Issue #287: Strength is Like Your 401K
Good morning. It’s Saturday, January 6th.
In today’s email:
Learn: Muscle = Longevity
Move: The Perfect Push-Up
Laugh: Real Resolutions
Brain Games: 6’s, 3’s and 7’s
Stat of the Day
The world record for most push-ups in a 24-hour period. Charles Servizio accomplished this feat on April 24/25, 1993. He actually stopped at 21 hours and 21 minutes - averaging 36 push-ups per minute. (source)
And we’re only talking about 25 a day!
Revisit
This week we covered the value of movement and how to meet those 2024 fitness goals.
Issue #285 - value functional age over biological age - with insights into setting realistic fitness goals and benchmarks like VO2Max. Plus create sustainable workout plans for a healthier, more active life.
Issue #286 - don’t skip on the mobility training. It’s the foundation for how we move in this world. Step one is to get out of your chair and on to the floor.
Click HERE to check out the entire Thrive25 archive. And click HERE to get all the Thrive25 Fitness Tests.
Learn
Muscle = Longevity
Well that’s not exactly true - it’s actually strength that helps us live longer.
Study after study tells us the same thing - that those with low muscle strength have about a 2x higher risk of all-cause mortality.
It’s not just sarcopenia (bone loss) and the risk of falling - although both are real risks.
Strong muscles:
Keep our entire skeleton (body frame) in the right position and functioning properly
Are the #1 reservoir for our glucose (all the carbs we eat) to help prevent metabolic dysfunction
Enable us to do the things we want to do in life
Think about how this last benefit affects us in the real-world.
According to expert Dr. Andy Galpin, starting around age 30 we lose between 1-3% of strength every year.
But - we can affect the rate of decline.
Take someone who is 40 years old today:
If the person loses 2% of strength every year - by age 65 they’ll only have 60% of their current strength.
I’ve got a 35 lb son that I pick up all the time.
If I only have 60% of my strength - lifting him up will feel like I’m lifting up 58 lbs. Guess my future grandkids will have to be happy just sitting on my lap.
But…if instead that 40-yr old loses only 1% of strength per year - then they still have 78% of their current strength by 65.
Now my grandkid will only feel like 45 lbs - still heavy, but doable.
Bottom line - everyone should load up on the weights.
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Move
The Perfect Push-Up
One exercise for strength…push-ups are really a full body exercise. Most people just think it’s about chest and triceps and cheat on their core (and don’t go all the way up & down).
We’ll give Denzel Ward a pass since he’s in pads and it’s the middle of a game.
Doing a correct push-up is 2-3x more challenging than when you try to race through reps with bad form.
There’s five (5) key elements of the perfect push-up:
1. Make Your Body a Straight Line
Keep your abs/core, quads, and glutes tight - should be a straight line from your head to your toes. No V-formation with butts up in the air or J-curves with your back and butt sagging down low. Keep upper back/shoulder blades flat and neck in line with face looking down, not out in front of you.
2. Wrists Directly Under Shoulders
The wrong placement can injure wrists or shoulders.
3. Bend Arms Back, Not Out
As you lower down, your elbows should bend back toward your body, not out wide - another injury risk. This is true for close grip or wide grip.
4. All the Way Down
Don’t cheat - lower all the way down to brush the ground and come up with arms fully extended. It’s better to do the right form on your knees than to go 50% up and down.
5. Breathe
Easy to forget - Inhale on your way down, exhale on your way up - breath through each rep.
Check out video to see this in action:
Modifications
Always feel free to start with modified push-ups on your knees
Hands out wide works the chest, close grip works the triceps
Push-ups are super versatile - add to the chaturanga flow in yoga, do a dumbbell push-up plus row, add to a burpee, go with a medicine ball / dumbbell or two, go with one arm - let your imagination run wild
The Thrive25 Pro Tip: Do 25+ push-ups right when you wake up to…wake up and start your day right.
Laugh
The reality of resolutions…
Brain Games
6’s, 3’s and 7’s
Quick!
Count the number of times the number “6” appears below
Count the total of both “3“s and “7“s, trying to add the total number of both as you see either (don’t just count all the “3“s, and then the “7“s, but both at the same time)
Subtract the number in Step 2 minus Step 1. What do you get?
Inspiration: SharpBrains
**For answer, scroll to the bottom of the post
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Thanks for another great week!
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** Brain Games Answer **
26
There are 33 “6”s and 59 “3”s and “7”s. 59 - 33 = 26. If you read left-to-right and top-to-bottom, try the inverse to see if you get a different answer.
Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.