Trainer's Favorite Advice for Increasing Lifespan: A Surprisingly Straightforward Strategy Revealed to All Clients

Rachael Sacerdoti, a personal trainer and the founder of It's So Simple, advocates for strength training as a key component of maintaining health and wellness as we age. Sacerdoti, who has coached various individuals on long-term fitness, including celebrities, athletes, and everyday clients, believes that exercises like lunges are essential for improving strength, mobility, and confidence.

The Benefits of Lunges

Lunges are a versatile exercise that targets the glutes, quads, and core while also enhancing balance, mobility, and stretching. By incorporating lunges into your workout routine at least twice a week, you can expect to see significant improvements in your strength, mobility, and overall confidence.

Proper Lunge Technique

Sacerdoti offers several tips for performing lunges correctly. To begin, she advises imagining your feet on a train track for balance when lunging, ensuring that your feet are not in a single line. This helps maintain stability and reduces the risk of injury.

When performing lunges, Sacerdoti warns against letting the knee on the front leg overshoot the ankle to protect the knee joint. Instead, she suggests thinking of the lunge as a vertical movement, focusing on building drive, power, and control rather than moving forwards and back.

Forward and Reverse Lunges

Both forward and reverse lunges are effective options, with the forward lunge placing more emphasis on the quads and the reverse lunge activating the glutes and hamstrings. Instructions for performing both exercises are provided below.

Forward Lunge

Start with your feet hip-width apart.
Step forward with one foot, lowering your back knee until it taps the floor or comes close.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat with the other leg.

Reverse Lunge

Start with your feet together.
Step backwards with one foot, lowering your back knee until it taps the floor or comes close.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat with the other leg.

Training to Failure and Progressive Overload

Sacerdoti advises training to failure, meaning doing an exercise until you can no longer do another repetition with proper form. By the time you've completed 75% of your reps, she suggests making sure you're really being challenged.

Additionally, Sacerdoti recommends using the principle of progressive overload when training for longevity. This means gradually increasing weights over time to continuously challenge your muscles and promote growth.

Starting with Lunges for Beginners

For beginners to weight training, Sacerdoti suggests starting with lunges. You can begin with bodyweight and progress to adding weights once you're comfortable with three sets of 10 repetitions.

Lower-body exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts are excellent for building muscle and supporting longevity. Exercise, particularly strength training, is beneficial for long-term health, making lunges a valuable addition to any fitness routine.