Consult with your doctor before beginning any new fitness program.
When it comes to the discourse over longevity, the “bro scientists” are mostly leading the way.
That’s according to longevity specialist Dr. Vonda Wright, whose new book, “Unbreakable: A Woman’s Guide to Aging With Power,” aims to level the playing field.
“We have a gamut of people framing men living longer as longevity and a very hopeful message,” said Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and author based in Orlando. That is a positive thing, but “for generations, when you think of women living longer, the solution is anti-aging, as if there’s something wrong with us. There’s nothing wrong with us. We are aging in a different way than men.”
Women do live longer than men, on average. But Wright is focusing not just on living longer but also living better. And in her book, she addresses female longevity from the perspectives of women. She notes the role that shifting hormones play in this process and encourages women to work on disease prevention and strength building during their early midlife years — instead of waiting on good health to run out.
Those years — think 35 to 45 years old — can be used as a time to strengthen oneself rather than to succumb to the myth that one’s best days are in the past, she said. Wright calls it the “critical decade.”
“I believe and have shown that with a daily investment in our mobility, in smart nutrition, in mobilizing our mindset,” Wright said, “we can live healthy, vital, active, joyful, unbreakable lives long into the foreseeable future.”
CNN spoke with Wright about how women can work toward aging with power.
This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
CNN: How can women change their mindset on aging?
Dr. Vonda Wright: I spend a lot of time in the first part of my book asking women to identify what their values are — their “why” for making changes. I value independence — getting to do what I want when I want to do it. If I receive help, it’s because I want it, not because I need it. I value a clear brain. Once you know your values, you can form your goals. Many women don’t want to be a burden to their children.
CNN: What are some important scientific findings on female aging, and how do they inform your advice?
Wright: There are estrogen receptors everywhere, from brain to muscle to bone. Without estrogen, nearly every organ system is affected, meaning the rate of aging increases. For instance, during the perimenopause period, women can lose 15% to 20% of our bone density. That’s more rapid (than the bone density loss men experience as they age). The brain starves without estrogen, and the lack can also increase inflammation and risk for cardiovascular disease. Making your hormone optimization decision based on facts, not fear, is one of the first decisions I want women to make.
CNN: What dietary changes can support female longevity?
Wright: I’m going to give you some frameworks and practical tips. No. 1: We are not losing weight. We are recomposing, meaning it matters what we’re made of, because we’re trying to maximize lean muscle and minimize body fat — not to be skinny but to be lean.
No. 2: Women deserve to eat. We’ve been taught for generations that we can only be little, and therefore we don’t eat. But you must eat to be healthy, so what do we eat? I’m a big proponent of 1 gram of protein per ideal pound a day, so that we support the muscle we’re trying to build.
But we have got to stop eating so much sugar in this country, because it’s cooking us from the inside out. It contributes to multiple diseases caused by chronic, age-related inflammation. I’m not against carbs; I’m against simple carbs and sugar because of what they do to our glycemic index, which measures how quickly a food makes your blood sugar rise.
I’d rather people get their nutrition from whole foods, and that’s partly why the book also contains recipes and dinner plans.
CNN: What are the most important types of movement for aging with power?
Wright: I prescribe exercise with the acronym “FACE” your future.
The F is flexibility and joint range of motion. Tendons, ligaments and muscles naturally shorten with time, which results in stiff joints and people being hunched over and shuffling around. Some great exercises for that are Pilates, yoga, tai chi and dynamic stretching.
The A is aerobic. The book has a big outline for caring for your heart, and it is not high-intensity interval training seven days a week. I prescribe 80-20 aerobic activity, which means 80% of the time we are in lower heart rate exercise, whether it’s walking or something else, and 20% of the time we are sprinting. This is modeled after what we do with pro athletes.
The C is “carry a load.” Our goal is strength and power, so lifting heavy is very well detailed for hundreds of pages in this book. Basically, it means fewer reps, higher weights.
Finally, E is equilibrium, or balance, and foot speed. You may be strong and flexible, but if you trip and fall, you often have what’s called a fatal fall and break something that 50% of the time puts you in a nursing home.
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CNN: How can women progress to heavy lifting?
Wright: That might start with creating a streak. For seven days in a row, you’re doing something that’s helpful to your body, such as walking every day after your biggest meal. Then you don’t want to stop because you’ve worked hard.
Also start a foundational or starting lifting program. I have one of those in my book, just to teach you how to move your body. It will take six or nine months to work up to heavy, but it’s not hard. Hiring a trainer to teach you is very helpful. I encourage people, as the holidays are coming up, don’t ask for a purse or some appliance. Ask for a trainer.
Once you arrive there, that is what you should do for the rest of your life, because we’re trying to build strength and power, not necessarily endurance or bigger muscles.
CNN: What are the best ways to build mental resilience?
Wright: The work that I cite in the book is built around building mental hardiness, and there are 10 hardiness factors. Interestingly, one of them is physical activity. The research I looked at, by Dr. Paul Bartone and Dr. Steven Stein, was done on prisoners of war, current US Army Rangers and people with really tough congenital problems. One common characteristic of all those people is they had a physical activity practice.
If you learn to lift heavy, what happens physically is you get stronger. But every time you’re done lifting, your brain feels invincible. Another example is that I do Spartan Stadion obstacle course races in legendary stadiums, and I frequently invite women who follow me on social media to join me. They show up in all states of fitness — some not fit, some world-class athletes. When they finish doing hard physical things, their brain has also changed.
It’s really important to realize that you are worth the daily investment in your health. Many times people, especially women, prioritize everything in the world in front of themselves. But the reality is, to do the work, we need to realize that we are worth the daily investment.
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