The Exercise That Prolongs Life 

For a dozen years or so, I walked every morning in a part of town with steep hills. For about the last 3 years, when I walk up hill I have had to slow down or I would get dizzy. My cardiologist diagnosed bradycardia, slow heart rate. He said I needed a pace maker, but the problem would have to get worse before medicare would pay for it. A few months ago I watched this video but thought nothing about it until recently. About 3 months ago I bought a bicycle and have been doing intervals, where I go as hard as I can up hill from 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the hill. I can now walk up hill without problems. I have no idea how much my heart output has improved, but it is enough. I am almost 80 years old so I doubt any sane cardiologist would suggest my routine for fear of causing a heart attack. Thank you for improving my life.

Resistance training, steady state low intensity cardio, high intensity interval training, mobility. All of them are important.

Did 21 years military. Used to run up and down a small mountain almost daily. Great shape, noticed when I got into a fight the dude literally just tired out. Now I’m 69, fat out of shape, and on the slow return. Wish me luck.

I can summarize the video: 1 - HIIT is gold standard for building aerobic fitness and heart capacity 2 - heart capacity and lung capacity can double in a fit person and it correlates with longevity so watch out 3 - 15m once a week for HIIT can be enough 4 - build up to it gradually to avoid breaking things (or fainting, as I have) 5 - don't go crazy with it or try to be the 70 year old cyclist who found his magic routine.

I have been working out for over 40 years, doing HIIT cardio and strength training. I recently turned 62 and am in the best health and shape of my life. Health is everything

It's insane how amazing keeping fit is for every aspect of our health yet remains one of the hardest things to stay motivated to do, especially while depressed.

As a firefighter paramedic for 28 years I can say unequivocally that the OVERWHELMING majority of hospital transports are due to years of sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition. The comorbidities of lack of movement and poor eating habits are myriad and devestating. Excepting those disease processes and genetic factors that cause issues, most “illnesses” are absolutely preventable. Muscle wasting, decline in cardiorespiratory function, flexibility, bone health, etc., are all preventable. And there is NO excuse (except as noted above ) for not moving. That said, I became a professional firefighter at 38. 28 years later, I am 3 months out from transitioning from the fire service to the nursing profession. I have been a practitioner of physical training since I was 14. That makes all of it possible. Move, move, move. Thankd for the vids you gys do a great job.

I'm 53 years old, and I work part-time as a bike courier and part-time as an interpreter. I've been using the bicycle as my main mean of transportation since 2011 and I feel great! I bike at my top capacity at least twice a day and when doctors check my heart, they say your heart sounds great! My kids say when I'm your age, I want to be like you dad! I've been a sportsperson since I was a kid and I can say for sure, doing sports pays off!

Eat healthy, drink green tea, exercise, take vitamin tabs and sleep well. That's what I've done and just celebrated my 90th birthday lately 😊

Any exercise is better than no exercise.

Saved this to my “watch later” for those days I don’t feel like working out. Not labeled as a motivational video, per se, but highly motivating! Thank you guys for all you do!

Lots of evidence to suggest that long level 2 training is very beneficial. I'm 63 and a cyclist in really good health. My cycling incorporates HIIT when I try to keep up with younger people. But, don't go hard too often or tiredness creeps in

70 year old guy here and been doing HIIT for 1.5 years. I try to do it 3 times a week, more than that is too hard on my old bones. It definitely works but the emotional benefit is almost unbelievably positive. I’ve found HIIT can be done on any aerobic machine at a typical gym or your in your basement or you can do the same thing just running around your neighborhood. The hardest part is dragging your ass out of your big fluffy chair.

Three years ago, in my early twenties, I was overweight and my fitness level was a solid zero. Now, I work out regularly, run, go for walks and hikes. The human body is an incredible thing. The more you test it, the more you strengthen it, the more you look after it, the better it will serve you. Simple as that. As many of the other comments have pointed out, health truly is everything.

