probably will increase my AVCVD risks but who’s counting… I’ve been lifting heavy and progressing well (meaningfully increasing strength above even when I was in my 20’s, and with stair climbing and hiking rates roughly where I was in my late 20’s), but I do NOT look like a body builder which would have been nice but not the reason I’m doing this: I’d conceptually prefer lean dense muscles than larger “fluffier” muscles as I’d expect denser/leaner is better for longevity (just a WAG), and my wife doesn’t like the bodybuilder-look anyway. My goal is to still be backpacking when I am 80 so I can’t get too big anyway, and it’s much harder to build muscle after 50 even though I’m slowly doing it.
Dr. Life (84) has been well publicized and probably not the penultimate physical goal of most here. But I’ve met him in-person and he is actually as jacked as his publicity photos suggest (and a good down-to-earth guy, believe it or not). But more importantly, he moves fluidly and comfortably - his persona is not like a “young” person but his movements are. I’d greatly prefer to move and have the same high energy like he does when I’m 84 than the majority of 84-year-olds I see.
This has me thinking about muscle and its role in longevity (which seems to be a partially taboo topic here): I can’t imagine seeing Dr Life in a nursing home as he is now. Maybe having a solid physique is something which keeps you out and living your life on your terms? The people I do see in nursing homes are largely weakened and sickly (although I don’t know if that is the result of some illness, or the cause of why they are there).But building muscle requires MTOR stimulation, and at least some protein, including leucine and methionine, of which have been shown to stimulate MTOR and maybe directly lower longevity (I can’t remember the specifics off the top of my head). So there’s a trade-off somewhere which I’m trying to figure out; for me I’m betting I can “pulse” periods of muscle building with periods of MTOR restriction (four-day water fasts every 1.5 months and eventually rapamycin every two weeks). Again, just a WAG, but if true, I may not live the longest but should live longer than average, with a significantly increased healthspan extension, and this might mean that I could be healthy enough to benefit from any miracle biotech solutions than are developed within my healthspan.
Here is an annoyingly promotional video for his new(?) book but does discuss his regime (not mine):
Massive strength (resistance) work in gym
50 min cardio 3x per week
Supplements:
HGH
HRT of DHEA, T
Creatine
Fish oil
Hydro dimethyl butyrate
Diet:
Small frequent small meals planned ahead
Low glycemic foods
Low fat foods
Protein shakes
Lean protein
Beans, lentil and tofu
Avocado, seeds, nuts
No sugar, no alcohol
Here is the 9 min video promoting his book (which I don’t plan to read, as I’m not a disciple): https://youtu.be/fKJ0nif1WLM?si=JCWRZHLac9qliVuW
I hope this was useful for someone. I’d love your thoughts.