The "do nots" of strength training | Peter Attia and Andy Galpin

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This clip is from episode 250 ‒ Training principles for longevity with Andy Galpin, Ph.D.
In this clip, they discuss:
- How should people think about training if they’re coming into it with previous injuries
- Tips for finding a practitioner
- For the most part, if someone is dealing with an injury, would you encourage them to not give up on working out because of that injury?
- And more
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About:
The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 90 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.
Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.
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[@jeffrichard5740]

I‘m 44 and I did start strength and running training 1,5 years ago. I made slow constant progress with no injuries and no sickness. Two training sessions basically pulled me out of that streak: a long run where I went super fast the last 10k or so. And 1 week later 6 short sprint around 25 meters each. My achilles needed 3 months to fully recover. The older you get the more careful you need to be with peak efforts.

[@ajw9533]

Too far, too fast, too often - the usual reasons for running injuries.

[@JuanaLove6931]

Excellent advice!! Being old, I'm learning to stop when fatigue is hard to ignore. Stop the snatches, stop wall-walks, stop single overhead squats etc. Time to row or cardio ramp-down. Fatigue awareness takes time and discipline after years of "150% or nothing".❤

[@joetoe9207]

I'm learning the lesson now. Finally…

[@Mansell5Senna8]

I have a ton of tendon issues, doing too much volume despite proper movement patterns. Volume with insufficient recovery also causes issues.

[@mcfarlac1]

Agreed!

[@blankspace1983]

I like the Christian Thibedeau adage of "do every rep like you're showing a new lifter proper form" (paraphrased). I also like the addition of sprints and (relatively) short distance running to hypertrophy training. Specialization is for insects (Heinlein).

[@LoreMIpsum-ng5my]

Great comment from Christian T.

[@csn583]

Damn you're full of great quotes. The former reminds me of the meditation/Buddhist saying "simply begin again" and Beginner's Mind. You are the new lifter. With every rep you can focus on every detail or you can blow it, no matter what you've done before.

[@allisonfalin8854]

Learned the hard way with back squats, now I’m with about 50% of that weight focusing on impeccable technique. It has made a world of difference.

[@christopherhaak9824]

Yes, absolutely critical as you age.

[@allisonfalin8854]

@@christopherhaak9824 I mean, no one in my house needs to plan on me dead man carrying them out of the house in an emergency, but I could maybe deadlift them.

[@ironmaiden1236541]

Yeah, my 18 year old son squats so much better than me, I copied him. I'm 50 and just didn't realise how shit I was doing them

[@kleitosaliagas5668]

I wish he would gi into detail on why running causes so many injuries and how ro avoid them.😊

[@theradioactiveboar]

I think the same thing applies, bad movement patterns repeated over and over. ChiRunning or Pose Method are good things to look into if you want to fix it.

[@elenamigaldi7404]

It’s probably in the long version of this video.

[@hunfun_dani]

Among others: - inability to keep a good posture during running - many people wants to lose weight with running, while they should only run when they got lean (the extra weight is bad for the joint, even if it's muscle, though Alex Viada might disputes that) - many people are not trained runners, so they use wrong form - with running you do a lot of repetition (count how many steps you do in just half an hour of running and compare that to how many bench presses/ squats do you do in a gym workout) - running is a high impact sport (compare it with bicycle. during running you hit the ground with every step. with cycling you have a continuous contact so no hits. If you run properly these 'impacts' are weaker but still has an effect) - You can improve endurance very quickly, while strenghtening a joint takes time. Many inactive people starts without gradually increasing mileage over time and they develop stamina very soon so they run a lot, but thier joint couldn't accomodate. I still think running is a great form of cardio, but you have to consider many aspects: - I wouldn't do it as overweight (walking, hiking, cycling, swimming yes), maybe if you only have +5-10kg plus. - learn proper technique - pay attention to your posture and breathing - build up workload gradually - have breaks and deloads - use variability for your cardio with low impact exercises (I like to bike or swim, so I stilll train my cardiovascular system, but preserve my joints, so a few days later I can run again) - do strength training, especially core and unilateral exercises - if you have mobility issues correct them (look up what mobility restrictions are bad for running, test them and improve them) - good choice of running shoes (it is a controversial topic. Personally I believe in minimalist shoes others like the soft sole running shoes. I don't know who is right, but for me minimalist is better.)

