The Essential Principles of Training for Enhanced Healthspan and Longevity

Health is considered one of the most important pillars of a good life by the wide majority of individuals (WHO). Ask my grandmother, and she will happily reiterate how good health is paramount in life. Yet, it seems there is a gap between beliefs and actions (i.e., cognitive dissonance) in the wide majority of individuals (Wardian, 2020). What is health anyway? Narrowing down the definitions of health can help us understand better the root of the cognitive dissonance, and parse out the actual necessary actions to get and maintain “health” for a long time, one may believe. As articulated by the World Health Organization, health is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”

Further, there is a difference between lifespan and healthspan, as outlined by Garmany (2021) and many others. Lifespan is your time on Earth in years. Healthspan is your time on Earth in years and good health conditions (free from disease). These concepts have become increasingly prominent in our current society, also thanks to the highly-praised public work of people like Dr. Sinclair, Dr. Attia, Dr. Huberman, and others. There appears to be a shift in the perception of health, focusing more on health span instead of lifespan, in what Dr. Attia often refers to as “medicine 3.0”. This post focuses on this aspect of health, analyzing the source of protocols and principles for optimizing healthspan and longevity, with an emphasis on physical training (not nutrition, which is just as—or more—important for healthspan optimization).