We are definitely living in the future and not even realizing it, in 2023 we can access detailed and beneficial, anatomical info with just a simple search on a 5 inch smartphone. 25 years ago you had to patronize a library or even a medical school library or attend a health science college course for several hours of your day. Its facinating how fluid information is in 2023 on every academic, scientific or social level. Appreciate the times we life in.

I have a condition called POTS and increasing stroke volume is one of the ways to help improve symptoms. I went from practically bedridden, barely able to stand for longer than 5/10 minutes to now two years later 36 weeks pregnant and completely functional able to exercise and do regular daily tasks. It all started out with a stationary bike to increase my stroke volume. Now, I'm constantly looking for ways to improve my health and I'm so happy I stumbled upon this video. I will definitely be incorporating some HIIT into my weekly routine when I'm ready after my baby is born. Thank you!

My grandfather is still very healthy for his age in large part due to his constant activity. He was a runner for over 20 years and still works today. He's almost 80 and still looks like he's in his 60s.

9:57 In my experience one of the easiest ways to do this is doing push ups. Set an easy goal. I had stopped going to the gym because i wasn't at home for 2 months and was out of shape so i started with 10 a day for 10 days. This i thought to myself "this is too easy" and started doing 15. 1 and a half months later i'm doing 60 everyday (4×15) and it doesn't cost a thing. It's literally 1 minute for each set out of your 24 hour day and you'll see benefits in like only 2 or 3 weeks. Push ups are one of the most overlooked exercises when taking into account their simplicity, versatility and benefits

I do 4 rounds of Muay Thai training, I'm 52 and my heart rate often gets to 168 in those rounds, sometimes 174. The rounds are usually 3 minutes & 3 minutes rest while someone else gets a round on the pads. It is SO MUCH FUN! By far the most fun way of doing high intensity training =) I do it every day & I'm super fit

As a doctor of many years I find this video very helpful and simple even to explain to my patience thanks a lot

73 years old and not feeling good about myself so I set a goal. Now I walk everyday and play golf 3 times a week, my Fit Bit records 30-35 miles per week. The walk path I take with my dog daily has a long hill at the end that really ups my heart rate for about 6 minutes, after watching this I feel I need to now increase the intervals. My routine , walk everyday, golf three times per week when possible, every other day 3 sets of 12 barbells, 2 sets of 12 curl bar, 2 sets of 12 inner curl bar light weight ( careful of rotator cuffs), extended planks ( alternate left arm right leg up ) , ab wheel 35 extentions , band excersie for thorasic mobility, 35 pushups and some yoga stretches. I feel that keeping my mucsles toned is important especially at my age. Over the past year ( 74 now) I have lost 35 lbs. , BMI 23.6. I was on a high dose of blood pressure meds, then reduced to a lower dose then 5mg the lowest and now 1/2 of that and will ask my doctor to go off at my next visit for my yearly physical. My resting heart rate is 54-56, BP varies mostly 115/70/ 65 . I do not eat fast foods, plenty of fresh veggies with olive oil, meat only once per week, chicken & fish and " very little sugar". I do drink green tea with raw honey daily. I am not a fanatic about food, I do enjoy some junk food once in a while. I have an advantage because I am retired but a few of these excersises can be done while watching TV or listening to music. My progress was slow but had no spikes. The best result is feeling good about your acomplishment after the work out. I guess you could say I took my goal to HEART. Thank You for the enlightening video.

As an older person with health issues, when I started HIIT, I did 10 secs with 50 secs rest at first. I worked up by 5 sec more work each week. Still struggle to do more than 30/30, but working on it. Dr says all of it helps though. Also steady state and weight training as a total routine.

Love that I found this channel. You explain things so clearly and seamlessly, and I feel like I can trust the information you're giving. Thank you so much

This just changed my life path.. speechless. I am in the low 10% of vo2max for my age and I have just now made it my mission to get in the top tier!

