We could also call today’s message “Sizzling Subjects in Lifespan Human Performance.” In fact, engaging with clients and providing commentary in this arena has become an immersive passion pursuit for me. Maybe more than I ever anticipated and certainly one of the best parts of this job.
In Episode 443 of The Lifetime Athlete Podcast, I selected 5 questions from members in The Lifetime Athlete App and provided some rather detailed discourse. I think a wise person once said “be careful what you wish for” because I have a very long list of these questions and they keep pouring in. I love it and welcome them. Every member gets a personal response to their questions but I feature as many as I can on the podcast for our greater community.
I’ll include that podcast episode here, and it’s also available on all the major players, but since this is the “written word” I’m going to provide the “Cliff’s Notes” version of the information. You’ll definitely get the gist of this conversation from the following nuggets and you can always listen in if your curiosity is piqued.
Resistance training is for more than just hypertrophy. Building muscle is incredibly important for any Lifetime Athlete. Muscle has extremely positive effects on aesthetics, performance, and longevity. But building muscle, aka bodybuilding, is only one thing resistance training can do for us. We can also (and should) train for strength, position ownership, connective tissue integrity, movement competency, explosive power, and sport-specific motions. This is exactly what we do in The Lifetime Athlete App with our Training Tribe (T2) Annual Training Plan.
Training for strength is different from bodybuilding. While hypertrophy training relies upon volume and focuses on accumulated muscular tension, muscle fiber microtrauma, and metabolic stress in rep ranges from 5-30 with low RIR…strength is a different beast. Higher loads, lower reps, longer rest periods, and a greater emphasis on compound movements is the focus of strength training. If volume is managed correctly, strength training can be performed with higher frequency (for a given muscle group or movement pattern) than hypertrophy because it relies to a greater extent upon neuromuscular recruitment than tissue breakdown and soreness. Thus, the recovery demand of strength training can be less, as long as your programming is spot-on and you properly manipulate workload. Competitive powerlifters represent the strength side of the equation and avid bodybuilders are your hypertrophy-focused critters. In reality, most Lifetime Athletes do a blend of both styles, and that’s actually ideal for the long term.
Why is the information provided by health and fitness influencers often contradictory? There are potentially many reasons for the presentation of conflicting information. It’s fairly common for someone to have a bias based on personal epiphany, and sincerely feel that he/she can help everyone by recommending the same thing globally. This can be held as a very, very strong belief by many gurus. The problem is, what works great for one person just might not be right for another. That point often gets lost. Another, and very significant issue, is that many players in the health and fitness information dissemination game have a tendency to analyze algorithms and statistics, and inject hyperbole into popular trends. Ostensibly, one could suggest that this is “giving the people what they want.” But in reality it’s rooted in profit motivation and the maximization of views, clicks, likes, etc. in pursuit of monetary gain versus transparency and public health advancement. As opposed to “trust but verify,” vet your source and take their suggestions with the proverbial grain of salt.
What is comprehensive athleticism and how do I assess it in my body? This is represented by the presence within your organism, of baseline or better levels of all 5 Capacities of Athleticism. Strength, speed, power, agility, and endurance. When you’re playing the long game known as LIFE, adequate abilities in all 5 categories give you the greatest number of participation opportunities across recreation and work. But more importantly, comprehensive athleticism avoids the deficit situation when one or more capacities eventually atrophies into a condition of absence. At TLA we practice all-cost avoidance of being weak, slow, stiff, and fragile. These make it easy for The Reaper to get you. Instead, we pursue the status of Hard to Kill by training to be strong, fast, agile, and durable. Through the lifespan. That’s why we utilize the Athletic Capacity Rating System. It’s a simple methodology that allows you to assess and address your relative levels of strength, speed, power, agility, and endurance. The Lifetime Athlete App has detailed resources which guide members through this process.
Are fruit and protein smoothies bad for you? It’s kinda funny how much people nitpick and debate nutrition in general, and this topic in particular. At least lately. While the arguments abound, here are a few facts to consider. Smoothies, or shakes, allow for quick ingestion, high nutrient density, convenience, and meal replacement. They are a tasty way to help you hit your daily protein target, facilitate post-workout refueling, and can add variety to your diet. However, they do represent liquid calories and they may not contribute to satiety as much as solid food you chew. Depending on what you put into it, a smoothie can have relatively high caloric density. Consequently, those going for weight loss should be aware of these factors. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a shake, just know how it affects your metabolism. Another controversial suggestion is that a smoothie can spike your blood glucose levels. If it only contains fruit, plain yogurt, and protein powder (a typical mixture), that’s been refuted by research actually showing a lower rise in postprandial glucose levels as compared to a similar solid food meal. This might not be the case if you throw in other ingredients (aka sugars).
And there you have it. A few hot topics in longevity. Definitely food for thought for a Lifetime Athlete. Thanks to our App members for providing these great questions.