Exercising for longevity: strength, stability, zone 2, zone 5, and more

I deadlift at least twice a week, often three times a week—both straight bar and trap bar ... I don't go that heavy. I don't know the last time maybe I've had 400 lbs on the trap bar in the past year, but I usually sort of stop at about 350-375. On the straight bar, I'm even lighter—maybe 185.

One of the things about zone 2 that I really enjoy is it's just not that hard. Frankly, sometimes it's just nice to get on the bike—and I probably spend 3 or 4 hours a week doing it—and that is my time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks, and I really enjoy it.

Anybody who's a centenarian today is a centenarian because of their exceptional genes. They haven't hacked their way there.

My zone 5 is mostly done on my StairMaster, which is my absolute favorite piece of equipment that's not a bicycle.

Basically, the limits of human performance in terms of 'going all-out' is about 10 seconds. So, really no human has the potential to go all out for 10 seconds. You might think you are, but you're not.

Stability is a way that we transmit force from the body to the outside world and vice versa, from the outside world to the body, in the safest manner possible across the muscles, which are designed to carry that load, as opposed to seeing the dissipation of force across joints that are not fit to do so.

Everything I'm talking about is geared towards this centenarian Olympics... this idea of being the most kick-ass 90-year-old possible. And that's really based on two energy systems. So, it's got the stability and the strength piece we talked about, and it's got this low-end aerobic energy system, which is zone 2... And then I think it's punctuated with brief bursts of, generally, zone 5.

My wife, conversely, likes to ride a Peloton. I don't know why; I think it's the worst bike on the face of the Earth.

Unless you are a really good runner, which is to say you're very efficient at running, for most people, running gets them out of zone 2 a little too quickly.

There's lots of ways to hit zone 5, and it's a very important zone as well. My view is most people spend too much time there and not enough time in zone 2, though.

Stability is the cornerstone upon which you do everything. It is the cornerstone upon which your strength is delivered, your aerobic performance is delivered, and your anaerobic performance is delivered—and it's the way that you do so safely.