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Other/Mixed What is your Centenarian Decathlon?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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watchnerd

watchnerd

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Peter Attia has this concept he talks about called the Centenarian Decathlon, which is just a mental model to back-cast training in the present in order to be a kick-a#@ 100 year old in the future (within human limits).

It focuses specifically on the physical aspect of aging, leaving out things like cognition and basic bodily functions (i.e. going to the toilet by yourself), and focuses instead of the external physical needs.

I thought it was an interesting approach so I came up with my own list of 10 (the first 3 are the same as Attia's).

Here is my list of 10 things (that I don't think are beyond ridiculous) I'd like to be able to do at age 100:

Get up off the floor under own support
Walk up and down 3 flights of stairs with 10 lb of groceries in each hand
Lift 30 lb suitcase into overhead bin on airplane
Walk an 80 lb dog for 30 minutes
Butt-lift 80 lb dog into back of truck
LIft 50 lb bag of dog food off the ground and carry it on shoulder
Walk 10,000 steps in a day carrying 5 kg of water & snacks
Lift 8 lb cast iron skillet with one hand
Shovel snow off 100 foot drive way
Able to use a squat toilet

What are your 10?
 
Overhead grandkid press. 50 lbs
Grandkid carry 50 lbs 50 ft
Couch shift
(move it enough to retrieve a fallen device)
Wheeled Luggage drag 50 lbs 100 ft
Ruck 20 lbs for 2 hours
Ladder carry storage bin 20 lbs down from a shelf and back.
25 ft dash.
Run back to a curb to avoid traffic.
1 burpee .
To get onto and off the floor.
1 getup . Loaded with a shoe.
To get off the floor while holding something.
1 deadlift 70 lbs.
To be able to handle any couch.
We used to have allot of elderly at my old church and I just found it quirky that in some cases the 70 year olds were tending to the 60 year olds . In only a couple cases the 80 year olds were still rather spry. The 90 year olds (there were a few of them) were really slowing down. I don't think I actually met a 100 year old elder.
 
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WxHerk said:
I really like this. A lot. Yours is an excellent list, but I do absolutely love dogs. So I’d definitely keep the dog related items. No snow down here, so I’d add pedal / paddle and fish from my Hobie kayak for a couple hours or so.
Click to expand...

I thought of adding something related to rowing/boating, but figured if I could do all the other things on that list, I'd probably be okay.
 
Mine is to able to walk with the half gallon drinking horn, helmet, chainmail, shield, an ax, a seaxknife and a sword all day. One weekend I walked 25000 steps a day in the Häme Medieval Festival, but didn't have the chainmail though. I had some bruises, blisters and sore muscles next week. ROFL
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Having been in contact with more than one centenarian (or within a couple years- 95+) I’m think modest goals are still quite lofty:
- carry, wash and fold my own laundry
- bathe myself, brush teeth, use bidet/TP
- wear shoes with laces
- be able to drive a car and manage to refill- plug or fill without help
- prepare food without burning house down
- wash dishes, pots, pans
- understand how to use TV remote, including upgraded hardware
- ability to use effectively vacuum, broom
- walk dog and pick up poop, bathe dog or transport to groomers using a ramp if necessary.
- make / change bed linens
 
I just plan on training and being active as best I can as long as I can, not really any different than the previous five decades or the current one.

On the one hand, I don't want to place any limitations on myself due to age, but on the other I recognize that life is uncertain, $#!+ happens, the best laid plans...and so forth.
 
Peter can be a little esoteric and out there at times, but I also love his idea regarding this 'decathlon'. The idea of backcasting can be eye opening.
I highly urge everyone to listen to the following two recent podcasts, IMO his best lately, I have replayed both 2-3 times.

- his own show he had Michael Joyner on, a fantastic guy in the field who has done countless research on exercise/health
- Peter was a guest on Andrew Huberman's (another guy who can get a little out there), but this one was great

I will come back to edit this when I finalize my own top 10!


EIDT:
My list implies the ability to live independently, meaning that if I can do the below I could live alone in an apartment - can do my own laundry, cooking, etc but wouldn't have to shovel snow or stuff like that.

I came at it with the idea of five core concepts/qualities I want to express - mobility, strength, power, balance, endurance

get up off floor, only using one hand if possible
deep squat, bodyweight (ie no weight, NOT a squat with bodyweight on the bar!)
put a heavy plate in a cupboard overhead
pick up 35-50lbs
10 lb each hand farmer carry, 2-3 blocks or up a flight of stairs (I really like this one of Attia's and OP)
single leg balance for 30 seconds
throw a med ball 10 feet
walk 2-3 miles uninterrupted, easy pace
climb 4-5 flights of stairs without having to stop
and the real dream: be able to hit a tennis ball back and forth, and hit a golf ball. I can't see myself on the SUP at 100 though!
 
