The idea of a fitness benchmark is very common. Each sport or training methodology has their own that they prefer. 2k Row, 5k Run, 40 yard dash, powerlifting or weightlifting total, etc. If you step into a CrossFit gym, you’ll be exposed to more benchmarks than you know what to do with.
If we’re talking about longevity or this idea of healthspan as opposed to life span, my experience has shown me that there are three benchmarks that are wise to focus on often. From a training standpoint, my older clients will often touch on each of these in some form or another once every week.
The Burpee
From boosting elite-level fitness to keeping grandma out of the nursing home, few tools are as effective or versatile as the burpee. Get down to the ground, get back up, and if it’s in your practice, get a little jump and clap going on too.
The value here for the aging athlete is easy to spot. If an 80 year old can readily get down to the ground and get back up, they are much safer on their own. By knowing they can accomplish this task, we know a little about their balance, coordination, flexibility, and strength. The burpee is equally effective as a baseline test and simultaneously as a developer of these skills.
Now when I say that I have my older clients touch on the burpee once a week, I don’t mean that I have them incorporate burpees into workouts once a week. I need them to keep showing up after all. What I mean is that they work on some aspect of the burpee at least once a week whether it is in a warm up or workout. We can break the burpee down into its constituent components first.
It involves a hip hinge or toe-touching like motion if the person is flexible enough or a lunge/assisted lunge if they’re not. It involves something that looks very generally like a push-up, but with much less emphasis on a rigid midline and much more emphasis on range of motion. It also involves something that looks like a good morning as they stand all the way up and again, maybe a small vertical hop if they can to finish the movement.
Knowing this, we know that by working on push-ups, good mornings, balancing drills, hip flexion range of motion, hopping and the like, we can improve the ease with which they do a burpee when life calls for one, whether that’s in the gym or out.
Leg Strength
Studies show that people with loss of leg muscle or strength associated with aging are at an increased risk of falls, bone fractures, and prolonged disability. Humans are designed to stay mobile. For as long as we’ve been around, being mobile has meant being part of society. Loss of leg strength can also increase feelings of social isolation and depression.
In a research setting, leg strength is often observed through a muscle biopsy, essentially testing contractile potential of a muscle from the legs, usually the quads. I propose a couple of far more practical and useful tests.
- Squat. Start by testing the ability to sit down to and stand up from the couch without assistance from the arms. Even better if we can hold a dumbbell or a kettlebell and add load while maintaining stability.
- Deadlift. Any kind of deadlift, I’m not picky. The utility of being able to pick something up off of the ground is self-evident and a great way to develop and test leg strength.
- Any weighted carry. If an 80 year old can walk steadily with a few textbooks in a backpack on their back, we know something about their balance and general leg strength. Any sort of suitcase carry or farmer’s carry works very well also.
These are effective tests because they’re very easy to run and simultaneously very effective at developing the exact capacity they’re looking for. They’re also exact analogues to tasks we want to be able to accomplish on our own in order to maintain independence and improve our fitness. Finally, they all involve some element of skill. If we think of strength as the productive application of force, then we realize that we need to embrace skill in our movement as much as we can on a regular basis.
Grip Strength
Grip strength has a strong correlation to muscle function and strength, and furthermore loss of grip strength is an accurate predictor of a coming decline in physical and mental function.
Looking beyond these correlations and into the day to day of life, grip strength allows one to continue doing what they want with their life. Carrying groceries, cooking food, and making a good first impression with a handshake all require an appropriately strong grip.
In most circumstances, the brain won’t let the body outwork its grip on something. Athletes are weaker on a deadlift when their grip starts to go. Their hips and legs stop working even though it is their grip that’s failing because the brain does not want that object to fly out of their hands.
If you’ve ever seen a max effort farmer’s carry, you know that most athletes will start to walk lower and lower to the ground as the effort gets harder. In an attempt to convince the brain not to shut the effort down as the grip starts to fail, athletes will hunch over, hyperventilate, or almost begin to crouch-walk as if gravity will be lower closer to the ground.
These are all compensations for a grip that’s starting to fail. Again the brain won’t let the body outwork its grip on something. Therefore, your interaction with the external world can only ever be as sure as your grip is.
Furthermore, grip strength can make up for a deficiency in either of the other benchmarks listed above. If an aging athlete can no longer reach down to the ground while standing and hop or lunge their way back up, they can still burpee by holding on to a fixed object to assist them as they lunge up or down instead.
The same can be said for the squat. The simplest way to make it easier to stand up would be to hold on to something and pull yourself to standing as you press through your feet.
The simplest way to test and develop grip strength would be with any weighted carry (such as those listed above) or hanging from a pull-up bar or a pair of gymnastics rings. Keep your feet on the ground while you hang until you are very sure of your grip.
Conclusion
Again three very practical benchmarks for longevity are:
- The burpee aka your ability to get down to the ground and back up.
- Leg strength, preferably tested with something like a squat, deadlift, or carry.
- Grip strength, tested with a carry or hang
Remember that these tests will also make any individual much fitter. That’s a win-win. So the prescription to aging gracefully looks like touching on all three of these movements about once a week or so. Additionally, think about what you might want to add to this list in order to live your ideal life as you age and then get to training those movements as well.