The class is called WOD: Workout of the Day. It\u2019s run by an energetic young woman named Georgia, who barks instructions through a headset, urging us on. There are eight of us: six women, two men. The other chap is a heavily muscled, faultlessly groomed stranger in his early 30s. I am paired with him for the \u201csynchronised\u201d portion of the WOD, meaning I must match my press-ups to his, rest while he squats, and vice-versa. Do I detect a pity-taking slowing in his rhythm when he realises that his training partner is not quite at his level? Reader, I do. In an unspoken compact, he is quite plainly going easy on me. By\u00a0such tender mercies is one\u2019s faith in humanity restored.<\/p>\n
My walk back to Richmond station is slow and unsteady, rubber-legged. It\u2019s accompanied by a realisation: perhaps the fitness \u201croutine\u201d of my previous life \u2013 irregular Pilates classes and a sluggish bi-weekly shuffle around the\u00a0park \u2013 was not as gruelling as it might have been. If\u00a0the\u00a0aim of the exercise \u2013 and of HTSI\u2019s The Longevity Project <\/a>\u2013 is to increase my chances of a long and healthy life, I\u2019m going to have to step it up a bit.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the difference between running and jogging? I\u2019ll\u00a0tell you: one indicates the swift, fluid movements of a person in full command of their finely tuned physique. The other suggests, accurately in my case, a reluctant middle-aged man in Lycra \u2013 a Mamil \u2013 dragging his sorry behind around his local streets on a Sunday morning with the loping gait of a lame dog and the sunny facial expression of a person who has just dropped a dumbbell on his toe.<\/p>\n I like to say I\u2019m going for a run. Most of us do. I wear running kit to do it. And running shoes. And I use a running club app to log my distances (not very far) and times (not very fast) and occasionally to supply motivation. \u201cYou\u2019re a\u00a0rock star!\u201d says Coach Bennett, the Nike Run Club app cheerleader. Which is kind of him but also, I\u2019m afraid, a bit of a hamstring stretch. I am no one\u2019s idea of a rock star.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jogging alone won\u2019t help me live forever. As any smartarse lard arse will tell you, Jim Fixx, who is sometimes said to have invented jogging, died of a heart attack at the age of 52, in 1984, while out on his daily run\u00a0in\u00a0Vermont. The fact that 52 is my own age as I dust off\u00a0this\u00a0mildewed factoid does not lessen its impact, at least\u00a0not on me. There is much science linking running \u2013\u00a0and\u00a0other cardio such as cycling, and even jogging, and\u00a0even\u00a0walking \u2013 to a longer and more productive later life. But to be able to run \u2013 or jog or walk \u2013 confidently into\u00a0one\u2019s later years, it is, I am repeatedly assured, advisable to do a good deal more than occasionally lace\u00a0up\u00a0your flashy fluoro sneakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unlike so much of the contradictory pseudoscience that infects the \u201cwellness space\u201d, it\u2019s hard to find anyone who disputes the idea that regular physical exercise is\u00a0a\u00a0key\u00a0component of a healthy lifestyle, and that it could\u00a0\u2013\u00a0could \u2013 help you live a longer, or at least a better, life \u2013\u00a0if\u00a0at\u00a0least one measure of \u201cbetter\u201d is your ability to sit, stand, bend and roll over.<\/p>\n Exercise is the OG biohack. It helps to fight inflammation, believed to be a driver of ageing and\u00a0disease.\u00a0It stimulates the production of new mitochondria, increasing energy metabolism. It improves the body\u2019s response\u00a0to insulin, reducing the risk of type\u00a02\u00a0diabetes. It\u2019s also good for the brain, supporting cognitive function and potentially reducing the\u00a0risk of dementia. An Australian study, published in The British Journal of\u00a0Sports Medicine, found that 150 minutes of\u00a0vigorous\u00a0physical exercise per week \u201cseems\u00a0to\u00a0promote healthy ageing\u201d. The NHS\u00a0guidance goes further, recommending an\u00a0additional two strength-training sessions. One\u00a0hundred and 50 minutes is two and a\u00a0half\u00a0hours. Surely I\u00a0can manage that?