Longevity and Fitness Regimens from 89-Year-Old Investing Legend Edward O. Thorp
Summary
TLDRIn this conversation, the host explores the guest's perspectives on thinking, health, and fitness. The guest, who is 89 years old but looks much younger, shares his journey into fitness, starting accidentally in his 20s. He recounts how a challenge to improve his strength led him to a lifelong commitment to physical health, including weightlifting and marathon running. Despite setbacks like a herniated disc, he adapted his regimen over the years. His philosophy centers on listening to the body, doing what he enjoys, and believing that 'some is better than none.' His story serves as an inspiration to maintain an active lifestyle at any age.
Takeaways
- 💪 The speaker initially got into health and fitness by accident, starting with strength training in college, and gradually saw remarkable strength gains.
- 🏋️ The initial workout routine consisted of four key exercises: the squat, military press, bench press, and one other compound movement.
- 😮 Within a year of regular training, the speaker doubled their strength, notably increasing their bench press and military press abilities.
- 🏃 In their 30s, the speaker realized they were out of shape during a jog and began focusing on aerobic exercise, starting with short runs and eventually progressing to marathons.
- 📚 The speaker was influenced by Ken Cooper's book on aerobics and used it to track their fitness progress with a points system.
- 👟 For over 20 years, they were involved in long-distance running, including marathons, but eventually had to stop due to a back injury.
- 🧘 Post-injury, they shifted focus to walking, core strengthening, and lower-impact activities like race walking, which provided similar aerobic benefits without the high impact of running.
- 🧑🦳 The speaker’s approach to fitness evolved over time, now emphasizing listening to the body, enjoying the activities they engage in, and understanding that some exercise is always better than none.
- 🏋️ Their strength training now includes bodyweight squats, dumbbell lunges, pull-ups, and back exercises to maintain overall fitness and core strength.
- 🎯 The speaker's overall fitness philosophy is about consistency, adaptability, and the belief that age should not be an excuse to stop or give up on health and fitness.
Q & A
What are the two main areas of focus in this conversation?
-The conversation focuses on the guest's methods of thinking and their personal approach to health and fitness.
What is the age of the guest mentioned in the conversation?
-The guest is 89 years old.
How did the guest initially become interested in health and fitness?
-The guest accidentally wandered into health and fitness after observing some men weightlifting and making a bet with them that he could double his strength in a year.
What were the four main exercises that the guest focused on in his initial strength training?
-The guest's strength training included the squat, military overhead press, bench press, and a fourth exercise he could not recall but mentioned it was a compound exercise.
What was the outcome of the guest's one-year bet regarding strength training?
-After a year, the guest successfully doubled his strength, including achieving a 185-pound military press and a 375-pound bench press.
How did the guest transition into running and marathon training?
-The guest began running after being out of breath during a jog with his brother-in-law at age 35, which led him to follow a points system for aerobics and eventually progress to marathons.
What was the guest's experience with marathons and running?
-The guest ran marathons for about 20-25 years until he had to stop due to a herniated disc from weightlifting.
How has the guest’s fitness routine evolved after the age of 50?
-The guest shifted to walking three miles several times a week, strength training with an emphasis on core exercises, and listening to his body to adjust his workouts.
What advice does the guest give about staying active as one ages?
-The guest advises people to start small, saying 'some is better than none,' and that people should avoid the mistake of not starting because they can’t do the whole program.
What strength exercises does the guest currently perform, and how have they changed over time?
-The guest now focuses on bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, pull-ups (though fewer than before), and back exercises to maintain core and back strength, as his physical capabilities have declined with age.
Outlines
🎙️ Introduction to the Guest's Life and Approach
The speaker introduces the guest and highlights the two main areas they hope to explore: the guest's methods of thinking and their approach to health and fitness. The speaker notes the guest's remarkable age of 89, emphasizing that they appear much younger, and expresses excitement about the conversation. They delve into how the guest's approach to health and fitness might be related to genetics or a specific regimen.
💪 Discovery of Strength Training and Initial Skepticism
The guest shares how they accidentally got into health and fitness, much like their earlier experiences with blackjack and roulette. At 20 years old, they encountered a group of weightlifters and were skeptical of their training. They were challenged to train with them for a year, which led to significant strength gains. By the end of the year, they had doubled their strength in exercises like the military press, bench press, and squats, which surprised them and made them take strength training seriously.
