Stop Doing the Impossible

Hey! Hey! Thanks for dropping into a cyber-orbit around the ol' cafe today. Got another message from my pal Dr Al but let's get things in the right order, eh. Coffee and a VT and then my enlightening post. Sound good? Well don't just hover there... fill your mug and grab a megamuffin before you sidle into your chair at the table here. Ready? Here's what Dr Al has to say this morning.

Dear Bob,

I’m not popular with the powers that be.

They would prefer that I not practice anti-aging medicine.

It’s still not a recognized specialty, and we have people in the National Institutes of Aging, a branch of the National Institutes of Health – which controls billions of dollars in research money – saying that any doctor who practices anti-aging is a quack.

Many say there’s no such thing as anti-aging, and it’s impossible. But while they were busy saying that, we were busy proving them wrong.

We have lots of very strong scientific evidence that you can accomplish that goal.

In fact, starting right now, you can intervene in the mechanism of aging in a very big and important way.

And today I’m going to show you exactly how to do it.

It reminds me of the Chinese saying that goes something to the effect of, “If you’re going to say something is impossible, don’t interrupt the person doing it.”

I think of this every time the FDA interrupts one of my letters to you by telling me I can’t talk about anti-aging. They don’t want me having that conversation with you. They don’t even want me to say “anti-aging.”

What country do we live in?

It’s backfiring on the powers that be though. They want me to shut up. But people tell me one of the reasons they want to read my letters is that I won’t. I’m willing to say things that are counter-current and unpopular.

For example, no one but me has written much about the most consequential effect of aging on your physiology and anatomy. And that is that is this: Your lungs shrink.

Your pulmonary capacity declines, your cardiac capacity declines, your maximum achievable heart rate declines, the amount of blood that your heart can pump declines, your total cardiac output declines, the elasticity of your cardiovascular system including the ability to dilate your arteries declines, so that you get less oxygen and less blood to your tissues.

Those are huge consequences that many of the other effects of aging come from.

Nobody talks about that except me. You can’t have an anti-aging program without addressing that. It’s like sharing a life raft with an elephant. Nothing else you do will have an impact if you allow those declines to continue.

The good news is those effects are completely reversible. You can stop them in their tracks.

I’m living proof:

• I have the oxygen carrying capacity that exceeds the 50th percentile for an 18-year-old. So I’m not even on the graph yet and I’m 56.

• There’s a formula that calculates how high you can get your heart rate. It’s generally accepted that it’s 220 minus your age, although there are slightly different formulas. Even using the most lenient, I should only be able to get my heart rate to 170 beats per minute. But I can get my heart rate to 220. So that means I have a biological age of zero.

How is that possible?

When they began looking at exercise, nobody took into account what would happen if you made capacity – things like heart rate and maximum oxygen uptake – the goal.

There’s a funny thing that happens in the universe that any time you focus on something. It starts to change because of your focus. Especially if you use an incremental, progressive program to challenge it.

And every time you use that newly built capacity to challenge it more, it’s like compound interest in a bank account. It has a huge effect over time.

I created a new category of exercise that uses these principles I discovered so that you can indeed reverse the age of your heart and lungs.

You may already know I call it P.A.C.E. That stands for Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Acceleration. When you use it to focus on capacity, you’re using the world’s only anti-aging exercise program.

In fact, you can start using P.A.C.E. right now. I guarantee you’ll feel greater stamina, more energy, and begin to reverse years of aging in your body.

Give yourself a bit of room, and try this movement … it’s called a Cross-Crunch.

1. Stand upright with your legs together and arms extended in front of your chest, elbows bent.

2. Lift your right knee toward your left elbow.

3. At the same time, swing your right arm down and behind you.

4. Return to starting position and repeat motion on the other side.

Alternate those two marching-style movements until you’ve reached your desired intensity for each of three sets. Stop and recover in between.

To make it a true P.A.C.E. workout, incrementally increase the challenge. Instead of marching, add a little hop, or even jump. Also, remember to include acceleration. That means shorten your recovery time between sets, or get up to your desired intensity faster.

If you’re just beginning, you can modify the cross-crunch by bringing your knee up and touching your hand to it instead of your elbow.

As you progressively increase the challenge, you will successfully reverse the age of your heart and lungs. Which shows how fun it can be to do the supposedly impossible.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Sounds like something I ought to try and I will...soon's I rest up a bit.

See ya, eh!

Bob