Def be careful when you do hiit, especially if youre a starter. You can pass out if you go too hard. Definitely warm up first. Build up to it, go little by little. Do some days of short durations, them maybe do one day where you reach higher. Dont go hard once you feel you know your limitations, so youre not getting dizzy

I recently changed my whole entire life. I started at the gym 5 days a week, doing high intensity strength training. I can't really do steady cardio as I also have hyperhidrosis. The high intensity strength training has changed my life. I have endurance and stamina to do everything I need to do in life without taking naps. I have better balance, and I can now do so much more in my every day life. My depression and anxiety have become quiet, with little to no problems from them anymore. I've gained weight (muscle) while having a leaner figure as the fat has melted off of my body. Please consider adding strength training to your life, and I'm sure your life will be greatly improved as well! This video also taught me a few of the last pieces of the puzzle to complete my new plan for my life, so thank you very much :)

Great video I am watching this as I do my HIT workout. 12 min. with weights 15 lbs. many different moves with the weights, and them ab routine. I then do 50 crawling pushups followed by 50 pushups. I also do alternating 1 arm pushups 5-10. This gets my heart rate up to the MAX! I am there just now! Thanks for the reminders. Now at 70 years into life! With NO Medications.

After 4 months at 30 minutes a day on my elliptical I am sure glad to have found your channel. I will try the 2 minute dash tomorrow.

Regular exercise, healthy diet and being physically fit is the only true fountain of youth! Life comes at you hard and fast..be ready! 💪

I'm am elite amateur cyclist. I do intervals because I find them very ,very satisfactory and I really enjoy them.i always did. So,for some of us they don't suck.this athletic pain is a way to feel alive

I can't wait to start my training. I am 73 and just had leg surgery on the arteries. PAD. So getting blood flowing into the arteries is so important to me. Thank you for this vid and I will watch all the others, too.

This is the type of training that was assigned to me after I had a by-pass. What an awesome explanation. Great channel!

I used to not exercise despite knowing how good it is for you. I listened to a podcast about how exercise improves memory which I definitely need as a medical student. I decided that I would start biking to school (which also saves me a $500/yr parking pass) and now I get 40 minutes of moderate exercise a day. It's not too intense because I bought an electric bike but I put decent effort into my ride home. Exercise can be frustrating at times but I actually enjoy my commute now and I have gotten quite a bit stronger.

I started a HIIT program last year and every aspect of my life has improved, just missing the finance part but I’m working towards that this year. I was very obese and many people noticed and are motivated by my physical change, I am a newcomer to fitness and love it, definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to get started,

I'm 56 and one of the reasons to keep HIIT to once a week or less frequently is that recovery takes so long that it prevents me from keeping up with my exercise. When can ride my bike at low intensity, even as long as 3 hours, I can do it again the next day with no adverse effects. After a HIIT, it takes me over 2 days to fully recover, sometimes longer if the HIIT was during a long lower intensity workout.

I’m in the middle of reading Peter Attia’s new book, specifically the chapter on VO2Max, only to then have this video pop up, and Peter’s work mentioned towards the end. I’m loving the content on this channel and how you break things down in an understandable format. TY!

I needed exercise equipment when I lived in a condo, since I bought a fixer upper with a large yard I've got plenty of exercise doing hours of yard work.

87 YEARS OLD - I have never really exercised besides a lot of walking. My last living sibling died 17 years ago. The main difference between myself and my siblings is... Never had any children and very little stress or money worries. My wife is also in good health. She is 9 years younger than myself. Keep your stress at a minimum people. 🙏. Forgot to mention I have never had Alcohol or Coffee ever.

Really appreciate these videos! I’ve been doing weight training for over 8 years now and would do moderate cardio but I’m gonna start adding in a day or two or more intense cardio. Let’s do it 💪🏻

That’s Vo2 max test looked similar my stress test I take once a year. Thanks for all you Dr.’s do. Keep it up.

Thank you. Made me take my health more seriously.

Our classroom in high school was at fourth floor and there wasn't an elevator. So sometimes when we are late we had to run all that way to the classroom, getting out of breath and feeling heart beating crazy fast. I felt like my overall fitness was a lot better after few months.

I love doing these exercises but haven’t done them in a while. I’m Doing strength training exercises along with rope, step and cycling quick 5-20 mns workouts. Thank you!

