Courtesy of United States Marine Corps Corporal Eric A. Ramirez
The older we get, busier we often find ourselves, especially in our late 40’s.
That’s when aging begins to strip our bodies of the muscle that protects us in old age, and when the demands of work and family responsibilities eat away at our time. US Marine Corps Colonel Joseph Galvin, 49, struggles with this same dilemma every day. As the judge’s attorney, he often works at the Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. He is married with two energetic children, so even his spare time It is active.
Galvin created a 14-hour-a-week regimen that keeps him in tip-top shape: He’s the captain of the All-Marine triathlon team and has earned a perfect score on the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test (PFT) 25 years in a row. . His most recent results: 24 pull-ups without rest, 167 sit-ups in two minutes and a three-mile run in 17 minutes and six seconds. The good news is that new research reveals that you don’t have to train as hard as Galvin does to reap the life-extending benefits of strength work and aerobic training. but there is still
much to learn from the colonel.
test yourself often
Taking an annual strength and cardio test like the PFT allows you to track your fitness. If, like Galvin, you are training in a group with people half your age, even better, you will have more motivation.
Go!
The PFT includes options. (Maximum/minimum score ranges for men are indicated.)
1. Max with good form: pull-ups (23/3) or push-ups (87/20)
two. Two minutes of sit-ups (115/40) or plank (three minutes, 45 seconds/one minute, 10 seconds)
3. A three-mile run (≤18 minutes/33 minutes) or a 5,000-meter row (≤18 minutes/26 minutes)
Courtesy of United States Marine Corps Corporal Eric A. Ramirez
clean it up sometimes
Galvin competes in both Olympic-length triathlons and Half Ironmans and typically runs, swims or bikes for about an hour a day, starting at 4:45 am. He alternates steady sessions with high-intensity intervals and does a longer session on the weekends. The benefits of cardiovascular exercise for longevity are well-documented: Cooper Institute research established that a man’s fitness in midlife, as measured by his mile completion time, is a strong predictor of heart health at long term. He is aiming for a time of less than eight minutes. Other research is adding unexpected insights. A study in Journal of the American College of Cardiology It followed more than 55,000 adults over a 15-year period and found that, compared to non-runners, runners had a 45% lower risk of death from heart attack or stroke, as well as a 30% lower risk of death. risk of death from any other cause.
What’s surprising, says Stuart Phillips, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University who studies longevity, is that the data showed you actually get a lot of the health benefits if you run just 50 minutes or so. one week. It’s smart to spend some of that time doing high-intensity work. In a Mayo Clinic study, researchers found that high-intensity aerobic intervals are particularly good at helping your body slow down aging. Intervals increase mitochondrial function, which declines with age, and invigorate muscle cells. In the study, people did four four-minute max-intensity rounds on a spinning bike, with three minutes of active recovery.
Go!
Do at least 90 minutes of cardio a week, and vary the intensity from sessions where you can talk while working out to intervals where you’re out of breath.
Courtesy of United States Marine Corps Corporal Eric A. Ramirez
fortify your armor
Galvin typically does 10 minutes of core exercises before his cardio each day and a 30-minute strength circuit afterward. Historically, researchers believed that cardiovascular exercise was more valuable than strength training for health, but now the two are considered equally important and complementary, Phillips explains. “The list of diseases for which being stronger is a preventative measure includes metabolic syndrome, heart disease, cancer, anxiety and depression,” she says. One measure of strength that is associated with a longer life is the number of push-ups you can do without stopping. TO Open JAMA Network The study revealed that people who could do more than 40 were 96 percent less likely to have a cardiovascular disease event over ten years than those who couldn’t do ten. “Push-ups test your strength relative to your weight and are therefore a good indicator of your fitness,” says study co-author Justin Yang, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University.
Go!
Two 30- to 45-minute strength sessions per week are enough to prolong health, Phillips says. But for the most benefit, do three or four. Regular abdominal work is essential, because a strong core improves your stability. One of Galvin’s favorite core circuits is the plank, crunch, lying leg raise, side crunch, and Russian twist; do one minute each for two rounds.
This story first appears in the April 2022 issue of Men’s health.
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