[@Hittdogg17]

Same as strength training. Poor movement patterns and muscle imbalances

[@CptAngelKGaming]

Mostly shitty modern shoes destroying your body when running. Get some barefoot shoes, learn good form and you're good to go.

[@Wavygravvy]

I am 37, and take my warm ups very serious. Especially before strength work, I love to get sets of jump rope in before hitting the weights.

[@ruthwentzell1553]

YESSSS! I love working through this with my patients and seeing their quality of movement improve, then their strength (and also have less pain)

[@jerryarkema3870]

I wish you would do a video on swimming for exercise. I swim daily trying not to push it to hard (breast stroke) so I don't have to take off extra time to recover. I am pushing 80 and would like to get faster for longer.

[@nikosm8560]

Key takeaways - notes to avoid injuries: 1. Most injuries are related to connective tissue (tendons) not used to being exposed to high weight yet 2. Perfect your form first and then very slowly add weight and volume to build tissue tolerance (assisted -> bodyweight -> weighted). 3. Focus on perfecting your movement in all aspects: Eccentric/Concentric, Unilateral/Bilateral, Weighted, Fast/Slow, Fatigued. 4. Train in all planes of motion. 5. Do cardio to improve fatigue levels and slowly build connective tissue tolerance. 6. Do light cardio/aerobic movements prior to hypertrophy training to warmup.

[@budoo88]

Very good guidelines, super helpful for moving easily without pain and stiffness 🤘

[@leecummings6422]

Great video , I recently had surgery for a retina detachment . Doctor told me I can’t lift more then 5 pounds for a month. I get it and understand why and will behave but want to learn how to restart when I get the all clear signal. Not sure where to start. How to modify, how much weight what exercises to avoid etc😊 Probably not bench presses Any ideas please let me know I would be greatful

[@JuanaLove6931]

@leecummings6422 I hate to say it, but getting a well-educated personal coach is worth every penny to get back on track. Mine keeps me from killing myself. I don't have the patience. Sometimes I leave feeling like the workout could have been more....ha! Until the next day. So grateful for his wisdom and keeping me in check. ❤️

[@joesph9748]

I love to run, my favorite form of exercise. I have been guilty of pushing my running volume too fast to prep for an event. You should not run if overweight. You should not fall into the trap of couch potato to marathon or Ironman without the proper length of time and gradual progression. Just because you can complete one of these events doesn’t mean you should. In my opinion it takes years to go from couch to a long event. Given the amount of strength the small muscles and tendons need to get to.

[@user-cx3su9uh8p]

Been lifting for over a decade, typically quite heavy. 0 injuries. 0 joint pain. All credit goes to competitive weightlifting when I first started with a coach. Form had to be perfect every time with every lift with a pvc pipe before I ever touched a barbell. Get the form right from the start and you’ll be good for a life time.

[@someguyusa]

The benefit to having better aerobic conditioning regarding the strength training groups is that recovery is better with greater cardiovascular fitness across all spectrums. That plus the cardio before lifting primes the tissues before the strength training load as well making for better performance I would think.

[@janetbrowning6602]

He said this at 5:22 in and 5hat 45 min of cycling before for 6 weeks before hypertrophy training results in more gains

[@someguyusa]

@@janetbrowning6602 Yeah, but he then said he didn't know WHY it happened. That's what I am addressing.

[@janetbrowning6602]

@someguyusa I thought it was obvious. That's why people fell so good when they do HITT

[@someguyusa]

@@janetbrowning6602 There are several reasons why people feel good after cardio, particularly HIIT. Such as it releases feel-good chemicals in the brain, lactate can be used by the brain, your lymphatic system gets a lot of increased flow which is essentially the sewage line of the vascular system for pathogens and such, and generally speaking an increase in heart rate like that provides an overall, shall we say, flush of oxygen and nutrients throughout - like a fresh breeze blowing through a house.

[@zorbathegreek841]

Number 1 cause of running injuries = training errors, namely TMTS ("Too much too soon") but also inadequate recovery time. Number 2 cause: lousy biomechanics which are often caused by traditional running shoes with their huge overbuilt heels that encourage a hard heel strike and overstriding while destroying any possibility of *proprioception.* Professional and hardcore obsessive runners that are injured often, usually suffer from both #1 and 2. If you avoid those two typical blunders, running can be sustained well into the 60s, 70s, and even 80s.

