Regular Exercises Advised by a Longevity Specialist for Frequent Execution
Caitlin Donato, the director of fitness at Pritikin Longevity Center, believes that the squat, Romanian deadlift, and pull-up are the three best exercises for longevity. Here's a guide on how to perform each exercise with proper form and the benefits they offer.
1. Squat (with safer variations for longevity)
- How to perform: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up and core engaged. Lower your hips back and down as if sitting in a chair, keeping your knees aligned with your toes. Descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the ground or as mobility allows. Push through your heels to return to standing.
- Safer alternatives (recommended by Caitlin due to joint health concerns after 40): landmine squats, dumbbell front squats, or cable-based squats that mimic natural joint angles. These alternatives reduce spine pressure and accommodate limited mobility.
- Benefits:
- Strengthens the lower body including quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
- Enhances hip and knee mobility.
- Improves balance and stability vital for aging populations.
- Supports joint health when performed with proper progression and alternatives.
2. Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
- How to perform: Stand with feet hip-width apart holding a barbell or dumbbells in front of you. Keep your knees slightly bent. Hinge at your hips by pushing your hips back, lowering the weights down along your legs. Maintain a flat back and engaged core throughout. Lower until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings but without losing form. Return to standing by driving hips forward.
- Benefits:
- Targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles.
- Builds posterior chain strength crucial for posture and injury prevention.
- Helps maintain hip mobility and balance.
- Supports functional movement and reduces the risk of falls as you age.
3. Pull-Up
- How to perform:
- Grip a pull-up bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width, palms facing away.
- Hang fully extended with engaged core and shoulder blades slightly retracted.
- Pull your chin over the bar by driving your elbows down and back.
- Lower back to full hang with control.
- Modifications for beginners include assisted pull-ups or negative pull-ups to build strength progressively.
- Benefits:
- Strengthens the upper back, shoulders, and arms.
- Improves posture by counteracting forward shoulder rounding.
- Enhances grip strength and upper body functional fitness.
- Supports longevity by maintaining upper body strength necessary for daily tasks.
General Notes on Longevity and Form
- Caitlin Donato emphasizes progressive overload carefully and gradually to avoid joint strain, especially after 40.
- Adjusting range of motion and exercise angles to match individual mobility and avoiding pushing through pain or structural imbalances is critical to sustain longevity benefits.
- Using alternative variations that reduce spinal stress and mimic natural joint positions can preserve joint health while maintaining strength.
This guidance aligns with Caitlin Donato’s focus on training smart for sustained joint health and functional fitness with aging. The Romanian deadlift requires maintaining a straight back and a neutral spine while supporting a load away from the body, which can lower the risk of injury in and out of the gym and help to lower back pain. The squat can also develop mobility.
- To maintain joint health and support fitness-and-exercise routines throughout a lifespan, consider safer squat alternatives such as landmine squats, dumbbell front squats, or cable-based squats, as recommended by Caitlin Donato, the director of health-and-wellness at Pritikin Longevity Center.
- The science behind exercise and fitness emphasizes the importance of proper form in workouts like the Romanian deadlift, in order to build posterior chain strength, maintain hip mobility, and reduce the risk of falls as we age, following the guidelines outlined by Caitlin Donato for training smart and achieving longevity benefits.
