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Heart surgeon says strength training is the secret to living longer and healthier
Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life, and there are many things you can do to boost your life expectancy.
A heart surgeon has shared his ‘number one tip’ for longevity and it’s something we can all start doing right now.
‘Number one tip’ for living longer
Speaking on TikTok, Dr. Jeremy London said the secret to living longer is doing strength exercises that help you gain muscle.
“This is it. Lifting heavy. Gaining muscle,” he explained while training in the gym.
As we get older, we lose a significant amount of our muscle mass, so we need to work to keep it. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade, Harvard reveals.
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The medical professional quoted a doctor called Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, who said: “Muscle is the organ of longevity.”
London claimed this is “totally accurate” and even suggested that strength training is more important than endurance exercises.
The NHS says all adults should do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least two days per week.
They also recommend doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week.
You don’t have to lift weights
However, you don’t have to hit the gym every day and lift dumbbells to gain muscle – there are loads of strength activities you can do in your everyday life. From carrying heavy shopping bags to lifting children and wheeling a wheelchair, you probably do strength training without even realising it.
Housework and heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling, work all your major muscle groups too. Yoga, pilates and tai chi are also great low-intensity exercises that will help you build muscle.
Your diet is also really important when building muscle mass. You need to make sure you’re getting enough protein as your body needs to convert it into amino acids to build muscle. Some high-protein foods include meat, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt and soya.
Dr Jeremy London is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with his own practice in Savannah, Georgia, who received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.