<\/p>\n The Richmond HIIT class was not my first\u00a0experience of Third Space. In August, at\u00a0the gym chain\u2019s Mayfair branch, I booked a\u00a0consultation in the Performance Lab<\/a>,\u00a0where\u00a0a young man named Harrison, with thighs the\u00a0size of medicine balls, ran a battery of tests to assess\u00a0my current fitness levels.<\/p>\n Something called an InBody scan assessed\u00a0my weight (80kg, if you must know), skeletal muscle mass (34.2kg), body fat mass (19.7kg) and body fat percentage (24.4). A\u00a0machine called a Shosabi \u2013 \u201can advanced AI\u00a0driven movement analysis\u201d \u2013 then gave\u00a0me\u00a0marks out of\u00a010\u00a0for various movements that Harrison demonstrated and I tried\u00a0to mimic. Ten out of 10 (yeah, baby!) for arm\u00a0circles and\u00a0ankle mobility. Eight out of 10\u00a0for\u00a0overhead squats. But\u00a0a pathetic three out of 10\u00a0for\u00a0side squatting \u2013\u00a0the result, Harrison assured me, of\u00a0the\u00a0back operation I\u00a0had a\u00a0few\u00a0years ago, which fixed my\u00a0slipped discs but not\u00a0the sciatica on my left side.<\/p>\n There was more. To assess balance and power, I had to\u00a0stand on one leg and then the other, hop up and down, and jump as high as I could from a standing start. Harrison then fitted me with a Tom Hardy-style face mask and had me run to exhaustion on a treadmill to measure my VO2 Max \u2013 the amount of oxygen I can absorb at \u201cmaximum exercise intensity\u201d. Then the poor fellow had to take a\u00a0swab\u00a0of my back sweat for analysis. (I do hope Harrison is being adequately compensated for these indignities.)<\/p>\n Five ways to fight ageing\u00a0<\/p>\n Aim for 150 minutes of\u00a0vigorous physical exercise per week (BMJ)<\/p>\n Try \u201cexercise snacking\u201d. Instead of extended gym\u00a0sessions, balance on\u00a0one leg while you\u2019re brushing your teeth, throw in 10\u00a0squats between meetings or get off the bus two stops early\u00a0<\/p>\n Falling is a leading cause of death in older people. Build muscle and protect your bones by lifting weights: 60 minutes of resistance training per week has been shown to\u00a0reduce the risk of all-cause mortality by up to 27 per cent (American Journal of Preventative Medicine)<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest bang for your buck is walking to the gym.\u201d A regular 30-minute walk can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers\u00a0<\/p>\n Future-proof your body. The six movements you need to practise: squat, bend, push, pull, lunge and rotation<\/p>\n The results were modestly encouraging. My VO2 Max is\u00a0\u201cindicative of strong cardiovascular fitness in support of\u00a0longevity\u201d. My movement is \u201cgenerally balanced\u201d, although the side-squat score is \u201cnoticeably low\u201d \u2013 unlike the side squat itself. Strength profiling demonstrated \u201cgood overall results with minimal asymmetries, suggesting balanced muscular development\u201d. My hand-grip strength is \u201cwell above normative values for the\u00a0subject\u2019s age and sex, providing a strong prognostic indicator of musculoskeletal robustness and positive ageing\u00a0trajectory\u201d. This I put down to the fact that I only recently released my fingers from their long and desperate cling to the corporate ladder. So, it\u2019s not the kind of body that would shame Adonis. But at least we know where I\u00a0stand. Yes, and sit and roll over.<\/p>\n It is all very well to be in possession of the data. One must know how to interpret it. Harrison told me that for my age I was in decent shape. Then again, so was Jim Fixx,\u00a0presumably. If I am to maximise my longevity, there\u00a0is\u00a0much work to do. I was given an exhaustive and exhausting programme of three full-body workouts to complete each\u00a0week. Goblet squats, push-ups, lunges, planks, pull-downs, deadlifts, bench presses, leg presses, split squats, sit-ups and more. And I\u2019ve been trying to find\u00a0time for all of those, as well as keeping up with the\u00a0jogging and the Pilates.<\/p>\n The Performance Lab was created by Third Space\u2019s head of education and fitness innovation, Josh Silverman, who sets the principles for training at the gyms and monitors emerging trends in sports science. In terms of longevity, he says, \u201cthere are a\u00a0couple of major things. Most important, overall cardiovascular health \u2013 and the best test for that is V02 Max. Second, overall strength, which is the\u00a0biggest indicator of skeletal muscle mass. And muscle mass equals bone density.