Training for Longevity with Bryan Johnson: How to Strengthen Knees to Fight Against Age-Related Frailty

Highlights

• The longevity-focused fitness program centered around using sleds and treadmills and focused on exercises like squats and lunges.
• Beginners can easily implement these short routines into their schedules every few days to bolster knee strength and stave off incapacitating effects from age-related frailty.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 18% of adults report knee pain, accounting for the most commonly affected joint. Knee dysfunction and pain increase the likelihood of loss of mobility and ultimately age-related frailty, characterized by progressive muscle weakening and catastrophic declines in health. To overcome knee dysfunction and pain, performing leg strengthening exercises every few days is crucial for knee joint health and maintenance of overall physical function. However, finding the most effective workout routine to promote knee strength can be a challenge. Along those lines, venture capitalist and self-proclaimed “longevity athlete” Bryan Johnson, who devotes much of his life to thwarting the detriments of aging, has teamed up with Ben Patrick, a well-known personal trainer and fitness influencer, to go through knee strengthening exercises to promote longevity. In a YouTube video, Ben Patrick shows Bryan Johnson how to strengthen knees using simple equipment like sleds and treadmills. Ideally, an individual training for longevity can implement these exercises into their schedule every other day, but if not, even a few times a week can suffice to promote physical performance and maintain mobility.

“Age is a number, it’s a mindset,” says Bryan Johnson using interventions like the exercises in this video it is possible to improve your physical abilities and to reverse your biological age.  As such, using this exercise regimen to improve knee health offers a way to train for optimal physical function and promote more graceful aging.

A Knee Stabilization and Mobility Routine Promoting Physical Function to Enhance Longevity

In the first routine segment titled “Stabilizing,” to work muscles that attach to the top of the knees, Patrick shows Johnson how to push a sled forward and pull it walking backwards for knee strengthening and stabilization. Making sure to keep the knees over the toes, Johnson pushes the sled over the length of the artificial turf. After going forward, Patrick then instructs Johnson on pulling the sled moving backward. Patrick advises Johnson to perform the same number of repetitions going backward as moving forward. Doing these exercises for 10 minutes on a given day is key to improving knee stability. Moreover, Patrick, who went through multiple knee surgeries, says he believes performing the backwards walk with a sled helped him heal his knees and get off painkillers.

For those who are not ready to implement a heavy sled into their training, Patrick then instructs Johnson on an easier version of the exercise using a treadmill. Without turning the treadmill on, Johnson walks backwards, manually pushing the treadmill’s belt. Importantly, Patrick tells Johnson to continue to keep his knees over his toes on every step. Patrick says to start slow but to eventually work up to performing 5-10 minutes of backward walking on the treadmill. According to Patrick, walking backwards on a treadmill leads to an increase in blood flow to the knees, which could play a role in reversing age-related damage to a tissue.

The next part of the routine titled “Strength Through Length” encompasses stretching muscles while strengthening them for physical mobility. The first exercise Patrick shows Johnson is called a split squat, where Johnson utilizes his full range of motion to stand with one foot forward and the other maximally extended behind his body. Without touching his back knee to the ground, Johnson then lifts himself into an upright position. For those who are new to this exercise it is possible to benefit from an easier version where the front foot is elevated, reducing the overall stress on the knee. Performing the split squat an equal number of times leaning on one leg and then the other is crucial to maximize the knee mobilization benefits on both sides of the body. Patrick recommends performing five split squat repetitions for each side in two separate workout sets.

The third part of the exercise routine is titled “No Weak Links” and focuses on strengthening the tibialis muscle, located next to the tibia bone in the lower part of the leg. When flexed, the tibialis muscle works to lift the toes off the ground and are used mainly when decelerating. Patrick says that this exercise is the first line of defense against foot, ankle, and knee pain. With this exercise, Johnson leans his back against a wall with his feet out in front and raises his toes from the ground and lowers them back down. Patrick recommends that people performing this exercise do 25 repetitions in a single set. For people new to this exercise, performing it with one leg at a time is an option, and one can even take breaks during their set before becoming adept at the exercise.

It’s Never Too Early to Train the Knees for Longevity

“No matter where you’re at in life, no matter what your circumstances are, you can come back, you can be the person you want to be,” says Johnson.

Performing this exercise routine every other day or even a few times a week can help adults of any age strengthen and stabilize their knee joints to maintain physical mobility as they grow older. This knee strengthening and mobility routine works one of the most crucial joints in the body, the knee, with essential roles in maintaining physical function to avoid frailty and catastrophic health complications. By doing this exercise routine regularly, Patrick believes you’ll be training for maximal longevity.