The Life Plan (25 page)

Decline in physical activity

Poor nutrition

Cellular dysfunction

Average 25-year-old male: 20 percent body fat

Average 55-year-old male: 30 percent body fat

Average 75-year-old male: more than 35 percent body fat

The mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are the principal sites where your energy, in the form of adenosine 5’-triphosphate or ATP, is generated. Free radicals, the unstable atoms that react with other compounds, are produced primarily in the mitochondria when the food you eat is converted to energy. These atoms attack other molecules in order to gain stability and damage and destroy mitochondria in the process. Mitochondrial damage leads to impaired ATP production, cellular breakdown, and sarcopenia, among other diseases, as well as early aging.

The good news is that you don’t have to accept weakness and frailty as the status quo of aging. Instead, I’ll show you how to replace your old, worn-out, damaged, and dying mitochondria with brand-new, wild-type mitochondria (the scientific name for young mitochondria) and regain your muscle mass and strength. It’s all done through a process called gene shifting, which transforms our damaged, mutated, dying mitochondria into young, healthy wild-type mitochondria to prevent or even reverse sarcopenia.

It all starts with exercise—specifically heavy resistance exercise. You’ll learn exactly how to do this in Chapter 6, where you will be working with fairly heavy weights and train to muscle failure. This type of exercise can offer you the best opportunity to experience a transformation in your mitochondria: Intense resistance training induces adaptations in our mitochondria that can reverse the progression of aging. Some recent studies have actually shown that with just two months of strength training, men can reverse two decades of muscle loss. Other studies have shown resistance training can significantly increase our type II fiber cross-sectional area and increase mitochondrial volume in older adults.

Once you have incorporated resistance training into your exercise routine, you will have increased strength, which then improves daily living and overall quality of life and keeps you from getting old. You can experience this change just as easily as many of my patients. For example, Frank, a 77-year-old patient, followed the Life Plan and lost 14.8 pounds of body fat and gained 7.9 pounds of lean muscle mass. Hank, at 76, was able to lose 9.3 pounds of body fat and gain 14.1 pounds of muscle mass. Such gains can become the norm when you follow this program. Serious resistance training can change the entire paradigm of aging.

The formula for stronger, more youthful mitochondria is straightforward:

All men undergo a menopauselike phenomenon called andropause, an insidious, slow shift that affects hormonal levels and creates a heightened risk for chronic disease and death. When andropause hits, men as young as 40 begin to gain weight, lose muscle mass, become depressed, and experience low libido and often sexual performance issues. Most of all, they find that their energy levels diminish, creating self-esteem problems, a lowered sense of well-being, and reduced work productivity. Whatever you may be experiencing, exercise is the key to maintaining a higher-quality life and controlling the aging process. It’s never too late to start—so you might as well start right now.

You might be thinking, “Is he crazy?” “I’m way too old, “or, “I just can’t do that.” But as you’ve learned from my story, age is not a factor if you want to reclaim your life. As I became more comfortable with exercise, I realized that starting a rigorous program at my age was really not an issue. In fact, just the opposite is true. My exercise program can actually increase your level of fitness and health by 10 to 20 percent, decreasing your “biological age” by 10 to 20 years.

Doctors used to advise middle-aged and older men to get plenty of aerobic exercise: the constant rhythmic movements that increase heart rate for a sustained period of time. Walking, jogging, swimming, bicycle riding, and so on have always been thought to be the best exercise to help prevent or treat heart disease. What’s more, doctors had traditionally discouraged men with heart disease from engaging in strength training because they believed it would put dangerous stress on their hearts.

But that myth was finally put to rest. The American Heart Association released data that show that weight training and other forms of resistance exercise are not harmful to the heart; doctors across the country are joining me in recommending this form of exercise for their healthy patients, as well as those with heart disease, including men with recent heart attacks, as long as they are closely monitored and supervised by experienced health professionals. So no more excuses!

My Life Plan is different from any other exercise program because it focuses on three core exercise components, what I call the Mighty Three. If you do these types of exercise in combination throughout your week, you will see results quickly and continue with the program forever. I will give you the strategies that I have learned to make sure you can begin exercising at a level that is comfortable for you. Then, you’ll learn how to follow the program, and stay on it, or get back on track when life gets in the way. Also, you’ll be able to do all of these exercises and avoid injuries. You’ll see how each of these types of exercise can improve your overall health, now and going forward.

Balance, flexibility, and core strength

Resistance training