Hello I’m going to try and get back into some type of exercise. I had worked out when I was younger and also did a lot of mountain biking. I’m 63 now and had a stroke at age 49. Made good recovery. Also on blood thinner. You gave good content in all your videos

I was a wildland firefighter for 12 years and of those 12 years I was a hotshot for 4. Our legs and cardiovascular fitness could mean the difference between life and death, and also, when we hiked anywhere--into a fire, out of a fire, back and forth on the fireline, we hiked fast, nearly at a jog. And we did this straight up hills---no hiking trail, often at high elevations and over miles and miles with a lot of weight on our backs. We trained to have anaerobic endurance. Now, I have had debates with people who say that is not possible, but I am here to tell you it is. When you run 10 miles and do it at 95% of max for an hour or hour and half or more. I did this in my 20's and early 30's. In my late 40's I had a bad accident and broke both my tib/fib badly. The first hospital completely screwed up my leg and I had to have 3 more surgeries to fix their mess. It was a duration of 2 years. I had been somewhat fit up until this break at age 46. So, at age 48 I went back to working out. I did a lot of elliptical, the kind with the heart rate measure. I am sure it's not super accurate, but it is probably fairly accurate. On the chart on machine, at my age then, I was supposed to be feeling it at 130 bpm, and be maxed at like 160. I did not have any laboring whatsoever at 130, not at 140, not at 150, or 160, around 170, I started breathing with some effort, 180, was a steady huffing and 190, I was breathing pretty good. But...I could get myself up to 200-205 and sustain it for a minute or so. This was consistent across all machines and different machines, like treadmills and stair-steppers. What I am saying is: Anaerobic fitness is a thing. If you run or ride a bike, try to be huffy and puffy as much as you can, so much, that between your ribs is sore the next day from breathing hard. Do that for 35-45 minutes 3 times a week, then do it for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes one day a week. It does not matter how you do it or what modality you use. Just breathe hard and your heart will be bomb proof, and it stays with you.

Approaching 50 years old, and I set myself of a goal of doing a sub 20 minute 5K Parkrun. I have to say interval training definitely played a crucial role in recently achieving that goal! It takes time for your body to adapt but the benefits are worth it.

Thank you very much, awesome video. Health is Number one!!

I'm glad that you recognized Dr. Peter Attia. He was all I could think of as I was watching you explain VO2. I just got his new book! Very excited to get into it. Thanks for the video.

I used to do a lot of cardio and HITTs but stopped to strength train and gain mass. Glad I watched this cuz I've been sleeping on heart intensive workouts and will def reintroduce cardio back into my life

Exercising was a life regular event then at 18 I joined a health club and did this kind of training 3 times a week for 30 years. After back injuries and chronic pain I drastically reduced for 10 years. Felt lousy so now I swim 3 times a week for a steady 30 minutes. Feel much stronger w/o back pain. The training is great but at 66 I can't so swimming is my compromise. I'm 6' 2" at 190 lbs. Thanks!💖

I LOVE doing a good HIIT workout. Sucks while it's happening, but you get used to it with practice, and there's nothing quite like that feeling when you get done.

I always try to watch a video of this channel once a day. Sometimes rewatch some. I love it. Informative, straight forward and practical informalities. Also, I feel The tumbnail of this video is Jonathan’s body.

70% longer chance of living when above average vs low cardiovascular health is more than enough reason for me too keep exercising!

I turned 60 this year and am 60 lbs overweight from years of overeating anything and most everything, beer drinking (alot), and little exercise. When I looked in the mirror the other day I cried soooo hard. This gal then decided to look into and start IF and KETO and OMAD. Also some regular exercise most days. My advice to anyone out their would be please....please...watch WHAT and HOW much you eat and drink over the years. When your younger some wont pay much attention to it but over time it will all add up .

5:53 very good point Sir! I understood that perfect analogy. For strength and mass gains I never lift 60%, but 6 reps with 85% going almost all out with 1-3 reps in reserve and have a 1,5 minute rest before next set...it's basically a HIIT training (for the skelet muscle). Makes total sense to train the heart muscle same way. That was an eye opener lol... I'll start implementing HIIT on the bicycle for a stronger heart.

