ABS at 60 - An Interview with Greg Damian

I'm always on the lookout for Men over 50 who are proactive about their health. Little did I know that there was one working out under my nose at my gym in Scottsdale! Greg Damian is an early morning athlete and we crossed paths earlier this year. Below is the interview I did with him, focusing on his book "Abs at 60."

Q. Greg, before I met you and learned about your book, I would see you working out at the gym and you stood out from the crowd. Just wanted to share that your hard work and consistency is noticeable!

A. Thank you. That is kind of you to say. I do not try to do anything special in the gym other than just be me, but I don’t let my age dictate what I do or don’t do. I certainly don’t consider myself “senior” or “elderly” or anything like that.

Q. In your book, you cover a framework you call DOLR -?

• Dream Big
• Own Your Health
• Live Well
• Recharge Often

Q. What’s the background on this framework and how did you land on it?

A. When I was reviewing the photos I had taken after my 60th birthday, I decided to write a book to encourage others to be healthier based on my example and experience. DOLR(?) is the process that I used to achieve my results, but I didn’t have the fancy trademark name for it until I wrote the book. Dream Big is about mindset, having a clear vision and a compelling why. Own Your Health is a dichotomy because while, on the one hand, we are responsible for our health, there are people that can help us do things we cannot do on our own and we need to engage them wisely. Live Well is how we live daily. It is more than diet and exercise. Living well includes being happy, having healthy relationships and managing stress. Recharge Often acknowledges that we need to set aside some time every day so we can live well. Sleep and meditation are two examples or recharging

Q. In the Dream Big section, the focus is designing your “why” as well as addressing limiting beliefs. A few questions on this:

• How often do you revisit your “why” and do you adjust it?
• What kind of limiting beliefs have you overcome between age 50 and 60?
• Reminding yourself of past successes is a powerful way to prepare for taking on a new challenge. Do you have a current challenge you are undertaking and if so, can you share some information about it?

A. A good why endures for a long time. How long? For at least months or years. Most people’s problem with their why is that they never had one. If you have achieved or have almost achieved the meaning of your last why, that is a good time to reassess and reconsider something new.

For me limiting beliefs have to do with my belief that I can be a valid and authentic role model and influencer of other people. This is probably why I am writing my book at 60 and not 50. If I did not write it now, when am I going to?

I want to be a kick ass 80 and 100 year old man. I want to be an example of what men of this age group (notice I didn’t say elderly) can do. I don’t want to have any limitation at 80. I have a specific goal of summiting Kilimanjaro at age 80.?

In a few weeks I am going to hike down to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. I want to hike rim to rim soon. I am racing sprint distance triathlons again this year. I would like to break 22 minutes in a 5k. I am staying fairly lean to be ready for more photo shoots as the opportunities arise.

Q. You reference Peter Attia in the chapter titled “My Octogenarian Goals.” We follow Attia’s 4 pillars of fitness for longevity - stability, strength, zone 2 and zone 5 cardio. Tell us a bit about your training at age 60.

A. My training at 60 isn’t very different from when I was 50 or 40. One key difference is that I weight train three days per week regardless of my short term goals. At 50 I trained exclusively for Olympic distance triathlon races. I did not weight train at all during that year. I did quite well in triathlon that year, but now it is more important to me to maintain muscle mass than optimize race performance. In my weekly routine, in addition to three weight sessions of an hour each, I target two, one hour swims, two hour long runs and one or two cycle events. Most of my cardio is zone 2 work. I target one high heart rate workout per week to get my zone 5 training. I also like to hike. I do keep it somewhat flexible. I climbed Camelback today as a replacement for one of my runs. One day a week is a rest day. I do find that I more often need two rest days but I find it difficult to execute that.

I do some stability work in the weight room. On leg day I emphasize one leg movements such as one leg deadlifts and walking weighted lunges. This helps to train balance and agility. I also spend about 15 minutes almost every day stretching. I have never been very flexible. Stretching is probably the physical activity I enjoy the least but I do it anyway.

Q. What’s your experience with some of the longevity solutions that are gaining popularity, including NAD+, PRP, Stem cells, supplements aiding senescence, peptides, etc.?