[@Dock_Fox]

While I agree with you, most people don’t have the knowledge to correct biomechanics and can’t afford a PT to help them. I fall into this category after having to give up running once I hit mid-40’s. I’d love to be able to work with a coach to correct my gait, but that’s time and money most don’t have (including me). Believe me, I’ve tried many times to correct on my own….

[@zorbathegreek841]

@@Dock_Fox - there are some low cost resources; one of the best is The Sling Method (google it); another (if you're a reader) are books like Older Yet Faster, and the classic Chi Running. Phil Maffetone's work is also very helpful, accessible and requires not much more than buying an HRM chest strap.

[@adamloepker8057]

Good reminders, thanks guys!

[@sethogrady9950]

Hello is there someone that can show videos of each basic compound movement

[@mcfarlac1]

I think with proper form you can avoid a lot of injuries for sure. But I wouldn’t say you can do unlimited volume if your form is perfect, there is still a very real limit that can change over time. An Olympic rower gets a back injury, a body builder tears a bicep doing bicep curls, or an mlb pitcher gets a torn UCL and he probably thinks that those are mostly because of bad form. An injury happens when you overload a tissue, good form or bad form. Avoid injury by using good form AND also managing volume or load AND prioritizing recovery

[@lukefromtexas]

I take the advice of professionals that are now older. Dorian Yates says you don’t need barbell squats or barbell bench press because the risk of injury is too high. I’d listen to him over some 20 something influencer any day.

[@titusmarius8718]

Benchpress is canned, kettlebell clean and press is more useful

[@davidneal6920]

Excellent info thanks

[@oldanslo]

How do you do a unilateral squat or deadlift?

[@iiiiiiiiii_o_O]

Start with Smith machine

[@impendingrapture]

I keep hurting my elbows and I cannot figure it out! I’m fairly experienced in lifting but it keeps putting me out for months and it’s SO HARD to gain momentum again 😭

[@BuckeyeFan-always]

I can appreciate this. Are you developing tendinitis in your elbows? Are you doing too many reps or too much weight too soon?

[@michaelrichardson8291]

I use a heat bag on elbows every night after session, seems to help.

[@ajw9533]

There should be more conversation about running a mile. It's a brilliant distance.

[@williamnicholson3164]

Except for when you ‘move well’ (however that’s defined) and hurt yourself. I feel doing too much too fast is more of a cause of injuries and better advice for longevity would be to make consistent, slow, incremental progress year over year instead of rapid progress day to day or month to month. Technique is something that improves efficiency for lifting / running etc and gets BETTER with actually DOING THE THING…and most of our research suggests isn’t all that closely related to injury/pain.

[@ccoddington]

Can't tell you how many older dudes come into BJJ without a good base in strength or cardio only to get injured and quit.

[@erikjanse3994]

Can a very well trained athlete (consistently training 4 days a week in the gym with heavy weights over 20 years) in their older age (say 60+) still grow their muscles?

[@christopherhaak9824]

Yes, but in general it's more about muscle retention as you age if you already have good musculature.

[@BubbaF0wpend]

jesus, we're made of glass😅 Makes sense though... in middle age my many years of bad form is making exercise very difficult

[@Steve-ArfArf]

I don't think we're made of glass. It makes sense that if you load up a movement that you're doing incorrectly, some form of injury will occur

[@freeatlast1810]

Explain to me Usain Bolts recent torn achilies?

[@criticalcog6363]

I haven't had joint injuries, yet I have had tendon issues (tendonitis), so his first statement of never having "muscular" as opposed to joint issues seems off base.

[@zzc8505]

Muscular isn’t the same as tendons - different tissues. Usually, tendons start getting painful when you increase load/intensity too soon. Muscle adapts much faster than tendons - a fact. If you progressively load too much too soon, your tendons will let you know.

[@criticalcog6363]

@@zzc8505 I understand tendons are a different tissue, but Andy seemed to be lumping them into the “muscle” term (hence the quotes) by creating the dichotomy of muscles vs joint injuries. So it seemed like he was using it for a catch-all term for contractile and connective tissues.

[@zzc8505]

@@criticalcog6363 I've listened to quite a few of his vids/interviews, so, maybe, that's why it didn't seem to me he lumped them all into one here. I'll listen again. But I think I heard him mention not once the difference between muscle and connective tissue adaptations in various talks.

