10 Science-Backed Fitness Benchmarks for Longevity

“If you have the aspiration of kicking ass when you’re 80, you can’t afford to be average when you’re 50.”? — Peter Attia

As a personal trainer and health coach, people always ask me about the best type of workouts and fitness benchmarks for longevity. Now, of course this answer depends on a number of things — way too many to list here. But there are some high-level buckets of fitness that I want you to be thinking about, especially as you get older.?

We know that consistent exercise is one of the most powerful inputs to living a long, healthy life. But how we define exercise matters. Going for a walk and sprinting max effort are both exercise, but they are not the same thing and will do different things to your body. (Hint: You should probably be doing both.) Lifting heavy weights vs doing yoga will produce very different adaptations in your body. (Hint: You should probably be doing both.)

So, the million-dollar question becomes:

Are you doing the right exercise to produce the right outcomes in your body? And just as important, how do you know what those outcome standards should be??

Well, good news: I’ve done much of that work for you. Below you’ll find science-backed fitness benchmarks for longevity across 4 different areas of physical health: strength, cardio, balance, joint health. I’ve provided simple tests you can do to assess yourself in each area.

Regardless of what you want to do with your body, my goal for you is to have no weak links, because every activity in life has some risk involved. Playing a sport like tennis probably has more risk than swimming or biking, but even daily activities like carrying your groceries or going for a walk require some capacity from your body. And if you have any weak links in strength, balance, joint health or cardio, these activities will be way more risky! On the flip side, the more fit you are, and the less weak links you have, the less risk there is!

For example, let’s say you have a sedentary, overweight, weak 50-year-old with fragile joints – put him or her on the tennis court and you’ll have a high chance of disaster! I have a friend who is almost 60 but he’s strong and lean, he moves well and has great cardio and decent joint health; put him on the tennis court and he can?play for hours with a very low chance of something going wrong. That’s my goal for you!

You have strength, good cardio, solid balance, and healthy joints — so no matter if it’s tennis or golf or skiing or swimming or running, you are more robust and you have less risk of injury. Not only that, but you’ll also improve performance, have more capacity to do it more often, and have way more fun. That is what it’s all about!?

So, with that frame in mind, let’s dive into the 10 benchmarks and see where you stand.

1) Wall Squat (for time)

Stand with your back against the wall with your feet?hip-distance apart. Drop down to where your thighs are parallel to the ground. Record how long you can hold that position.?

• Red flag / Needs improvement: < 20 seconds
• Good: 20-40 seconds
• Great: 40-60 seconds
• Excellent: > 60 seconds

2) Max Push-Up (for reps)

If you can do push-ups, drop down and do as many push-ups as you can. You can rest at the top of the push-up if needed, but once your stomach or knees touch the ground, that is it.?

• Poor: < 10
• Good: 11-20
• Great: 21-35
• Excellent: 36-50?
• Superior: 50+

3) High Plank Hold?

If you are unable to do push-ups for whatever reason, try the plank-hold test.

This is done from a high push-up position where your hands are on the ground. Simply start a timer and hold that static position for as long as you can.

• Poor: < 30 seconds
• Good: 31-60 seconds
• Great: 61-90 seconds
• Excellent: 90+ seconds

4) Dead Hang

Find a pull-up bar or any other horizontal bar you can hang from. Time how long you can hang from the bar.?

• Poor: Unable to perform / Less than 10 seconds
• Good: 11-30 seconds
• Great: 30-45 seconds
• Excellent: 40-60 seconds
• Superior: 60+ seconds

Cardio:

Your cardiovascular system is what keeps you alive. It’s the engine that keeps your body running.?It delivers vital nutrients to cells and clears away damaged tissues.

A poor cardiovascular system can lead to low energy, lower healthspan, and less capacity with your body.

On the flip side, a robust cardiovascular system will give you tons of energy, increase healthspan, help you recover from stress better, and give you more capacity with your body.

This is not new news. But how do you know where you stand??

Again, there are numerous ways to measure cardiovascular fitness, but many require fancy equipment or lab technicians.?

Side note: If you do have access to a metabolic cart and you can get a VO2 Max test, I would do it.?

Otherwise, here are some more basic screens to see where you stand.

5) Resting HR

While by no means a comprehensive gauge on total cardiovascular health, a resting HR will give you a simple reading of how hard your heart is working at rest. There are genetic differences that might account for abnormally high or low resting heart rates but, all things being equal, a lower resting HR is a sign of better health.?

• Red flag: Over 70?
• Good: 60-70
• Great: 50-60
• Excellent: 40-50

6) HRR – Heart Rate Recovery (60 secs)

If you want a better sense of cardiovascular fitness, you can take something called a heart rate recovery score. This is the measure of how well your heart recovers after an intense bout of exercise.

Measure your heart rate at full exertion. Rest 60 seconds and measure your heart rate again. Subtract that number from the peak HR and you have your HRR.

For example, if my peak HR is 160 and 60 seconds later it’s 130, my HRR = 30 beats.