A. I take quite a few supplements and a few medications. I have used PRP and stem cells a couple of times for joint issues. In addition to a daily multivitamin, I take resveratrol, bone minerals, a prostate formula, CoQ10, Acetyl L Carnitine, vitamin D and a few other things. I just started taking mitopure which is supposed to help with mitochondrial function.?

I take metformin, atorvastatin (20 mg) and testosterone (TRT). Both diabetes and familial hypercholesterolemia run in my family. My father died of complications from diabetes. I am insulin insufficient - as opposed to insulin resistant. I suspect my father was also. You need good blood work to be able to get to the root cause. I follow Peter Attia’s guidance that we need to manage our LDL particle count (apo b particles). He has repeatedly stated that exposure to apo b particles is causal in creating cardiovascular disease.?

I was fortunate to have been diagnosed with osteopenia in my 40s. When my doctor saw my blood work, referring to my very low testosterone level, he said, “we have found the smoking gun.” I have taken doctor prescribed testosterone for the last 15 years. Within a couple of years, my bone health returned to almost normal and is normal in my latest DEXA scan a few months ago.??

I don’t care about the “natural” label. It means absolutely nothing to me. I would rather be healthy than natural. I take complete ownership of my health. I believe that we should leverage all of the science that is available to us to maximize our life and health span. Yes, we should get professional guidance and be aware of the risks/benefits and do what we think is best for us.

I will continue to experiment with treatments that are relatively inexpensive and are considered low risk. One example is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I would like to try this.

Q. The aesthetics chapter covers topics not usually covered when one thinks about longevity and performance as we age. I like that you cover this but I wonder about people thinking of this as a shortcut to looking better but not actually “being” better. Can you talk more about this?

A. Not everything in life has to be hard or difficult in order to be beneficial. Particularly for men in their 50s, some of the easiest wins are aesthetics. I am not even talking about plastic surgery. Grooming, getting well fitting, stylish clothes, having white teeth are just a few examples that are simple, safe and cheap and can make us look and feel better right away. So why wouldn’t we do these things??

There is something powerful going on related to cosmetics. In my book I reference a study that showed that people who did cosmetic procedures lived longer. Why? It was postulated that these people felt better about themselves and thus they took better care of themselves.

Thinking we have to look older as we age may be just a belief that we have. I think we should challenge all of our beliefs to see if they serve us or if we serve them. I don’t accept this particular belief. But just like a car, I need maintenance and tune ups to get back into the best condition and that includes skin and hair care. I am worthy of it and so are you.

Q. Body composition testing is one of the most beneficial tools for making improvements in health. BMI doesn’t get at the underlying challenge which is that aging people need to burn fat and build (or at least keep) their muscle. Tell us a little bit about how you use body composition testing, your body fat % and if it varies throughout the year, and anything else you would like to share on the topic.

A.?I have a chapter in my book about the importance of body composition. I have had my body composition estimated by all of the known methods. All of the measurements are estimates. None of them are absolutely correct. This is important to understand. The only way to know your body composition with 100% certainty is to be dissected and no one is signing up for that!?

When I was body building and competing on stage I estimated that I got down to about 6% body fat based on skinfold measurements. Professional bodybuilders can get to about 3% but they don’t stay there for long. Normally, I maintain weight in the 8% to 9% body fat range and it does not vary too much. DEXA usually shows me at about 10% body fat. Many people report that DEXA measures them a little higher than skinfold or electrical impedance measurements. I have been hydrostatically weighed. This is not the ‘gold standard’ for estimating body composition. You have to blow all of the air out of your lungs to get a good measurement. The tank I was in was cold and I found blowing air out very difficult to do.?

The best use of a body composition measurement is to pick one method and use it for directional information. If an electrical impedance measurement shows you going from 18% to 17% to 15% body fat you know you are trending in the right direction, if you are looking to lose fat.

If you are interested in learning more about Greg's approach, check out his book on Amazon.

Argent Alpha is a community of Men over 50 all striving to become Harder To Kill by focusing on torching fat, building muscle and reversing age. As one of our members likes to say "this is a program for shifting your Mindset so the changes you make stick". Learn more about us at argentalpha.com.

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