\u201d The second most common cause of injury-related death in older people, Silverman says, is a fall. As you\u00a0age, your muscle mass reduces, your bone density reduces, and so falling over can be fatal. Working out is equivalent to taking out an\u00a0insurance policy against later calamity. Third Space\u2019s philosophy, he says, is \u201ctraining for life\u201d. Not just for abs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Silverman\u2019s number-one piece of advice for beginners? \u201cWalk for 30 minutes. The biggest bang for your buck is walking to the gym. Then you use the gym to bulletproof yourself against injury.\u201d Nutrition advice? \u201cDon\u2019t eat too much.\u201d Almost all other dietary advice is snake oil: \u201cNinety per cent\u00a0of it is marketing.\u201d \u201cLongevity,\u201d he says, \u201cis about enjoying your life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One UK fitness industry report from 2024 counted just over 7,000 gyms and health clubs in\u00a0the UK, with more than 10 million\u00a0members \u2013 about 15 per\u00a0cent of the population. Third\u00a0Space has 15 gyms across\u00a0London, from Wimbledon to\u00a0Wood Wharf, each more sybaritic than the last. If only to compare and contrast, I\u00a0decide to try a less luxury-focused operation. If Third Space were a person\u00a0it\u00a0might be Ivan Drago, Dolph Lundgren\u2019s flat\u2011topped Russian titan from\u00a0Rocky IV, using every development in\u00a0modern technology to maximise performance in\u00a0a\u00a0climate-controlled body-sculpting studio.\u00a0Basis London, by\u00a0contrast, is more\u00a0Rocky Balboa, Sly Stallone\u2019s scrappy\u00a0blue-collar hero.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Founded in 2022 by BJ Rule and Tom\u00a0McAdam \u2013 both experienced PTs \u2013 Basis<\/a>,\u00a0Rule tells me, aims to provide \u201creal high-performance training, accessible to everyone\u201d in converted railway arches close to east London\u2019s trendy Broadway Market. For\u00a0\u00a3140 a month, Basis offers a general strength and conditioning class programme, just as you might find in\u00a0the\u00a0weights room of\u00a0an athletics club or a rugby club. (Rule\u00a0has a degree in exercise science but he also played rugby league in his native Australia.) The programme works in 12-week cycles but you can start \u2013 or\u00a0stop and then rejoin \u2013 at any point. As at Third Space, members are\u00a0also free to rock up any time and work out on\u00a0their own\u00a0or with a personal trainer.<\/p>\n I start with a Wednesday morning class. There are 18\u00a0people, an even split of men and women, most in their 30s and 40s, all local. After a strenuous warm-up led\u00a0by Rule, we collect our bars and prepare for action: deadlifts, reverse flies, chin-ups, Z presses, ring dips, weighted pistols. Reassuringly \u2013 at least for this aching duffer \u2013 abilities vary. Everyone works at his or her own capacity but at the same level of effort, as dictated by\u00a0the programme. It\u2019s challenging, but also\u00a0rewarding: in the following weeks\u00a0add\u00a0an extra weight to my pole, or\u00a0a\u00a0couple of reps to each exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rule talks about lifespan versus healthspan. No one can guarantee you a\u00a0long life but following a strength and conditioning programme gives you a better\u00a0chance at it. \u201cDo you want to be\u00a0as\u00a0vigorous\u00a0as you can for as long as\u00a0you\u00a0can?\u201d he asks me. \u201cIf you do, that\u2019s what strength training does. It\u2019s why lifting heavy\u00a0weights is really important: it\u00a0builds bone density and muscle.\u201d There\u00a0are, Rule says, a limited number of\u00a0movements that the human body performs: squat, bend, push, pull, lunge, rotation. He balances combinations of all these across each week,\u00a0increasing intensity as he goes. The\u00a0point of all this\u00a0is not to sculpt a beautiful body \u2013 though that might be a side benefit \u2013\u00a0but\u00a0to\u00a0get fit and feel good.