[@kevinerbe6297]

I have been doing strength training AND running for 37 years. One thing these experts forgot to say is that running builds a great deal of mental tenacity via sustained cardiovascular stress.

[@ryanjones99]

Who in the heck can meet all this guys criteria

[@kevinerbe6297]

It is sad to hear so many people use age as an excuse to slow down. As you age you want to increase intensity not quit. I have been running and strength training for 37 years-non stop. I run 23-31 miles each week and do weights and body wright strength training at least four days per week.

[@clm93ful]

That's not exactly true. If you're already at a high level in your 20's and 30's, you simply won't be able to increase the intensity in your 40's. Our V02 max and muscle mass both decrease naturally as we age, even if we continue to exercise. Exercise will help the decrease to be less significant though.

[@kevinerbe6297]

@@clm93ful it is true-and I’ve done just that. People use age as an excuse to not try, do less, and quit.

[@clm93ful]

@kevinerbe6297 Guarantee you weren't elite at any sport in your 20's then. An elite 20 year old will have better metrics than an elite 40 year old. Not saying to stop trying or quit, but you will not be able to replicate the same results forever. I've been a competitive distance runner for 16 years and I've watched all the elites lose their edge around their mid 30's. With strength athletes it happens a little later.

[@kevinerbe6297]

@@clm93ful partner, I can tell you I am in better shape than most people in their twenties.

[@clm93ful]

@kevinerbe6297 You just said it, MOST people in their 20's. Not ELITE people in their 20's. Most people don't exercise at all. You have to compare apples to apples. The untrained population is totally different than the trained population.

[@jeffroudebush7617]

Two issues. Having someone move as fast as possible is not necessary unless the trainee has the desire to get into Olympic lifting. It is not necessary to train type 1, intermediate, or type 2 fibers. Then why have trainees move as fast as possible? Also, high volumes are not necessary as people will end up using neuromuscular patterns that are not efficient. Just train with higher intensity. Using machines will also prevent injury and is not less effective like people think.

[@lucky_object]

Bunch of jargon with no backing to your claims

[@calotcha108]

Peter, let me tell you a little secret. Use visuals. I"m watching this video but find it boring without visuals to illustrate what you're saying. It's not that it's hard to understand what you're explaining here. It's just boring and not appealing to keep ppl watching. I tend to click away before the end of the video - and i did - even when the content is of interest and informative. After all, we have AI to help with these visuals.

[@mrsealpoop7781]

117 thousand views disagree. Please Peter don’t add any freaking AI elements. It’s jarring.

[@Mikey__R]

It's a ten minute video. Listen while you're cooking dinner or doing housework, or when you're walking the dog. I understand what it's like to have a diminished attention span, I really do, but I think this is a problem you can address yourself rather than asking the creator to address for you.

[@calotcha108]

@@Mikey__R That i don't like green apples does not mean i have a problem. Lol :)

[@jedi77palmer]

Hungarian GP today. Go Ricciardo

[@AjinkyaMaldikar]

bro just wear a size up in tshirts

[@nateswain4633]

Good video. Nothing to do with the title! But good video.

[@bigirishe]

Going to failure is much more important as you get older. Plus more protein intake.

[@RogueCylon]

He talking form, which anyone half serious knows. The path to injury is ego.

[@edwhite2255]

Kobie ruptured his Achilles. What caused that?

[@justinobrien1097]

You don't often see Achilles ruptures in pro sports? Lol that would be false

[@kameniliev8607]

How to avoid injury when your work is to move people and their belongings from home to home, when your job consists of wearing disballanced loads on the stairs multiple stories and working out in the gym as well? You can't! Injury is your companion. What kind a of a steril examples are you giving here guys?