🏃♂️ Discovering Aerobics and Running Marathons
The guest recounts their journey into aerobic fitness after realizing they were out of shape while jogging with a relative in their 30s. Inspired by Dr. Ken Cooper’s book on aerobics, they began tracking their aerobic efforts and gradually increased their running distance. Eventually, they took on a 10-mile race and even participated in marathons. However, after sustaining a back injury from weightlifting, they had to reduce their running, but their years of road running had built a strong fitness foundation.
🧘♂️ Adjusting Fitness Routine After a Back Injury
Following a serious back injury caused by weightlifting, the guest adjusted their fitness routine to focus on low-impact exercises like walking and core strengthening. They emphasize the importance of listening to their body and adapting their workouts to prevent further injury. They now walk several miles weekly and do gym exercises focused on core and strength, especially to support their back, which has since recovered.
📈 Evolving Fitness Habits with Age
As the guest aged, they evolved their fitness habits to accommodate the physical changes that came with it. They stress that doing something is always better than doing nothing, even if it means adjusting the intensity. They reflect on how they were in their best shape between the ages of 55 and 65 and share their philosophy of building on small fitness successes over time, which kept them motivated and improving.
🚶♂️ Recommendations for Maintaining Fitness After 40
The guest offers advice for people who think it's too late to start or maintain fitness as they age. They recommend low-impact exercises like race walking for aerobic benefits and emphasize that making small efforts can lead to lasting improvements. They reflect on their own experience and state that there is always room for improvement, no matter one's age.
🏋️♂️ Strength Training as an Older Adult
As they continue to age, the guest acknowledges the decline in strength but remains committed to a varied fitness routine. They now focus on bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and pull-ups, and prioritize back exercises to maintain core strength. Although their strength has diminished compared to earlier years, they find ways to maintain functional fitness that supports their health and wellbeing.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Health and Fitness
💡Strength Training
💡Aerobics
💡Self-Improvement
💡Core Strengthening
💡Marathon Running
💡Longevity
💡Listening to the Body
💡Race Walking
💡Adaptation
Highlights
The speaker is 89 years old but appears much younger, which amazes the interviewer.
The speaker emphasizes their curiosity and interest in self-improvement, which led them to strength training and fitness.
They recount how a bet with a group of weightlifters about doubling their strength within a year changed their approach to fitness.
After a year of consistent strength training, the speaker was able to lift impressive weights, including bench pressing 375 pounds.
Their early fitness routine involved exercises like the squat, military overhead press, and bench press.
In their 30s, after struggling with a short jog, the speaker realized they were in poor shape and began a focused aerobic routine.
The speaker followed the Ken Cooper aerobic point system to track their progress and eventually took up marathon running.
They ran marathons for 20 years until a herniated disc from weightlifting forced them to stop high-impact activities.
The speaker now focuses on lower-impact exercises, such as walking and core strengthening, particularly for their back health.
They emphasize the importance of listening to the body and adjusting workouts as needed to maintain longevity in fitness.
Their rule is 'some is better than none,' encouraging people to start with whatever they can manage and build from there.
The speaker highlights the benefits of race walking as a lower-impact alternative to running that still provides aerobic benefits.
Their current strength training includes bodyweight exercises like squats, dumbbell lunges, and pull-ups.
Though their strength has decreased with age, they maintain a routine focused on core and back exercises to support their overall health.
The speaker's best pull-up performance recently was four underhand and two overhand pull-ups, noting a decline compared to a decade ago.
They emphasize the importance of flexibility in fitness routines as one ages, adapting exercises to prevent injury while maintaining health.