\u00a0<\/p>\n Basis is a schlep for me. Third Space too. There\u2019s a well-run, local authority-funded leisure centre just down the road from me, Everyone Active<\/a>. My kids learnt to\u00a0swim there, and I\u2019ve\u00a0used the gym sporadically over the years. But even that\u00a0requires a certain amount of faffing about, getting changed, showering. An hour\u2019s workout still\u00a0seems to take\u00a0two hours out of my day. Many of us struggle\u00a0to devote\u00a0an hour a day, or half an hour a day, or 15\u00a0minutes a\u00a0day to exercise, so adding travel time to that is prohibitive. It also provides an excuse not to bother. Plus, gym membership is not cheap. Lavina Mehta,<\/a> author of The\u00a0Feel\u00a0Good Fix<\/a> (Penguin Life), has an answer for the\u00a0harried middle-aged striver: \u201cexercise snacking\u201d.<\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n What do you do while you\u2019re brushing your teeth in the\u00a0morning? Hum a happy tune? Stare disconsolately at\u00a0the crack in the porcelain of the basin? Or do you, as I\u00a0have been trying to remember to do, balance on one leg for a\u00a0minimum of 10 seconds, then switch to the other leg,\u00a0before executing 10 bodyweight squats, 10 hops on each leg, then 10 press-ups? All this while still in my jimjams. Exercise snacking is short bursts of exercise \u2013 just\u00a0a few minutes or even seconds each time, spread out\u00a0across the day, most performed while you\u2019re doing something else. Twenty seconds of star jumps while waiting for the kettle to boil; heel raises while watching TV.\u00a0It\u2019s taking the stairs instead of the lift. Ensuring you move after each meal. According to Mehta, snacking is not\u00a0only more efficient than doing one longer workout and\u00a0then sitting at a desk for the next 10 hours, \u201cit\u2019s also\u00a0better for boosting energy and mood\u201d. Her book has a HIIT snack section, stretching snacks, strength and mobility training tips. The exercises are familiar \u2013 squats, press-ups, lunges, glute bridges, isometric holds \u2013 but the routine is innovative. Oh, gosh. That reminds me: 10.30am. Excuse me for 30 seconds while I\u00a0plank. \u201cGood for\u00a0blood\u00a0pressure,\u201d says Mehta. All this is excellent advice, but\u00a0I confess that, for all\u00a0its apparent convenience, I find exercise snacking harder\u00a0to maintain than the\u00a0gym sessions. Left to my own\u00a0devices, I immediately succumb to deadly sins: sloth,\u00a0gluttony, doomscrolling\u2026<\/p>\n This morning, after my eggs, I went to Third Space again for a barre class called The Method, which sounds uncannily like one of those body horror movies I\u2019m too squeamish to sit through: The Witch, The Substance, The\u00a0Method. I wasn\u2019t able to sit through The Method, either. I\u00a0was up and down like a barbell, thick rubber bands\u00a0around my knees and ankles, using my \u201cwell above\u00a0normative values\u201d hand-grip to steady myself at\u00a0the\u00a0barre \u2013 rather than the bar, to which it is more accustomed to clinging. \u201cReally good external rotation,\u201d said the instructor, Jocelene. Not a compliment I ever imagined I\u00a0would receive, but I\u2019ll take it. \u00a0<\/p>\n I won\u2019t say I felt good, exactly, as I shuffled home and sat down to finish this piece. But I did feel something. Now,\u00a0what exactly was it? Oh yes. Alive. I felt alive. And that, after all, is the point.\u00a0<\/p>\n Third Space membership from \u00a3245 per month (thirdspace.london<\/a>). Basis London introductory membership from \u00a3140\u00a0per month (basis.london<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/6bf4e57a-0550-4ff3-9110-4350244c285e.jpg\")
The Longevity Project author Alex Bilmes with his dog, Woody, in Hammersmith, London \u00a9 Peter Flude<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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A class at Third Space \u00a9 Rich Maciver<\/p>\n![\"Rowing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/b665f4ee-319f-491b-89f0-c96994c53efd.jpg\")
Rowing during an\u00a0Energy class at Basis London \u00a9 Paul Fuller<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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A class at Basis London \u00a9 Paul Fuller<\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F131583.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n