highly predictive of your future health leg strength is one of the best predictors of lifespan Dr Michael Joiner is the best physiologist to refer to understand what we can do to strengthen our legs and body to live a healthy long life Dr Michael Joiner is a leading expert in exercise physiology Human Performance and Longevity his research primarily focuses on how exercise particularly endurance training affects cardiovascular health muscle function and overall longevity in this video he shares top three practical tips to strengthen ourselves something you can do just before going to bed or any time of
the day and also he shares the best foods to strengthen the legs before Dr Joiner discusses on the Practical tips to take away home let's first hear from him on why we need to build up the strength in our body obesity is at the core of the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases the Obesity epidemic is starting to impact population mortality if you see what's happening here this curve shows from 1980 to about 2010 population mortality fell and it's now starting to stabilize or even go up a little bit why is that happening well the simple
explanations are that diabetes is starting to rise decline in cardiovascular disease is starting to tail off obesity related cancers are starting to rise Alzheimer's disease is starting to go up all things linked to inactivity and obesity in the US of course we're number one the dark blue counties are are the percentage of people that are obese or overweight the darker the blue the worse you can see that there's tremendous overlap with the dark blue counties and the incidence of diabetes the southeast and the so-called stroke belt is particularly difficult particularly troubling the great news is
that you can reverse the root causes of chronic diseases like obesity and even reduce cancer risk by embracing an active lifestyle and the best part it's never too late starting in your 50s 60s or Beyond can still yield powerful results vigorous fit people in their late 50s and early 60s tend a little long time now I just saw a new paper out and it's in the May Clinic proceedings from the group at Ball State and they tracked people who went from inactive to active in middle age and so they saw and people that remained inactive
and people who remained active and what was most interesting about that is the people who increase their activity increase their exercise and increase their working out and shifted from the low activity low fitness group to the high fitness group got the same health benefits of people who were were very fit when they entered the program and you can see that the years of life gain and with just doing 30 minutes of moderately vigorous physical activity per day you can get about three or four years of increased life expectancy if you did do a bit more
you can increase that further so what are Dr joiner's top three recommended exercises the best part is they're simple effective and can be done anytime anywhere even while traveling right before bed or first thing in the morning push-ups the indicator of lifespan there was a recent study uh done on some firefighters that followed them for a number of years and showed that individuals who could do more push-ups had better health outcomes over a number of years now you can say well you maybe these people were healthier and that's why they could do more push-ups or
you could say that they were training harder or so forth but really Tracy the whole idea of a push-up or any other marker of physical strength or physical fitness is that it's highly cor correlated or highly predictive of your future health almost anything you can do how fast you can get up off the floor and older people can they even get out of a chair grip strength a treadmill score all sorts of things like that are predictive because what people are learning is people get into later middle age and past 65 a lot of the
problem is is frailty people just become frail Tom you saw it in orthopedic surgery they they they slip they fall they break something and frail older people a don't slip and fall or not frail robust healthy physically fit strong older people are much less likely to slip and fall and if they do they're better able to recover what I think the study shows is that people that are physically fit physically active and have some muscle mass have better Health outcomes and people who don't mail clinics Dr Michael Joiner says push-ups build muscle strength and can
be an easy exercise that you can do at an incline against a table the kitchen counter or on your knees but the most important part of staying healthy is staying active some recent Studies have shown that when people go from an inactive or unfit category to a fit category middle-aged as a result of exercise training their health status also improves and how many people in the country can do 20 push-up oh a small minority yeah a small 20% maybe I bet even less than that is that right when you take all age groups all CER
time the number of push-ups a man can do could be a good indicator of his risk for heart disease a new Harvard study finds that men who can do more than 40 push-ups during a time test which is about a minute they're 96% less likely to develop a cardiovascular problem as of 2016 the American Heart Association says nearly half of us adults deal with some form of cardiovascular disease next even just 10 minutes of walking a day can help extend your lifespan go for a walk go for a walk the first 10 minutes of exercise
per day or physical activity is highly beneficial people think 30 minutes uh most days of the week but people get a benefit with as much or as little as 10 10 minutes a day so do something park your car a little farther away try to build some physical activity and steps into your activities of daily living you might wonder though is 10 minutes really enough what's the ideal amount of exercise for Optimal Health the really important thing is to get out and move that 150 minutes of physical activity a week is really the most powerful
