3553: 2 Training Tips For Optimal Aging by Mark Fisher on Smart Training

[00:00:00] Observe, the North American Dad, 50s, great polo collection. He enters his vehicle information on Carvana, an offer appears in minutes. Remarkable. He squints, reads it again, smiles and says, dang, that's a good offer. The highest form of approval. No haggling, no hassle. No one called him boss. He's still on the couch. Astonishing. Sell your car today on Carvana.com. Pickup fees may apply.

[00:00:30] Thinking about refreshing the carpet in your home? Now's the time to do it. For a limited time at the Home Depot, get 10% off installed carpet projects on trusted brands like LifeProof, LifeProof with PetProof Technology, Home Decorators Collection and Traffic Master. Plus, with installation starting at just 49 cents per square foot, upgrading your space is more affordable than ever at the Home Depot. Offer valid September 24th, 2026 through October 4th, 2026. Exclusions apply. For licenses, see homedepot.com slash license numbers.

[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. Two training tips for optimal aging by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, your host and narrator. Hey there, welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD, where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness blogs and always provide my commentary at the end. Let's keep this intro nice and short because I'm sure you're excited to hear about these two training tips for optimal aging.

[00:01:28] So let's get right to it and start optimizing your life. Two training tips for optimal aging by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com. In today's article, I will cover two vitally important and underappreciated considerations for aging well. Training for power and single leg stability. Training for power.

[00:01:55] As we age, it's no secret we tend to lose some strength. The good news is that we can actually maintain more than most people think, provided we're doing strength training. If you use it, you'll be less prone to lose it. This is why including relatively heavy lifting in your training regime is so valuable. It's also why I suggest strength training as the foundation of your personal fitness regime. While it's valuable to maintain strength, it's also important to know that power,

[00:02:23] the ability to express strength with an element of speed, declines even more precipitously as we age than max strength. And power is a key variable for maintaining our physical function as we age. Our ability to be reactive to our environment, or slips or falls, is a big deal. I mean, come on, it also allows us to more easily defend ourselves in the event of a, you know, vampire or pirate attack. Although power and strength are related,

[00:02:51] optimal power training requires a stimulus that's not provided with heavy deadlifts alone. Although getting into the weeds is beyond the scope of this article, the key takeaway is that a well-rounded training program should include some exercises that challenge you to move with some speed. Depending on your strength levels and training age, examples of possible power exercises include kettlebell swings, box jumps, skater jumps, and medicine ball work.

[00:03:19] At Mark Fisher Fitness, we program our power exercises near the beginning of our workout. We use these drills to transition out of the warm-up before we get into heavier lifts. This lets us train power while still fresh. It also warms up our nervous system for more productive lifting when we transition to heavier loads. A note, by its very definition, power training requires using much lighter loads than you'd use if you're challenging your maximum strength.

[00:03:47] Keep your focus here on the speed of movement. If you're doing any loaded power exercises, don't let your ego get preoccupied with the weights. Speed is the key. Single leg stability. As we age, it's also normal for us to lose some stability in our ankles and our hips. Consequently, our single leg balance tends to erode. In fact, you'll notice many older individuals reach a point where they no longer pick up their feet as they walk,

[00:04:15] instead substituting a shuffle that allows them to maintain contact with the ground with both feet. This is a contributing risk factor to slips and falls, which in turn can lead to injuries that become more and more precarious as we age. Once again, we'll get some carryover from a regular strength training regime, even if we don't specifically utilize single leg training. Having said that, most training programs overemphasize bilateral lower body training

[00:04:43] with symmetrical stances, like deadlifts and squats. While these exercises have their place, a more contemporary approach will focus on asymmetrical lower body exercises, like lunges and rear foot elevated split squats. We love these exercises at Mark Fisher Fitness. They allow us to create an awesome training effect that challenges your legs, your core, and your stability, all while requiring less load. Although this kind of training can be humbling,

[00:05:14] it plays a powerful role in well-designed programs. Furthermore, it's also important to give the body exposure to functioning on a single leg at a time. While asymmetrical exercises are a great challenge, you're still going to have a broader base of support. So doing true single leg work with the appropriate level of challenge is another great addition. As always, the exact exercise will look different based on the individual. For someone brand new to single leg work,

[00:05:42] it could be as simple as short sets of balancing on one leg for time with one hand near the wall to use for support if necessary. For more advanced trainees, maintaining single leg stability under load and during more complex movement can provide the appropriate challenge. Examples here include loaded single leg deadlifts, box step-ups to balance, or everyone's favorite circus trick for fitness people, the pistol squat.

[00:06:09] While the previously mentioned guidelines are important to consider, as always, execution is where the magic happens. To get the best results, most people benefit from an outside eye who can coach them to the best variation of the previously mentioned exercises and guide them to the appropriate weekly volume and frequency. This is why working with experts who can give you a good program is such a great choice. You can outsource it to the pros and simply follow the protocol as they help you adjust.

[00:06:39] I realize this kind of training isn't always sexy. Additionally, to do these exercises well requires full engagement. And the ability to discern the right level of challenge, which often means feeling shaky or awkward. Ultimately, when we're talking about training for power and single leg stability, what we're really talking about is improving our quality of life as we age. Yes, it's true. We all see some decline as we age. However, the more proactive we are

[00:07:07] with thoughtful training programs and execution, the better we're setting ourselves up to age with independence and grace. We're going to be dancing into our hundreds. You just listened to the post titled Two Training Tips for Optimal Aging by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com And I'll be right back with my commentary. Shaq here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100% online and get it delivered to your door? Let me tell you.

[00:07:37] Your car is here, Mr. Shaq. Thank you, Mr. Carvana guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shaq. Hey, have you always been so big, tall, and handsome? Not always. I was 6'10 once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shaq. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at carvana.com. Thinking about refreshing the carpet in your home? Now's the time to do it. For a limited time at The Home Depot,

[00:08:07] get 10% off installed carpet projects on trusted brands like LifeProof, LifeProof with PetProof Technology, Home Decorators Collection, and Traffic Master. Plus, with installation starting at just 49 cents per square foot, upgrading your space is more affordable than ever at The Home Depot. Offer valid September 24th, 2026 through October 4th, 2026. Exclusions apply. For licenses, see HomeDepot.com slash license numbers. Dr. Neal Malik here for my commentary. Today's author, Mark,

[00:08:36] mentioned an exercise I've been in awe of lately. He even called it a circus trick because it's not so easy to perform. It is, drum roll please, the pistol squat. This move has you begin in a standing position with both feet on the floor, obviously, you then bend one knee as if you're going to perform a one-legged squat. While bending that knee, you lift your other leg straight out so that it's basically parallel to the ground.

[00:09:04] So you're basically performing a one-legged squat while raising your other leg at the same time. They call it a pistol squat because at the bottom of the movement, your body looks like a pistol. The leg that's bent represents the cylinder of the pistol and the leg that's sticking out, the one that's parallel to the ground, represents the barrel. Now this move is not easy to do. It requires leg strength, core strength, flexibility, and balance all at the same time. I'm working on trying to perform just one of these

[00:09:32] with each leg successfully. Those that get really good at it can actually hold a weight to their chest, like a kettlebell, while doing these pistol squats. Now that's a circus trick, and that's some crazy balance. Regardless, even though these are hard to perform for me right now, I know that practicing them is worth the effort because as Mark said in today's article, it may help improve my quality of life as I get older. All right, that'll do it for me for today. Hope you're having a great Tuesday if you're listening in real time,

[00:10:02] and I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Wednesday show and where your optimal life awaits.