[@jeromevolckerpowell5080]

They are talking about injuries due to strenght training specifically. I don't understand what you're trying to say

[@kameniliev8607]

@@jeromevolckerpowell5080 I am trying to say exactly what I am saying - an injury on the knee, hip or shoulder joint or tendons there is an injury that affects the human not only in the gym and happens not only there. Here we see two guys, obviously smart and knowledgeable, who are getting so in the weeds and so nerdy, that they see not only the individual hair of grass, but the chloroplasts of the weeds cells. In other words - All that attention in the training process and movement patterns is not only available and observed in the top of the top proffessional athletes and does not get any attention from the masses, but all that attention gets completely nullified once a person gets outside the very steril "Galpin/Attia" training environment and goes into the real life with its challanges, where you are exposed on many more and unpredictable life factors, that can inflict injury on those same tendons and joints. If you can point how many of the millions of people in the gyms, both proffessional and non-proffessionals are actually starting with one hand supported squat with body weight? Fucking zero in my 30 year career in the fitness world, my dear Sir!

[@zzc8505]

@kameniliev8607 That’s his main point of learning how to move correctly: learn how to lift heavy stuff correctly; learn how to carry uneven loads correctly AND strengthen your core (eg., farmers/suitcase carries etc)., learn how to move a heavy object overhead correctly etc.

[@zzc8505]

@kameniliev8607 also, check out Dr. Stuart McGill on how to lift heavy things correctly and how to strengthen your core.

[@petercoderch589]

It's crazy that Peter Attia has degenerated into this dumb jock character. Over the past year or so, something like 90% of his videos revolve around bodybuilding, protein intake and weight training. The impression is that this is 1998 all over again and i am that teen reading FLEX Magazine obsessed with building muscles for girls, etc. The difference between me and Attia, though, is that I had the excuse of being an impressionable teen at that age, and also that, like almost every 18 year-old, I couldn't care less about my health and longevity. I did it for Darwinian reasons, because I wanted to be sexy and desired by girls. I followed the philosophy of "more plates, more dates". Attia is a middle-aged man with physiology training that should know better than this. To me, people that do 180s show signs of mental instability. If you watch Attia's videos from 2-3 years ago, he was all about fasting, autophagy and MTORC-1 inhibition. Now, he's all about stimulating MTOR as much as possible, packing on muscle with the excuse that muscles improve insulin sensitivity by burning glucose, without realizing that muscles are live tissues that put a strain on your heart and the added weight puts added strain on your bones and joints. The worst part is that there is no evidence that exercise in general and bodybuilding specifically, increases either healthspan or lifespan, and the evidence is that bodybuilding actually shortens lifespan. The average lifespan of bodybuilders is only 48 years! Now, it's true that most likely is due to the huge amounts of drugs bodybuilders take, but even natural bodybuilders don't seem to live even average lifespans. Attia doesn't seem to understand that gym rats are the equivalent of guys that smoke 3 packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day. These are people who's priorities in life got nothing to dow ith health. Like Marcus Rühl said when he had his first beggining of a heart attack at age 31: "It doesn't matter if i am healthy or not; it matters that I am big and strong!" Now, sure, as a libertarian, I support 100% a person's right to kill himself if he wants. If you want to smoke 3 packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day, or pump yourself with massive amounts of trenbolone,. growth hormone, IGF1, aminoglutethimide, insulin, etc, and shorten your lifespan by 30+ years, that is your right to do so. But, please, don't push this garbage as "pro longevity". It's incredoble that Attia had on his podcast some of the most famous ageing reserchers, and almost everything that they said was the oppsoite of what Attia is peddling now. Attia was told to fast, to eat low protein to suppress growh hormone and IGF-1, to try to be as light as possible, etc. He was even told that Centenarians have mutations that *lower* IGF-1 and groth hormone production/release/receptivity, and he now pushes animal protein loaded with BCAAs for maximal IGF-1 production, constant eating every 3 hours for maximum blood inslin levels, straining your heart by being forced to carry useless muscles etc. Here's an incomplete list of bodybuilders that either died or had severe, life-threatening complications before the age of 50. - Don Long - Dennis Newman - Tom Prince - Markus Rühl - Greg Kovacs - Flex Wheeler - Paul Dillet - Andreas Münzer - Neil Curry - Shawn Rhoden - Gustavo Badell

[@user-jb3bg9og7b]

I understand what your saying, but their is a research showing that longevity is strongly linked to lean muscle mass in your 60’s and above. That any illness or injury(slip and fall), the recovery and outlook is related to muscle mass you have when you are older. We lose muscle as we age, the new trend is to build as much muscle mass(lean) naturally (not with anibolic drugs like the guys you mentioned abused). They now say the more muscle mass you have as you age is money in the bank. The elderly who go Covid 19, the say an association of muscle mass for recovery and survival, not including pre-existing conditions.

