5 Exercises for Longevity from a Exercise Based Physical Therapist

I recently had a patient come in to our clinic in Verona, WI. At the end of her Plan of Care asking for 5 exercises that she should continue for the rest of her life for longevity. This question really got me thinking.. Are there really only 5 exercises that I would recommend for life? Short answer, no, but I spent a week curating, in my opinion, the BEST 5 exercises to implement for the rest of anyone’s life. With these exercises, one should be able to pick up anything from the floor, including themselves without using objects for support, walk up any hill or bout of stairs, get out of any chair, grab or place things overhead and get from point A to point B without assistance. With independence being a major goal over the lifespan, that is the theme of this list. Below is my top 5 with reasoning as to why I chose the movement! 

1. The DEADLIFT: Not only is this exercise a full body workout and bulletproofs back muscles, it allows someone to pick up heavy things from the floor. I always tell patients they should be able to lift their household weight. Picture this- The house is burning and everyone got knocked out except for you. Are you able to lift the heaviest person/animal in your house and carry them to safety? If not, get working on your deadlift! People who are able to lift 2x their own body weight are more likely to live longer than others! 

2. The TURKISH GET UP: Again, this exercise is a full body workout. To be able to get up from the floor without use of support around you is life saving. I once had a patient that was unable to help herself up after a fall because she was not near any objects to grab on to. She laid on the floor trying to get up for 18 hours before someone found her. Through all of her struggling to get up, she entered into a state of rhabdomyolysis (extreme muscle breakdown that can lead to kidney failure). Being able to get up off of the floor is life saving. 

3. The STEP UP or LUNGE: This is an important one that I see a lot of older people changing their lifestyle for. The parent or grandparent that has to move from their home to assisted living because they can no longer make it up the stairs, or avoiding grandkid’s soccer games because they have to walk up a hill to get to the field. This exercise works on single leg strength which will also keep balance healthy. 

4. The THRUSTER: As brutal as this movement is, it is SO great for squatting and getting those arms overhead. Two of the biggest complaints I hear in older adults is having a hard time getting out of low chairs and putting things overhead! Well lucky for you this is a combo exercise. Two movements but one exercise. 

5. CARDIO: Now this one doesn’t fit the mold of the other exercises that I have chosen, but with an obesity epidemic that is a cause for many other diagnoses, it seemed fitting to put it in the list. Our hearts are muscles as well that need to be exercised in order to help pump blood to all of our other muscles, organs, tissues, etc to stay alive. Cardio will look different for everyone but a few bouts of increasing the heart rate every week can do wonders for overall health. 

Oftentimes people come into the clinic and say things like “I don’t want to be one of those people who can’t move when they are older.” This isn’t breaking news, but sometimes people need to hear it again; if you don’t use it, you lose it!  So perform the motions that you don’t want to lose as you get older. Asking another therapist may result in a different answer. Heck Dr. Kari and I probably have different ideas as to what is the “best”. No matter the specifics in each person’s answer, the overall goal is to stay independent for as long as we can!