Transcripts
[Music]
i want to take a step back just for for
people who are listening and say that
there are many reasons that i wanted to
have this conversation with you and
it is not specifically related to
gambling in the sense that what most
there are many things that interest me
about your life and your thinking and
my hope is that for people listening
they get a window into at least two
things
one would be
your methods of thinking frames and
works for thinking how you think about
thinking
and then also
your
personal approach to
health and fitness
because as people may have picked up
with some of the references
could you tell everyone listening
what your age is as we speak today
i'm 89
and for those people who can't see video
you look like you're in your 60s and i
am just
beyond excited to to hop right into that
so we're going to jump around quite a
bit we want to do this exactly
chronologically but
could you
perhaps describe
your approach to
health and fitness and you could you
could tackle that starting wherever you
like is it just that you were
given the right parents and out of the
box have tremendous genetics is there
more to it how would you begin to unpack
this
i kind of wandered into health and
fitness by
accident initially just like i wandered
into blackjack and roulette
i'm curious and always looking for
things to understand and uh i like the
idea of self-improvement too so
i i was walking uh behind the student
co-op one night when i was about 20 and
heard a bunch of clanking
i looked down in the basement and there
were some
fairly burly guys down there
pumping iron and i walked in and i said
you know this is this is a waste of time
this is ridiculous so one of them said
to me i'll bet you a milkshake that if
you work out with us for a year just
one hour
an evening three evenings a week you'll
double your strength in
a set of exercises that they uh
describe so i said i don't believe it
let's try it
so i went down and the four exercises
were
the squat
with
a barbell on a rack
the military overhead press
the bench press
and uh deadlift
own deadlift no i wasn't dead left it
was something else
i forgot the fourth one at the moment
but i'll think of it clean and jerk
maybe who knows or bent row
yeah
it was something along those lines but a
compound exercise like like the others
yeah so there was a fourth exercise so
anyhow
what happened was
i
i was a uh
i wouldn't say 98 pound weekly but maybe
uh 150 pound weekly
and at the end of the year i could
military press 185
which was
at least double what i started with i
could bench press 375
i could do
15 at uh 325
and i could
squat with 375
i could do sets
and uh forgot what the other one was
i wish i could remember it in any case i
was astounded that all this uh came to
pass
so it made me pay attention to uh
strength at least
and some time went by and i was a little
swimming because i got interested in
scuba diving
and then uh
one day in my
30s i was jogging along the beach with
my uh
brother-in-law
and he said let's go for a little jog i
went for about a quarter mile and i was
gasping i was 35 and then i remember i i
said this is awful i'm in terrible shape
i have to do something about this
so they had a book on aerobics by
somebody named ken cooper who has a had
a lab down in texas and started
in large part the aerobics revolution
that swept the country
so i started keeping track of his points
he gave you points for
various degrees of aerobic effort i
think if you
did a mile in
between 12 and 15 minutes you got one
point and you did between
10 and a half and 12 you got two points
and so forth
so i started trying to run a mile a day
and i did that well i ran a mile every
saturday to start with
and then
one saturday i just had to try a little
further so i ran two
and then three
and then i said i'll try a ten mile race
so i got another 10 mile race which was
kind of foolish
but
i finished and i did i did reasonably
well so then i said i'll try a marathon
so then i got into marathon running
and i really like that i did that for
about 20 years until i uh hurt my back
weightlifting
all my bad events have been from uh
pushing myself athletically
so hurting my back was probably the
worst single thing the herniated disc so
i had to stop had to stop heavy pounding
heavy running
but
20 years of road running
and
well more than that maybe 25 years and
marathoning
gave me i think a very good base for
going forward and so now i
do things like i walk about
three miles
three four times a week and i spend
about two days in the gym
doing stretching and
strength
core strengthening and so on a lot of
emphasis on core because of my back
which is just fine now
i was just going to ask how your
approach seems like it has evolved and
and
changed over time say after 50 years of
age or
yeah in the i mean in the last
say 40 years or so are there any
particular changes that you made in
addition to the core
strengthening to support the back that
you think have
contributed to your longevity
i've evolved i try to listen to my body
so
i do what i enjoy
and
the rule i started to follow was some is
better than none
and more up to a point is better than
less
so there's there's no excuse i mean
if you tell yourself gee i'm not going
to do this because i can't do the whole
program that's a big mistake just start
doing it and i find that if you start
doing it and you get used to it you find
more and more things that you kind of
like that you could build on and then
you just keep getting better at it
i was probably in my best shape at
around
55 to 65 because of all this
that is
that is inspiring i am just about to
turn 45 and
even amongst my just to say age cohort
it's very
common for me to see people giving up
even in their 40s and blaming it on age
but with you sitting in front of me
describing your trajectory and sort of
adaptive habits
i feel like those
those excuses don't hold a whole lot of
weight
is there any other advice
one thing that's pretty neat is uh
race walking i did that for a while and
that's something that is lower impact
than running
but you can get the same kind of aerobic
workout
so that's something i'd direct people
towards
what does your strength training look
like
now uh or over the last few decades
as i get older it declines i get weaker
and it gets a little harder to do things
and i i feel a little tired i can't do
as many uh reps or sets of things
so
i have a mix of things that i do now i
will
do
squats
and
usually now just body weight
and i try to i'll do dumbbell squats
or
lunges with a lot of emphasis on one leg
and then she has to do a lot a lot of
weight on the other leg
do pull ups
and
i think the best i've done recently
which is not very much is four underhand
pull-ups and two overhand pull-ups
i used to be able to ten years ago i
could do a dozen of each
and
let's see what else
well i do
a lot of back exercises regularly
on the map and that's very helpful for
keeping my back in shape and keeping my
core
in pretty good condition
you
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