[@stuartgilbert8619]

Interesting point. I think that Attia can’t shake off his “ex jock/ athlete persona, and that it has made a comeback through some sort of mid life crisis event. Some weight training is good, as is some cardio work…but not to the levels that Attia promotes and does. He is definitely somewhere down the road of “exercise addiction” and is urging his followers to join him. Anecdotal I know, but I have never, (and I doubt that I ever will) read an interview with a centenarian where they spoke about the longevity benefits of their free weights regime, lung busting efforts with HIIT or crushing a personal best after weeks of a high mileage regime. Moderation, in all things, is usually espoused, along with a life relatively free of stress ( exercise is stress to the body…especially high volume /intensity/ frequency…go figure) and decent levels of ACTIVITY…but not structured exercise sessions ( think walking, easy commuting via bike, housework, gardening etc. Women live longer than men, and they are more likely to do those things, rather than the testosterone raising, Adrenalin pumping sports / exercise regimes that men are more drawn to in general…

[@petercoderch589]

@@stuartgilbert8619 What is crazy is that there is literally *zero* evidence that exercise increases either healthspan and even less so lifespan. It's a complete speculation/conjecture that exercise "might" improve healthspan because it improves things like VO2 Max and lower resting blood pressure(which comes at the cost of dramatically increased blood pressure during exercise), and that young people have higher VO2 max and lower resting blood pressure than old people. It's just an unsupported jump in logic. an unsubstiantitated logical extrapolation. Correlation is not the same as causality. We do not know the effect thaf exercise has on lifespan, but if we are talking *intense* exercise, the little evidence that we have that is substantiated and repeatable is that is *shortens* lifespan. For instance, the average life expectancy of NFL football players is 57 years, a massive 20 years less than the average male. Pro marathoners almost invariably have white heads of hair while still in their late twenties/early thirties due to the massive oxidative stress. A single marathon generates as much free radicals as a 30 days of normal metabolism. Pro marathoners live no longer than average people, and might live less. For instance, the guy that popularized the term "jogging" recently died still in his 60's while running of a massive cardiac arrest. Yeah, I do believe that Attia's personality plays a role here. I am not a doctor, but a female cousin of mine that is a doctor told me that surgeons are some of the most arrogant, competitive and self-assured men she ever saw. A lot of them have hyper-competitive personalities and are athletically oriented. You see this in Peter Attia's long-distance swimming, and his generally elitistic behavior. In the Jocko podcast, he flat out said that he didnd't use to have patience for "inferior" people that are not as smart as he is This is his mentality. He is not even that smart, honestly, although obviously a bright guy There is also an element of addiction to exercise. Intense exercise releases beta-endorphin and down-regulates dopamine D2 receptors, whch leads to increased dopamine release constantly. *No* Centenarian that I am aware of was an athlete. The *one8 thing that all Centenarians have in common besides superior genetics is that they are extremely stress-free. The #2 okldest man ever, who died at 115, never exercised a day in his life and was a cigar smoker. The #2 oldest American man ever, a veteran of WW2 that died recently, was also a cigar smoker. Going for a walk, or doing useful light physical work like chopping wood and carrying them to your fireplace, cleaning your pool, yatching, playing golf,. etc, might have life-prolonging effect by reducing stress and making you happy. But gruesome exercise just forces your body to adapt to survive, and not all of those changes are good. For instance, I still have stretch marks on my skin from my bodybuilding days from my muscles literally growing to the point that it ripped by skin. I also developed chronic back pain from carrying 40 useless pounds all day long. The adaptations that your body goes through in response to exercise are for *survival* and not for "longevity". Those are two different things.