Benchmarks for HRR:

• Not great: < 20 beat difference?
• Good: 20-30
• Great: 30-40
• Excellent: > 40?

7) Vo2 Max

This is one of the most robust measures of cardiovascular health. As mentioned above, the only way to truly know your VO2 max is by doing it in a lab with fancy equipment.?

For most of you reading this, there’s no need to go to the lab. You can approximate your VO2 max in any of the following ways:

2K Row Test

This is my favorite low-impact VO2 max test. Find a rower, set it to 2,000 meters (normally there is a setting that might say 2K or something like that).?

Start rowing and try to finish in the fastest time possible. Check out this calculator for your VO2Max while rowing.

12-Minute Cooper Test

This basic test has been used for years. This approximates your VO2 max by measuring how much distance you can run in 12 minutes.

Dust off the running shoes and give this a shot. Plug your distance in this calculator to find your VO2 estimate.

Smart Watch VO2 Max Calculation?

This is not the most accurate but many smart watches will give you a VO2 max estimate. Make sure you have your age, weight, and sex entered correctly in your watch settings to get the most accurate information.

This article gives good background on using wearables to measure VO2 max.

Once you have your VO2 max, find your location on the following chart.?

Balance:

Having good balance requires a complex coordination of many different systems in the body, but the 2 most important parts of the balance equation are the feet and the hips.

The Feet

You want to have strong, mobile feet that can move freely.?

The foot has over 33 joints and 20 muscles and is by far the most important piece of the balance equation. Unfortunately, most people completely neglect their feet and it has a serious negative impact on their balance. Go here to learn more about how you can restore your foot health and improve balance.?

The Hips

Just as the feet, you want strong, mobile hips that can provide stability for the lower body.

The muscles in and around the hip joint stabilize the lower body. The modern environment of sitting in chairs, cars, and couches turn off many of these vital muscles and again negatively impact one’s ability to balance.?

In many instances, other muscles like the calves or hamstrings take on the role of stabilizing the lower body; so, if you’re dealing with chronically tight calves or hamstrings, this is something you want to look at.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s get to a simple balance test.?

8) Single-Leg Balance Test (eyes closed)

Stand barefoot on a flat, hard surface. Pick one leg off the ground, close your eyes, and record the time until you lose balance. Make sure to do both legs.

• Needs work: < 10 seconds
• Good: 11-30 seconds
• Above average: 30-60 seconds
• Excellent: 60+ seconds

Joint Range of Motion (JROM) / Flexibility / Mobility

Why does this matter?

• Reduce injury risk
• Have less back pain
• Be able to do more with your body

Lack of flexibility is one of the most common issues I see with guys over 40. It’s the classic example of the “if you don’t use, you lose it” principle of human movement.

For example, if you sit all day in a chair and never get into a position with your butt below your knees — a deep squat position — your brain will no longer allocate resources for that movement.

It makes perfect sense from a brain energy conservation perspective — why would your brain allocate resources there if you don’t go there?

The problem comes when you go to play with your kids on the ground or play a sport that requires that squatting movement. Your body can’t get there using the proper joints and muscles (the hips, foot, ankle) and this is when you blow out a knee or throw out your lower back.

“It’s not about eliminating injuries.?If you’re using your body and pushing yourself physically, injuries will happen.“

It’s not about eliminating injuries.?If you’re using your body and pushing yourself physically, injuries will happen. The goal is to be resilient to injury.

A friend of mine told me a story of how he slipped on a wet sidewalk and completely blew out his knee and tore a groin muscle all in the same fall.?This is the opposite of resiliency.

The goal is that when you slip on the ice or take that awkward step on the sidewalk, you have the capacity to handle it better. Maybe you’ll slightly strain a muscle or sprain a joint, but you won’t blow out your?knee or throw out your back.

That, to me, is being resilient. That is the power of working on your joint range of motion.

Here are a few tests to see how much range of motion you have in the major joints of the body:

2 Master tests for lower body:

9) Sit / Stand Test

Can you get off the ground without using any support from your hands, elbows, knees, or any other external support?? If yes, congrats, you are in rare company — most people can’t do this.

The less support you need, the longer you will live, at least according to this study.

10) Deep Squat Hold

A deep squat requires full expression of ankle, knee, and hip range of motion. Simply stand barefoot with your feet hip-distance apart and sit back into a squat as deep as you can. Make sure to keep your heels on the ground and feet straight ahead.

Benchmarks:

• Red flag: Pain or can’t get butt below knees
• Good: Butt below knees with normal breathing
• Great: Butt below knees, back straight, normal breathing > 30 secs hold
• Superior: Butt within 1ft of the ground, back straight, normal breathing > 60 secs hold

I’ve also created this spreadsheet Benchmarks for Optimal Health (MEN) so you can have all your info in one place. There’s 7 metabolic markers for optimal health on that sheet as well. I’ll have a guide on that coming soon.

Dive in and let me know how you do.?

Get In Touch With Nick

Nick Holt is a personal trainer and health coach based out of Tamarindo, Costa Rica.