medicine anybody can prescribe and there's some sort of physical activity that almost every human can do no matter what their level of Fitness is even if it's just simple walking and these things are are are really protective so while you're watching the Olympics while you're watching the National Football League while you're watching sports on TV I would encourage people to also make sure they're taking care of themselves and to be as physically active as they possibly can because that's the way to be a healthy old person and get more out of life the third easy-to-do
exercise doctor Joiner recommends is jumping rope I have the jump rope my mother gave to me when I was 14 she gave me a beautiful boxers jump rope leather with ball bearings in the works you know and I I carry it with me when I travel because you can always jump rope even if it's out in the parking lot of a hotel people think you're nuts but it works it's a terrific terrific exercise so why is Dr Joiner emphasizing so much on physical activity and in ' 66 NASA commissioned Folks at at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas to put five College age males two ass athletes at bed rest and they had tremendous reductions in their their Fitness over just three weeks of bed rest and interestingly Ben LaVine and his group uh in Dallas along with the late Jerry Mitchell brought these same men back 30 years later so now they were you know early 50s and it's incredible but 3 weeks of bed rest you know caused losses of physiological function associated with 30 years of Aging so it's an incredible study and and and that's one of the
things that is instructive those sorts of small studies and that's why so important to to just avoid inactivity of of any type and whether it's low-grade physical activity whether it's walking the dog whether it's gardening whether it's taking a flight of stairs once in a while or intentional working out it's really the way to go while Dr Michael Joiner doesn't prescribe a rigid diet plan he emphasizes several key nutritional principles that support overall health longevity and especially leg strength his approach on eating healthy is rooted in fueling the body wisely focusing on maintaining muscle mass
boosting performance and controlling inflammation all of which become increasingly important as we age one of Dr joiner's primary messages centers around protein intake as people get older they often experience sarcopenia the gradual loss of muscle mass particularly in the legs to combat this Joiner highlights the importance of consuming enough highquality protein to preserve lean muscle and maintain strength he recommends including lean meats like chicken turkey and fish in your diet along with plant-based proteins such as lentils chickpeas and tofu dairy products like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are also excellent choices as well as eggs
and high quality protein powders like whey or casine for active individuals and older adults he advises aiming for between 1.2 to 2.0 gam of protein per kilogram of body weight daily to effectively support muscle maintenance carbohydrates also play a crucial role in joiner's nutritional framework as an expert in Endurance Sports he understands how vital carbs are INF fueling both leg endurance and explosive strength rather than avoiding carbs Joiner encourages people to consume nutrient-dense sources including whole grains like oats and brown rice starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes and squash and fresh fruits like bananas and
berries He suggests that athletes and active individuals prioritize carbohydrates before and after exercise to maximize performance and Aid recovery in addition to protein and carbohydrates healthy fats are a key component of joiner's advice particularly for promoting longevity and controlling inflammation he supports the inclusion of Omega 3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats which contribute to brain function cardiovascular health and Muscle Recovery fatty fish like salmon and sardines nuts and seeds including walnuts and flax seeds olive oil and avocados are all part of the healthy fat profile he recommends joiner's guidance aligns closely with a Mediterranean style
diet which emphasizes these types of fats for overall well-being hydration and electrolyte balance are another area Joiner stresses especially for maintaining proper leg function staying hydrated is essential for circulation muscle contractions and preventing cramps he encourages regular consumption of water and herbal teas along with natural electrolyte sources like coconut water foods such as bananas leafy greens and potatoes help replenish potassium while nuts and dark chocolate provide magnesium for those engaging in intense physical activity Joiner suggests adding a pinch of sea salt or an electrolyte tablet to water to maintain optimal balance finally Joiner recognizes the
importance of anti-inflammatory foods for preserving joint and muscle Health particularly as it relates to mobility in the legs he encourages the inclusion of antioxidant Rich fruits like berries and citrus as well as natural anti-inflammatories like turmeric and ginger green tea known for its polyphenol content and dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale are also valuable additions to minimize inflammation Joiner recommends reducing the intake of processed foods excess sugar and trans fats all of which can contribute to Joint stiffness and muscle soreness while Dr Joiner doesn't enforce strict dietary restrictions he does caution against certain
habits he generally advises limiting the consumption of Highly processed foods including refined grains sugary snacks and fast food he also warns against excessive alcohol intake which can hinder recovery and impair cardiovascular health lastly he advises against severe calor restriction as it may lead to undesirable muscle loss in essence Dr joiner's nutritional philosophy emphasizes balance and quality focusing on real nutrient-dense foods that fuel the body support strong legs and contribute to a long active life