[@stuartgilbert8619]

@@petercoderch589 You make some very good points. And to be honest I am pretty much in agreement with you. I do think “some” exercise is a good thing, if not for the quantity of life, more so for the quality. But like you say, it is easy to overdo it. Do too much, too often and too hard, and the quality of life that you hope to achieve can easily be sabotaged. Too much, or the wrong type of exercise ( probably done incorrectly…eg heavy deadlifts with a rounded back are making a comeback on social media) can lead to later years of life that make a mockery of “quality” and make general living just miserable. I myself wake up each morning wondering which part of my body will be aching that day thanks to my past training mistakes / excesses. Competitive, elite athletes are always held up to be paragons of HEALTH and fitness. But many are walking a tight rope in terms of health, and their peak years are relatively short. Most, if not practically all, fall off that health tight rope one way or another after their competitive years are over, either due to long lasting injuries, or the fact that they have no desire to train, as the approach they adopted when competitive was not sustainable when retired, and they have no desire to continue without the external stimulus of competition. Not every athlete is as “addicted” as Attia. I also believe, as you allude to, that there isn’t much you can do to lengthen your life expectancy, but there are things that you can do to shorten it. Things done to excess is one of these, whether that be illicit substances, or, as I believe now, exercise. It’s just a shame that I didn’t think this way over thirty years ago when I was in my early twenties. Wisdom comes too late for many of us. Who is the individual who you refer to who died in his 60’s while jogging? I always thought that jogging was attributed to Dr Kenneth Cooper. I do know that the term “aerobics” was attributed to him. Cooper is still exercising in his 90’s, although he long ago realised ( also based on the observations of athletes and the ailments they got from doing too much…eg cancer for Steve Scott etc…which led to his stance of free radicals) that you could do too much. Cooper quickly backtracked on his earlier ideas of “more is better” and preached moderation with cardio exercise and also started to promote the addition of a “little” strength training. Cooper was going down this road long before Dr James O’Keefe published the first of his too much cardio work might have negative effects studies in 2012. Speaking of James O’Keefe…the podcast that Attia did with him was one of his better ones, and was actually the one that introduced me to Attia in the first place. It’s clear that Attia, who has access to all these different experts and their views, clearly “cherry picks” the advice that corresponds with his confirmation bias. As Attia’s direction since that podcast clearly goes against the moderation message that O’Keefe was and is still preaching.

[@stuartgilbert8619]

@@petercoderch589 there have been some studies that have been done that show that elite level endurance athletes generally live longer than the general population. This, like Attia espouses, has been put down to their higher VO2 maxes. I’m not so sure…even if that were the case, it is still debatable whether exercise is the cause of that, or whether or not these individuals have a genetic advantage that makes them more healthy and robust from birth. I’d also love to see who commissions those types of studies as well. I remember when O’Keefe published the first of his studies. There was a mad rush by writers / journalists in the exercise field, the running community in particular, to get to their keyboards in an attempt to refute O’Keefe’s findings. They couldn’t publish their counter arguments fast enough, or seek out enough counter studies. After all, they could see their careers / profits on the line. You can’t publish many magazines, sell too many super shoes, enough athletics equipment or sports drinks / gels, if all you really need to do is two or three 30 minute runs in the park per week and a decent amount of walking and general physical activity with friends.

[@dc2090]

running is great, but overweight, untrained, 20 year layoff, too much too soon, is a recipe for a disaster.

[@titusmarius8718]

If you're completely out of shape, you should learn to run barefoot since your feet will naturally limit your volume as they toughen and strengthen

[@jimandjulia8261]

Two guys sitting in chairs talking about exercising.

[@Tritiuminducedfusion]

Peter would outwork your lazy ass in anything. 🤡

[@droliver]

Some bad advice here that ignores training with age. Axial loads, running, most free weights,and impact should be minimized to avoid injury risk. I know very few high level runners from HA/college that can run in their late 20's from arthritic changes. Its not optimal strategy for bulk or strength, but its good enough for health. Machines with controlled ROM and elipitcal machines and far gentler and less injury prone .Pre exercise streching also doesnt appear to reduce injury risk in a # of papers

[@Cass-gi4kk]

lol no

[@cwratten1]

Do u even lift

[@droliver]

@@cwratten1 i lift several times a week actually into my 50's. The point being, the advice in the video will get many people injured with age. One can still do resistance training but you should try to remove or limit movements (axial loading with squats, dead lift, and presses with free weights) or activity (jogging) that are extremely injury prone.

[@christopherhaak9824]

Your take here is complete BS. I'm nearly 60 and lift with almost exclusively free weights. You need to work on form and full range of motion. Stretching and flexibility is critical. It's absolutely critical that you stress your tendons and ligaments properly to develop them. This is just basic ATG stuff and it works.

[@Cass-gi4kk]

@@christopherhaak9824 this is correct. Free weights are extremely beneficial for balance as well and we need it as we age.