Longevity and Fitness Regimens from 89-Year-Old Investing Legend Edward O. Thorp

Summary

In 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

00:00

🎙️ 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.

05:01

💪 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.

Keywords

💡Health and Fitness

Health and fitness refers to maintaining physical well-being and staying in good shape through activities like exercise, proper diet, and lifestyle habits. In the video, the speaker emphasizes how their journey into fitness started by accident but evolved over time into a core part of their life, contributing to their longevity and vitality.

💡Strength Training

Strength training involves exercises designed to increase muscle strength, often through resistance like weightlifting. The speaker recounts their early experience with lifting weights, including squats, bench presses, and military presses, and how strength training significantly improved their physical capabilities.

💡Aerobics

Aerobics is a form of exercise that focuses on cardiovascular endurance by increasing heart rate through activities like running or swimming. The speaker credits their improved fitness to following an aerobics program, initially running a mile a day and later participating in long-distance races like marathons.

💡Self-Improvement

Self-improvement is the process of consciously working to better oneself physically, mentally, or emotionally. The speaker mentions their curiosity and desire for self-improvement as a driving force behind their interest in fitness, strength, and overall health.

💡Core Strengthening

Core strengthening refers to exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles in the abdomen, lower back, hips, and pelvis. The speaker highlights the importance of core exercises in maintaining a healthy back, particularly after experiencing a herniated disc from weightlifting.

💡Marathon Running

Marathon running is the activity of running a 26.2-mile race, requiring significant endurance and preparation. The speaker shares how they transitioned from short runs to marathon running, which they practiced for over 20 years, and how it helped build a strong fitness foundation.

💡Longevity

Longevity refers to living a long and healthy life. The speaker, who is 89 years old but appears much younger, attributes their longevity to consistent physical activity, adaptability in fitness routines, and paying attention to their body’s needs over the decades.

💡Listening to the Body

Listening to the body involves being attuned to physical signals like fatigue or pain to avoid injury and adjust exercise routines. The speaker mentions how they modified their fitness routines as they aged, focusing more on what their body could handle while still remaining active.

💡Race Walking

Race walking is a competitive form of walking that emphasizes speed while maintaining a lower impact than running. The speaker suggests race walking as an alternative to running for those seeking a good aerobic workout without the high impact of running, which they turned to after their back injury.

💡Adaptation

Adaptation in this context refers to adjusting one’s fitness routine over time to fit changing physical abilities. The speaker highlights how their workout regime evolved from heavy weightlifting to lighter exercises and bodyweight training as they aged, ensuring they stayed active while avoiding injury.

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