Longevity expert reveals how to ‘train’ for old age with a ‘centenarian decathlon’

Forget gold medals — this decathlon is all about your golden years.

Speaking at the recent New York Times Well Festival, longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia made the case for an innovative approach to preparing for old age.

Rather than focusing solely on lifespan — the number of years you are alive — Attia’s framework centers on health span — the period of life spent in good health. 

He believes everyone has a “marginal decade,” meaning the last 10 years of your life.

“You don’t really know the day you enter that marginal decade, but most people know it when they’re really into it,” he said.

“The way to increase the probability of enjoying that decade as much as possible is to be very deliberate about how you would prepare for it,” Attia noted.

As such, he advises “training” for old age in the same way that an athlete trains for a sport, with the knowledge that a soccer player and baseball player have very different workout regimens.

He calls this approach a “centenarian decathlon” — joking that it is “neither a decathlon nor something exclusively for centenarians.”

What it does entail is making a list of 10 physical activities that you most want to be able to do — enjoyably — during your marginal decade and begin training for them now.

For example, if you want to be able to play on the floor with your grandchildren — which he noted “sounds really easy,” but “it’s actually really hard to sit on the floor when you get into your 80s” — you should practice getting off the floor using only one arm for support.

You should also dead lift 30 pounds so you can pick up a child, especially since muscle strength tends to decline with age.

If you want to be able to take your dog for a nice, long walk — aim to hit 10,000 steps a day now.

If you’d like to still be able to travel internationally, try lifting a 20-pound suitcase and climbing 30 stairs without taking a breather.

Big on cooking or swimming? Carry two heavy bags of groceries up several flights of stairs and practice getting out of a pool without a ladder.

Everyone’s list is bound to be different — the key is to focus on what you value most and train accordingly.

For his part, Attia revealed that some of the items on his personal list include driving a race car, shooting a bow and arrow, playing with children, standing up on his own, and being able to walk with ease — including on uneven surfaces.

He highlighted that some of these activities are easy to take for granted now — but, without training, there may come a time when they become incredibly difficult, if not outright impossible.

And if you think dancing and sex don’t count — you would be wrong.

“To be able to dance is actually a very complicated physical and cognitive task as you age,” Attia said.

While everyone’s training will differ depending on their personal goals, Attia believes that — for most people — it will include a mix of aerobics, strength training, balancing exercises and cardio.

Outside of fitness, some of the other areas he recommends focusing on include maintaining a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, using prescription drugs and supplements as needed and taking good care of your emotional health.