Summary: 1. HIIT once a week 2. 2-6 minute intervals 3. 4-6 sets

Always fun to learn that what you do on a regular basis is recommended by my favorite YT channel 😂 HIIT at least once a week, and weight lifting 5 days a week, been doing it for over a year and can attest to being a lot healthier, both mentally and physically!😁

Thanks for pointing out that "it's not the best idea to go from couch straight to High Intensity Interval training" because that's exactly what I was gonna do, even though I already had a feeling it's not a very good idea.

This might be my favorite video you guys have done. Thank you!

Thanks. I have been doing cardio to improve blood flow but now I will incorporate this into my workouts. Thank you for saving me from cardio

I was just thinking of including more HIIT into my activity regime, now I have another good reason. I appreciate the informative video and the reference to that study you mentioned.

Just wanted to say your channel is amazing, and it never fails to motivate me. Thanks!

Great Video ! as a person of science and a person trying to find his fitness journey, this is quite the information I might need!

I walk everyday and once I get my weight down and am in shape I will absolutely try this. I loved running back when I was in shape and can’t wait to get back to that

You are a phenomenal communicator... If we cloned you and put you in the class room, our young people would really learn and love it.

Really appreciate your content thx so much! I have been doing 300 yrd sprints for many years because I like how I feel afterwards.

Thanks and in my humble opinion, this presentation was your best stream yet. Please keep up the good work.

We just learned my mom has an ejection fraction of

Just checked my V02 and it’s high! Turned 60 this year Was just strength training 3 days per week but my heart rate was still super high. So added a 30 minute walk after breakfast and 30 minutes after dinner on off gym days. Amazed at the improvement! It doesn’t have to be complicated. I just move fast when I walk. My dog is so happy too!

I'm a professional couch potato with a VO2 Max of an 82 y.o. man who smoked for most of his life and it turns out that it made me severely depressed lol. I'll try to change that soon enough, exercise is key to mental health as well

I would've gone through my life without ever knowing this had I not seen this video. Thanks! Looking at my training now with all the things I've learned compared to my training years ago, I'm in a whole different league.

I always feel better about myself, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, when I've been exercising regularly than when I haven't been. Exercise is also a great way to socialize!

Thank you, Jonathan. for this super duper video about the heart and its functioning, it is appreciated. And., yes, as you get older, your vitality or desire to exercise decreases, hence the importance of keeping up with physical fitness according to your age and health to live longer and healthy with good nutrition. Awesome video about an awesome organ: the heart! 👍🙌

Excellent description of Vo2 max and how to achieve more of it. I am impressed with you overview of Cardio benefits. Well done.

I love all your videos, but the ones related to exercise have not only been interesting but also very useful! I love to know what happens when I exercise and why it matters to go hard at your routine and really give it your all (at least once a week haha).

This video came at the right time for me as I'm getting into changing my lifestyle to be healthier and losing some weight through bettering my diet and excersice. I lost 8 Kilos in 7 weeks I'm so proud 😭

I have AFIB and I'm always worried about how hard to work my heart. I just want to say that all this information was very helpful. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much for enlightening us on this topic!!

Agree with HIIT ; I’m 67 : today I did the following HIIT workout- 1000 meters row on concept 2 row machine 1 min on Concept ski / Erg machine For 5 sets with 60 seconds rest - 6 sets of heavy sled push / pulls

Started doing Tabata(HIIT) almost a month ago 3x a week and I love it. I've never sweat so much in my life and just being able to complete it makes me feel like a badass. Haha. Plus it's done wonders for my mental health and confidence.

Building on this topic, I've kinda taught myself a sort of breathing technique, basically cycling more oxygen right before lifting something heavy. It's let me do some pretty silly things, like lifting 100lbs of ultrasound gel when I only weighed ~145lbs myself. I'd love to know how these breathing techniques really work and how changing the way you breathe can make you more alert, stronger, or resistant to pain, or whatever else arts like yoga could teach.

