I agree and that's what Dylan Johnson says in the linked video -- you don't want to start doing heavy, all-out strength lifting in the beginning. Slowly work your way up, underdoing it is far better than slightly overdoing it. That's how I injured my Achilles heel, I over-exerted myself without slowly working up to applying that much force into the ground.

As for dogmatic YouTube channels, I also agree, there are a lot of channels where all that people are doing is repeating what others have said, i.e. much of them live in an echo chamber. But there are a few gold mines out there, Dylan Johnson being one of them.

I always strive to be skeptical, but with an open mind and critical thinking. I like to think I only fail occasionally

Interesting article in yesterday's NYT related to many of the alleged best or most effective exercise threads on this list.
Let’s Stop Getting Distracted From This Crucial Question About Exercise
Extracts with my bolding of text:

I agree many studies, especially when it comes to health, both in exercise and nutrition are very lacking and misleading -- too bad we can't grab up a bunch of people, like lab rats and do real science

I know how much anecdotal information is pounced on by those who want to portray themselves as "scientifically minded", but when you get anecdotal information from really good sources and it's duplicated multiple times, then that's something to take note of.

Look at all the seniors that have never been seriously active and are falling apart, but their condition is radically improved and does a 180 after strength training.

This is just one example, but there are tons out there.

I don't usually put a lot of value on articles in the popular press, but I think that this one touched on an important point: it can just be too complicated! How many steps? How many minutes per week and what constitutes "exercise?" HR, Zone 2, calories per mile and on and on. What most people need to do is just get out there! Get up and walk your dog. Cut your own lawn. Take the stairs. It is entertaining to have a spirited discussion on marginal gains, 'cause we here on BF are kinda nerdy about that stuff.

All those click bait articles on Best Exercise to Lose Weight and Best Exercise for seniors are not always helpful when so many of our friends, relatives and neighbors do nothing.

Back when I was 18 years of age, I'd been athletic for several years and was nearing the peak of my strength and athleticism. Had a friend who had been seriously training for years, and he knew strength+flexibility training. We paired up at the gym, and spent many months working out together. He went on to be an Olympic figure skater of some note, and been training nearly a decade for that.

The workouts we did, then, were simple and straightforward, but challenging enough for me. I was already a distance runner and had some good strength (in my 'genes'), but I had never done more than dabbling in a gym. Did about one-third of the exercises as compound-muscle movements, with the other two-thirds as (mostly seated) single-muscle types. Olympic barbells and dumbbells, with some Universal gym stations. Nearly every exercise we did was an 8x8 ... 8 reps/set, each set to near failure, 8 sets, and in between each set the other guy would get his in. One day a week, we'd focus on upper body, another day on lower, another day a blend (at somewhat reduced intensity). Typically, I'd run to and from the gym (~9mi round-trip), sometimes cycling.

In short: such a workout could kick our butts. I was almost as strong as he, but he had greater capacity to deal with higher intensity, less recovery time. We both had roughly equal stamina.

At 18 (even 25-28), I could handle such a workout. At my age now, many decades and some injuries later, not a chance.

These days, I do more like 15-20 reps/set, 3-4 sets, with more rest in between doing something else (stretching of a different muscle group, or a low-intensity compound-muscle exercise). Focusing on core and hip/leg stability (due to old injuries) tends to be my focus, but whole workouts go well beyond just those areas. Across a week, I make sure to hit each muscle group and area of the body at least twice. No longer run, but walking, gym rowing, and cycling fill in the rest. When my body complains, I typically ratchet down the intensity by a third or half, and add a rest day or two if needed. But I still try to "hit" those muscles and do those stretches anyway, if I can. The rest is managed with nutrition intake, decent sleep.

Definitely cannot afford to "over-do" it, certainly not in the injury areas, and I definitely don't want to go through all that again in some new area that has so far escaped such injuries. BTDT. Won't ever again, if I can help it. And so, my intensity is modest, but I ensure all the muscle groups are hit with what I know they can manage, pushing occasionally in those areas that haven't been previously injured. Works well, for me. Dearly wish I could push the intensity, but generally cannot anymore.

Every body is different. And we each have our own histories of injuries, muscle/nerve damage, genetic limitations and the like.

that's nice but 15 years later, time & age catches up w/ everyone. I've got longevity in my family but at a certain point, you can't walk, you can't even stand, you can't lift your arms to feed yourself, the brain works, the organs work, but the body is done

Yes, time/age catches up with everyone. However, exercising, like what was shown in that video is not about an attempt at becoming immortal. It's not even about extending one's life, it's about staying independent as long as possible.

If you watched that video, there are examples of that lady's parents that were clearly headed for a life that required assistant-living, but now they actually have turned that around (in their 80's) and are getting stronger. This is NOT about becoming stronger for bragging rights, it's about living a quality life.

That's why I workout. I have no desire to be someone that mimics professional cyclists, it's all about quality of life. I'm also not saying that lifting heavy is THE key to living independently as we age, but it's a key part, along with doing all kinds of things that challenge yourself without killing yourself.


I've seen, first hand, what happens to people that require assistant-living. I'm not rolling over and just accepting that life.




.

I appreciate the video. I hope that's me too. my Sister just sent me a video of my soon to be 96 yr old mother attempting arm movements w/ a balloon. she's trying. I'm so impressed w/ my parents perseverance

hang tough

Oh dear Dog, my cringe response has been activated.

"Correlation does not equal causation -- therefore your observational study is junk."

Sure, there are crap observational studies that don't adjust for confounding effects, but epidemiology is a science, and modern epidemiology is pretty sophisticated at detecting causal effects in the presence of other factors. Just one example of an adjusted exercise study:

"...examine the association of physical activity patterns with all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates and were adjusted for age at baseline (as a continuous variable), sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, income, educational attainment, smoking, alcohol intake, comorbidities score, self-rated health, psychological distress, and mobility."

I always over do it at the gym or on the bike . 2 days off when that happens fixes that. I hate off days but they are necessary for longevity and improvement.

My off days are ketchup days for yard and things around the house.