The 77-year-old powerlifter, training vs working out, a new take on planks

Issue # 89: The 77-year-old powerlifter, training vs working out, a new take on planks

Read Time: 5 minutes

Good afternoon, 66.1ers.
Today's issue shares some lessons from a truly impressive powerlifter, the important difference between "training" and "working out", and a new approach to training your core.

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Spotlight on Longevity: Abbey Moon

Abbey Moon is a well-known figure in the women’s powerlifting community.

And she was well into her 70s when she started winning powerlifting competitions.

Perhaps most impressive is her 220-pound deadlift.
3 longevity tips from Moon (from this article):

Just show up
You won’t always feel like it.
Not every day will be a home run.
But you’ll create a lot more progress by doing something every day than by training only when you feel like it.
Ask for help
Anyone who has an established physical training routine was a beginner once.
And if they’re still doing it, they’re a believer in the benefits of training.
99% of people I know who train regularly will talk about it for hours on end.
Don’t be afraid to ask for their advice.
A quick, “Hey, I’m new to this. Do you have any advice for someone getting started?” could change your life.
Take matters into your own hands
If you read the source article, you’ll learn that Moon’s powerlifting prowess has a painful genesis point.
Put simply, she got tired of not being able to protect herself.
And getting strong was a simple (if not easy) way to address that problem. Doctors, law enforcement, friends and family won’t always be there.
What are you doing to make sure you can take care of yourself?

"I finally realized that the only way to not feel scared was to be able to defend myself."

--Abbey Moon

Food for thought: Training, not "working out"

I’ve heard this philosophy from a number of sources.
And I’m still working to adopt it in my own physical training.

“Training” is strategically preparing for something.
In the case of 66.1ers, it’s some version of being functionally fit for decades to come.

“Working out” is inflicting pain on yourself.
It’s doing max effort HIIT training all the time.
Going to failure on your squats before you’ve dialed in your form.

Three questions for you this week:

What are you training for?
Is what you’re doing right now the best use of your time and health, given what you’re training for?
Projected out over decades, will your current training regimen allow you to reach your goals?

Workout of the week

A quick workout you can do anywhere.

This week's workout:

Core exploders (from Pavel Tsatsouline)

Here's the workout:

Get into a plank position.

Instead of holding it for minutes at a time, we’re going for strength here.
In the plank, flex every muscle in your body (except your head and neck) as hard as you can.

Glutes, quads, core, fists.
Imagine someone is going to kick you in the side.
Brace for it.

Hold this position for 10 seconds.
Rest for a minute.
Repeat 2 more times.

Catch your breath (so you’re able to form sentences).
Repeat for 2 more rounds.

When it’s all said and done, you’ll have completed 3 rounds of 3x10-second powerful plank holds, probably in less than 10 minutes.

Since starting these, I’ve noticed that some weird soreness and imbalances in my shoulders and neck have resolved. It seems the counter tension of flexing everything has a way of restoring rolled computer shoulders to their natural (pain-free) position.

The logic behind it is sound: you’re not taxing your low back, you’re training strength over endurance (you probably don’t actually need to hold a plank for minutes at a time), and the tension is sorting out imbalances in your musculature.

And yes, this philosophy runs directly against a workout of the week I shared in early December.

I’m learning, too.

Level: Intermediate

Don't do it if:

You've got high blood pressure.
If this is you, it's a wise idea to talk with your doctor before taking on this challenge.

Adaptation:

If a full-body plank isn't accessible, try it from your knees rather than your feet.

Tried the workout?
Reply here and let me know how it went!
I'd love to hear more.

That's all for this Wednesday.
Have fun out there.

Marcus

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Why 66.1?
66.1 is the average health span (years lived without a serious disease) in the US, as of the start of this newsletter publication.
We're here to extend that.