On my 44th birthday, I decided to engage in “25 enjoyable miles” of exercise every single week. In order to make the miles enjoyable, I picked up some new hobbies in cross country skiing, walking backwards, and hill-climbing on my mountain bike while listening to audiobooks. (Prior to this challenge I suffered in silence.) I found that my quality of life improves in proportion to the enjoyable activities that I engage in, especially when I’m not dealing with injuries, which is why on my 45th birthday, I gave my body a stem cell and peptide party to reverse 4 decades of wear and tear and I’m feeling amazing. What are some physical activities you want to engage in even more?

I’ve always looked for the world’s best therapies that carry the least amount of downside and for an outsized health return. While peptides, stem cell rejuvenation, and acupuncture top my list, they still won’t outperform good old fashion exercise. Even with all of its benefits, it remains one of the most challenging habits to get you engaged in, which is why we created the Longevity Fitness program. – Regan

The Longevity Fitness Program

The Longevity Fitness program is East West Health’s newest upgrade led by Trysten Slagowski – a certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist and Fitness Advisor (link to bio). It is designed to help you live your best life at any age without risking injury or degeneration. One of my highlights is to see women in their 70’s doing push-ups or men in their 80’s able to do a perfect squat.

At the center of the program is the internationally acclaimed Fitness 50 at Age 100 tool that was inspired by Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, who asked me, “What are the best physical benchmarks that I will want to be doing at the age of 100, that a fit 50 year old can do?” As I dove into the research, I found 11 core exercises that are each longevity fitness related.

Why It’s Unique

What makes the East West Health Longevity Fitness program unique is that our primary goal is to increase strength, flexibility, power, balance, and agility, while decreasing the risk of injury. Your journey begins with a complete movement assessment from one of our Fitness Advisor’s who will carefully analyze your movement patterns, posture, and medical history in order for you to have your own personalized Longevity Fitness plan, because living to 100 isn’t the problem, the problem is the condition in which you arrive.

Imagine having the fitness levels of the healthiest 50-year-olds, at the age of 100. Your future self will appreciate the time you spend taking care of your health and the Fitness 50 Benchmarks are a simplified way to increase longevity and avoid physical set-backs. Our talented team of Fitness Advisors are here to make sure you are moving in the right direction (literally and figuratively) and they are also your accountability partner.

The Fitness 50 or Fitness 25 benchmarks are diagnostic by design. Each of the 11 movements in the Fitness 50 tool predicts neurological or physical decline before most tests will. With three levels of progression – Fit, Fitter, and Fittest – the Fitness benchmarks provide you with fun challenges that will keep you improving.

Fitness 50 Benchmarks

The purpose is to have a baseline fitness threshold that you can enjoy when you are 100. Here are the 11 core Fitness 50 Benchmarks:

Push Ups = Being able to perform 40 push-ups (modifications are fine) can reduce stroke and heart disease by 96%, increases strength, and improves growth hormone. *Cardiovascular Health and Strength.

Plank Hold = improves posture, strengthens the core, and increases flexibility and endurance. Planks increase the basal metabolic rate, decrease the fat percentage, and have been shown to improve immunocyte counts. *Metabolism, Flexibility, Strength, Endurance, and Immune Function.

Grip strength = increase in strength reduces blood pressure and risk of stroke. Improves testosterone, and growth hormones, signals muscle readiness for the entire body through the brain, and can be a stand-in measurement for full body strength and muscle mass. *Cardiovascular Health and Strength.

Wall Squat Hold = enhances lower body stability and strength while reducing resting blood pressure and improving lumbar stability. *Balance, Alignment, Cardiovascular Health, Strength.

Lunges = benefit the posterior muscles (hamstrings, glutes, and low back) better than other movements. Corrects instability and improves balance. *Strength, Balance, and Alignment.

Sit to Stand = core strength, endurance, and balance and is a predictor of mortality. *Strength, Balance, Endurance.

Sit to Rise = musculoskeletal fitness predictor for longevity, balance, and coordination. *Strength, Balance, and Coordination.

Single Leg Balance = decreases the chances of strokes, and improves cerebral circulation and vascular health. Promotes flexibility, and prevents cognitive decline while warding off premature mortality. *Flexibility, Balance, and Cardiovascular Health

1-Mile Run/Elliptical/Rowing/Swimming = improves cardiovascular function, decreases chances of stroke, improves endurance and strength. Increases cognitive function and fitness. Rowing, swimming, and the elliptical are just examples of alternatives to running. Feel free to test yourself on any endurance related activity for 8-12 minutes to see how you fare. *Endurance, Cardiovascular Fitness, and Brain Health.

Burpees = increase blood flow, lowers blood pressure, improves strength, coordination, and endurance. Stimulates fat burning and metabolism and lowers risk of all-cause mortality. *Endurance, Fitness, Strength, and Cardiovascular Health.

Give yourself a grade on these exercises each month and work on them weekly to gain the maximum benefit.

**For those of you under 50, Trysten and I devised the Fitness 25 at Age 50 benchmarks which include more weight training, vertical jumping, and power moves.

Meet Our Fitness Experts