Great channel and very good presentation of information! New sub here! I will be 66 in less than a week and was in not so great metabolic health for the past two decades. I have turned that all around during the past year and a half via intermittent fasting - eating just one big meal per day while avoiding sugars and excessive carbs. I have lost about 60 pounds of excess fluids and body fat, and reversed every chronic health problem that has plagued me for decades in the first few months of my recent eating habits without increasing my physical activities or additional exercise. I have always walked a lot and done yard work and snow removal during the winter, but have more recently increased my activity levels by including exercise including squats, push ups, light to moderate weight training and other things. While walking, will occasionally begin jogging. I have been doing all of this with a baby step approach, but at some point during the next few months, i want to begin with some of that higher intensity stuff, probably just for a couple minutes at a time or a little less at first. I have improved my overall balance, but don't want to fall or even twist an ankle while trying to sprint up a hill. It has been a long time since i moved my feet that fast, lol.

You are just amazing! Thank you for the excellent content! ❤

As a low income person living in the mountains where there are no sidewalks in a semi medium crime area, I can safely say that the amount of physical labor I am required to do in order to sustain my life and children's often involves plenty of boughts of "high intensity intervals" in terms of daily life. Lol.

I work my body hard and I am well into the last third of my life. Many years ago I saw a quote, "I do what others won't do today, so that I can do what others can't do tomorrow". I am easily the oldest person in our HIIT classes and even the standard Les Mills cardio classes that our gym runs. HIIT got me there and keeps me there. I don't do endurance work because my cardiologist tells me that the endurance athletes are the ones who drop dead suddenly.

I just found this channel and have only seen two videos. THANK YOU for sharing the excellent information!!!

The best explanation of HIIT I've seen. Very well explained-thank you.

I do brisk walking early in the mornings for 3 hours, 5 days a week, resting heart rate is in the low 40's. I used to run a lot but at 57 it is getting harder to do the long distance. Walking works perfectly, never felt better.

Loved the video❤️.. glad to be someone who regularly exercises ☺️

Thanks for connecting all the dots!!! Everything makes more sense now!!

My grandfather took me for hikes and fishing into his 80s. My father has never been in shape to enjoy those kinds of thing. I was into power lifting as a teen. I realized I'm my 20s being strong was nice but I couldn't climd mountains, if I wanted to be there for my kids doing physical activities I needed to change things up. So I got into more cardio and core exercise. These videos are very informative. Thank you for sharing.

If I’ve not been doing much in terms of fitness and I do some intervals I feel the benefits so fast only a few days after it’s pretty insane how good they actually are

I used to run, use an elliptical, and strength train, then I developed osteoarthritis in my knees, feet, and hands. Now I'm a couch potato at 48. I know that exercise is the most important thing I can do to help my symptoms, it's just hard to get over the initial pain. Thank you for this reminder of how important it is for more than just pain relief.

I absolutely love this channel. One of the best on YT

This is a really well put together video

Being a physio therapist myself i can say the video is very beneficial in understanding the intensity of exercise one should perform and how to gradually increase them, these days many people think by exercising more then their threshold they are getting healthier but they don't know they are doing harm to their body. Celebs found dead after working out too much- such news are common these days. I hope people follow the exercise prescription by their physio's and not push themselves to extreme high.

great educational video! love that you use an actual human heart to explain the concepts to the viewers

Thank you for what you do. Incredible each video!

Wow this is such valuable information, I haven't heard anywhere. Now I am soooo glad I missed a bus to my college the last 2 weeks, & once per week... hmmm... I had to run for my life to get to class on time. I am soooo sore, & was watching this video on a day of rest & recovery, while needing to sit a bit. LOL. Plus, I'm running late someday, demanding shorter 1/2 mile runs to the bus stop. So my trouble is my benefit. So awesome. I had done a bit of HIIT in recent months as well. I love this

Skateboarding is a great example of HIIT. A streak of hi popped flatground tricks or a couple of lines of mini-ramp transition tricks and your heart rate is already above 150 bpm. Push it a bit and you're easily in the VO2 max zone. And it's a lot of fun and certainly not as mundane as push-ups.