THE LONGEVITY EXERCISE

By Ryhaan Shah

A number of news articles caught my eye recently. One in Vogue magazine reported on the benefits of what is called the longevity pose: deep squatting.
In many cultures – particularly across Asia – this kind of squatting is part of daily life. People eat, socialise, and casually rest in a squatting position. But in the West, we have given up this classic position in favour of sitting in chairs, a norm which could mean that we are missing out on some very important health benefits.
Many health experts recommend squatting several times a day, and it is they who go as far as to call deep squatting “the longevity pose”.
Squatting is considered the ultimate “longevity pose” because it builds lower-body strength, protects joint mobility, and maintains the functional independence required for everyday life. Regular squatting mimics sitting and standing, preventing age-related muscle loss and significantly reducing our risk of falls.
There is actual science behind this recommended exercise. A well-known European study found that our ability to lower ourselves to the floor then stand up without using our hands is strongly linked to our mortality risk. Those who are better able to perform this exercise can usually expect to have a longer life span.
Squatting engages muscles in our legs – hamstrings, glutes, and calves – as well as our lower back and the core of our body, all of which helps to improve our cardiovascular fitness and bone density.
Deep squats help to maintain flexibility in our hips, knees, and ankles and work to ward off stiffness and conditions like osteoarthritis.
The exercise is simple. Stand with your feet apart – hip-wide should be comfortable – and with your hands on your waist or stretched out in front of you at shoulder height, simply bend your knees. Go down as far as is comfortable and hold the pose for as long as is comfortable. It could be a couple of seconds or a minute. Then stand up straight and repeat as many times as you feel comfortable; it could be two or three, or eight times or more.
Try to do this exercise two or three times each day and you should start to feel some benefits in strength, balance and flexibility. It costs nothing but a little time, and it could help improve your overall health and fitness level.
Perhaps Colin Cole of Shropshire, UK, might have been doing much squatting during his life, for he has just celebrated his 107th birthday. A BBC report says he was at Dunkirk and the D-Day landings, having joined the Royal Air Force just before World War II broke out in 1939.
He served as an air-sea rescue pilot and, after the war, became a teacher and specialised in helping children with special educational needs.
Another British man, Bill Kober, is 98 and does 40 press-ups every day. According to the BBC, Mr Kober, of Suffolk, sees age as just a number. Without fail, he does 20 press-ups in the morning and 20 in the evening.
“Only in my later years have I realised that I’ve got this ability, and so I do it because I’m able to and, as they say, use it or lose it, and I don’t want to lose it,” he said. “I want to be as fit as I can be.”
The key to the perfect push-up, according to Bill, is “a good straight back which gives you a nice tight buttock”. Press-ups can improve your upper body strength and core stability and, over time, can also help improve your ability to do everyday tasks.
Like Colin Cole, Bill also served in the army and then worked in the building trade before spending 28 years working in a factory. He has always been active because of the hard, manual labour and said, “But doing press-ups is what is keeping me breathing well. I do it until I can’t do any more. And then I get up and relax, and that’s it.”
He is looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday like Lilian Pike, who lives in the Isle of Man. She says the key to longevity is to “keep fit, eat properly, and don’t drink too much alcohol”.
According to the BBC, she has been participating in a weekly exercise class for the past 20 years and attributes her health and long life to simple healthy habits.
These stories show that the recommendation that we keep active helps us stay fit and healthy as we grow older. It’s a matter of eating right and, maybe, doing a few squats each day.