The 30-Second Rule Every Active Senior Needs to Follow

Erik Lehane, a dedicated physical therapist with expertise in preventive care, is the visionary founder behind The Gaitway Group (thegaitwaygroup.com). Through this venture, he empowers active seniors with the knowledge and tools to “add life to their years.” For inquiries, contact Erik at [e-mail].
Thirty seconds. As an active senior, these precious seconds can determine your fate. Let me explain.
As early as our third decade of life, we start to lose fast twitch (type two) muscle fibers, which generate explosive strength. This loss accelerates rapidly over time, with potentially devastating results. Activities we once enjoyed can become distant memories. Later in life, quality of life and independence can be swept away, with even the act of getting up from a chair becoming a monumental feat.
On the flip side, slow twitch (type one) muscle fibers, which support endurance-based activities, are maintained throughout life. They are stimulated by everyday activities.
Many well-intentioned active seniors exercise with the goal of staving off loss of mobility and increasing their health span. While these exercises have benefits, most fall short because they only stimulate type one muscle fibers. As mentioned, we maintain these fibers throughout life regardless of exercise. However, typical exercises do not stimulate fast twitch fibers, the ones we desperately need for quality of life and independence in our later years.
Fast twitch muscle fibers are our lifeline in later years. Active seniors need to exercise with the intent of stimulating these fibers. Enter the 30-second rule.
If you can sustain an exercise for over 30 seconds, it is not stimulating fast twitch fibers. It’s that simple. Fast twitch fibers produce explosive strength but fatigue very quickly, often before 30 seconds.
A perfect example is comparing walking to sprinting. Most people can walk for many minutes, if not hours, which requires a slow twitch response. However, even a world-class sprinter cannot maintain maximum speed for over 30 seconds due to fast twitch fibers fatiguing.
An hour-long bike ride around the beach is a type one response, while a sprint up a hill engages type two fibers. A 30-minute yoga class stimulates type one fibers, while doing 15 burpees in 30 seconds stimulates type two fibers. A round of golf involves type one fibers, but 10 squat jumps in 30 seconds engage type two fibers.
The 30-second rule clearly indicates whether you are stimulating slow twitch or fast twitch fibers.
I have seen far too many well-intentioned seniors lose precious years because their exercise routine never touched fast twitch fibers. Mary Anne, a former patient, was 82. She walked 3-4 miles per day (slow twitch). However, she had to move to a single-story home because climbing the stairs (fast twitch) was becoming too difficult.
Larry, a 78-year-old avid golfer (slow twitch), fell down in the fairway and could not get back up (fast twitch).
Joan, an 80-year-old retired principal who practiced yoga (slow twitch) three times a week, spent a day stuck in her bathtub, unable to climb out (fast twitch).
Examples are ubiquitous at any public venue: the gentleman who struggles to get out of his car, the grandmother who can no longer step up onto a curb, or the retired mailman who can no longer lift his carry-on into the overhead compartment. Fast twitch loss slowly diminishes our quality of life.
I wholeheartedly urge you to start taking inventory of your exercises. Apply the 30-second rule. Prioritize fast twitch exercises first and foremost. Remember, slow twitch fibers are here to stay, but fast twitch fibers, the difference makers, are rapidly being lost.
Fast twitch exercises can be done safely and modified relative to your fitness level. You can even incorporate fast twitch exercises into your daily routine. Standing from your chair can become 10 explosive squats. Washing dishes is the ideal location for a 30-second all-out mountain climber interval, and a laundry basket full of dirty clothes is the perfect accessory for a dozen powerful deadlifts.
You do not have to abandon other forms of exercise, but fast twitch exercises should be your priority. Similar to the Pareto principle (80/20 rule), the majority of your health span will depend on the relatively small amount of time devoted to fast twitch exercises.
The means are there; we just have to add the how, and the how is very straightforward: 3-5 fast twitch exercises, three times per week. A small investment for a lifetime of value.

[@Hildred6]

This is such good advice, I’m second half of my 60’s and can feel my fitness levels and strength dropping, going to try to incorporate this type of exercise

[@thestrengthshed]

Brilliant video.... I'm a personal trainer and train quite a few clients over 60, I'll make sure to incorporate more of this type of training for them 🙌 only just discovered you today..... Brilliant channel 😊

[@bobgoodnoe4583]

Very good advice. Well done, sir.

[@jacquelinedevlin6381]

6+ minutes in - what's the solution?

[@namvet9881]

Ya know ..... the last thing I need in my life is another freakin' rule. Screw this!

[@jochildress5003]

FAST FORWARD TO 8:12 to get the point.

[@sroscoe8038]

Good advice but not enough content to remedy the problem

[@Barkie-mv7xs]

You need to demonstrate examples. Lots of different types

[@really2345]

😅

[@ushakrishnamurthy8355]

Too much of talking

[@jochildress5003]

Amen!

[@helmuthansen3738]

👍👌👏🙏

[@jochildress5003]

Get to the point. You spend too much time telling us how we can’t do it. We are not getting any younger.

[@MrMockingbird1313]

Terrible audio