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The only centenarian I know can polish off a couple bottles of wine a night and play slots until the wee hours of the morning so it’s a high standard. She also bikes for hours everyday.

I like the starting list, but I have an affinity for chihuahuas so I won’t need to worry about hefting dogs lol. The two I would add would be:

1) Be able to board a plane on my own (walk that far without assistance)
2) Be able to get in and out of a sports car (squat down)
 
This is a fun thread... I have no idea what sort of weight ranges are realistic even for a bad-a#@ 100 yo. But, in no particular order:
  1. Lift a 70# "wriggly" load (grandkid, bag of wood pellets or garden soil) from the ground to the shoulder
  2. Pull weeds for 30 minutes continuous - lots of unweighted squatting and hinging
  3. Climb up and down a flight of stairs without using the handrail. Bonus points for carrying a light suitcase while doing it.
  4. 1 hour of continuous walking AND talking in high heat
  5. Assemble a piece of furniture - lots of crawling/sitting on the floor, and getting back up again
  6. Fall resistance; miss a step, slip on ice, get bumped by a dog/grandkid, but not hit the ground
  7. Throw & catch a baseball or softball
  8. Pull a 100# wagon full of tailgating supplies up and down a mild hill for 200 yards
  9. Get a full 1.75L liquor bottle from and to the top shelf in each hand (simultaneously)
  10. Identify whiskey varietals by smell alone
 
WhatWouldHulkDo said:
This is a fun thread... I have no idea what sort of weight ranges are realistic even for a bad-a#@ 100 yo. But, in no particular order:
  1. Lift a 70# "wriggly" load (grandkid, bag of wood pellets or garden soil) from the ground to the shoulder
  2. Pull weeds for 30 minutes continuous - lots of unweighted squatting and hinging
  3. Climb up and down a flight of stairs without using the handrail. Bonus points for carrying a light suitcase while doing it.
  4. 1 hour of continuous walking AND talking in high heat
  5. Assemble a piece of furniture - lots of crawling/sitting on the floor, and getting back up again
  6. Fall resistance; miss a step, slip on ice, get bumped by a dog/grandkid, but not hit the ground
  7. Throw & catch a baseball or softball
  8. Pull a 100# wagon full of tailgating supplies up and down a mild hill for 200 yards
  9. Get a full 1.75L liquor bottle from and to the top shelf in each hand (simultaneously)
  10. Identify whiskey varietals by smell alone
Click to expand...

100 year old party animal!
 
Well, I've thought about it. Assuming the Good Lord lets me live to 100 and hasn't returned/the world ended...even though I have bigger aspirations to own more weight, I will keep mine simple;

To completely own the 20KG kettle bell in the big six movements; goblet/one-hand front squat, clean, press, one-hand swing, snatch, getups. And also one-side farmer carry 75 yards.

My goal at 70 is to still do the same with the 32KG bell. At 80 perhaps 24-28KG is more reasonable.

That's seven movements. But I feel pretty confident that if I can do those I will be able to do anything else I might need to do as a geriatric.
 
watchnerd said:
I almost didn't believe Lodge when their website said my 10" skillet weights about 8 lbs.

It feels so much heavier.
Click to expand...
I don't have a list for you at the moment, but this evoked a thought:

I've thought about this when it comes to strength in general, as well as "functional life strength." Lifting things with your base of support directly beneath its center of mass is one thing, but it almost never occurs in day to day life. We're always holding things and manipulating things out away from our body. It makes me think of how strength training in traditional martial arts often included thing like:
-holding jars of sand (or rocks, bricks, etc) by the fingertips, sometimes at arms' length
-wearing weights around the wrists while performing martial arts "forms/katas."
-basically there was usually an element of gripping something (which we know is tied to health and longevity) and manipulating it around our body, which involves not just the upper extremity muscles, but also the coordination of the core, hips, and vestibular system.
 
bluejeff said:
-basically there was usually an element of gripping something (which we know is tied to health and longevity)
Click to expand...

There is a lot of debate about whether grip strength and longevity is just a correlation due to sample bias (i.e. people who are generally strong have good grips, and being stronger has positive health outcomes), or if there is something causal about grip strength, specifically.
 
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