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How do you want to feel, function and move when you’re 60, 80, and even 100 years old?

Lots of people don’t think this far ahead, perhaps because it feels so far away.

But here’s the deal: the secret to being a happy, healthy, vibrant centenarian is to start NOW. So, to help you age like a boss, today I’m spilling my longevity secrets. 

In this inspiring episode, I’m sharing my personal playbook – a collection of simple yet powerful practices, all backed by science, to help me reach my later years feeling full of life, not regret.

So if you want practical strategies to add years to your life and life to your years, then press play now… This one’s for you.

In this episode we chat about:

• The #1 health practice we prioritize in our household (2:15)
• Why building and maintaining muscle mass is crucial to longevity (4:4 9)
• How to have smooth, buttery joints, no matter how old you are (6:18)
• Why I’m a huge fan of the foam roller (7:07)
• The importance of including a high-quality Omega 3 supplement in your diet (8:08)
• How sunshine can protect the length of your telomeres (8:45)
• Why I’m focused on increasing my VO2 Max (and the exact workouts I’ll be implementing to make it happen) (9:38)
• The simplest, most effective way to eat to reverse aging (11:48)
• Why hanging out with your friends is good for your health (12:42)
• The Japanese secret to a long, fulfilling life (13:41)

Episode resources:

• SheLaunch (join here)
• Mastering Your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Open Wide by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Comparisonitis by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Time Magic by Melissa Ambrosini and Nick Broadhurst (book)
• The FASTEST Way To Heal Your Gut with Dr Will Bulsiewicz (Dr B) (podcast)
• 9 Longevity Secrets From The World’s Healthiest People with Dan Buettner (podcast)

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The following transcript has been automatically generated and not checked for accuracy.

[00:00:00] In episode 576, I’m going to be sharing with you 10 things that I am doing right now to avoid regret at 100. Grab your pen and paper. Let’s dive in. Welcome to the Melissa Ambrosini Show. I’m your host, Melissa. Best selling author of Mastering Your Mean Girl, Open Wide, Comparisonitis, and And I’m here to remind you that love is sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word.

Each week I’ll be getting up close and personal with thought leaders from around the globe, as well as your weekly dose of motivation so that you can create epic change in your own life and become the best version of yourself possible. Are you ready beautiful?

Hey, beautiful. Welcome back to the show. I am pumped about this episode because I’m sharing with you 10 things that I [00:01:00] am doing right now to avoid regret at a hundred. I do not want to get to a hundred and have any regrets. So I’m going to share with you 10 things that I’m doing right now to avoid that.

You are probably going to want to grab a pen and paper or type some notes in your phone. and start to make these shifts within yourself today. So let’s kick off, my friends. But first, I have a couple of questions for you. How do you want to feel, function, and move when you are 60, 80, or even a hundred? Now, so many people don’t think this far ahead, perhaps maybe because it feels so far away, but here’s the deal.

The secret to being happy, healthy, and vibrant When you’re a hundred and beyond, because I’m going for beyond. It starts now. So to help you age like a boss today, I am spilling 10 of my longevity secrets. Now I’m going to share my personal playbook with [00:02:00] you. A collection of simple yet powerful practices, all backed by science to help me and you reach your later years, feeling full of life and no regret.

Are you ready, my friend? All right. Let’s dive in. So the first one is, I am prioritizing sleep. Now, almost every single health expert that I’ve ever interviewed on this podcast has discussed the importance of sleep. And let me tell you, I listen. Sleep is particularly crucial when it comes to aging, my friends.

Okay? Okay? And it might seem like your body is just resting while you sleep, but in reality, it is performing a number of crucial functions like waste clearing and hormone production and so many other things. Now in our house, we focus on sleep as our number one health priority. We are pretty obsessed with it and [00:03:00] considering the growing body of research showing its impact on longevity.

I am betting that my 100 year old self is going to be super grateful for this. So we make sleep a priority. We go to bed early every single night. We have great sleep hygiene, blackout curtains, we wear blue light blocking glasses, we have red lights on in the evening. We eat at five o’clock so that we have enough time to digest.

We don’t drink too much in the evening or in the afternoon because if you wake up to go to the toilet at night, that will affect your sleep. We have no devices in our bedroom, literally a bed and our books, okay? The bed is for lovemaking and sleep only. We set ourselves up for success, and if you want to nail your sleep, you have to set yourself up for success.

So, [00:04:00] invest in Earplugs and blue light blocking glasses and anything that’s going to help you. We have blackout curtains as well. I also tape my mouth every single night because you don’t want to be breathing through your mouth at night. You want to be breathing through your nose because that gets you into parasympathetic.

Nick wears nose strips at night. He has been for about eight years. Because that helps him breathe better at night. We’ve got eye masks if we need to. I don’t wear them at home, but when we’re traveling we might need to. We’ve got blackout curtains. We’ve got the temperature dialed in. There’s so many things that you can do, little tiny simple things that you can do, that will really move the needle with your sleep.

So, today is the day you start prioritizing your sleep, my friends, okay? The second one is I want you to embrace strength training. So loss of muscle mass is one of the biggest causes of age related decline. And [00:05:00] unfortunately, this loss starts way earlier than you might expect. From the age of 30, it decreases approximately by 3 8 percent per decade.

Now then, once you hit 60, that rate is even steeper. So it is imperative to not just maintain your lean muscle mass, but ideally to build it too. The best way to do that is with strength training. Now this doesn’t just mean pumping iron at the gym, although if that’s what you love doing, just go for it.

But personally, I love doing my strength training at home. I mix it up with bodyweight exercises like a kettlebell routine, bands, and light dumbbells. It’s all about keeping those muscles strong and resilient, yeah, that’s what we want. And for me, I had no idea how weak I was until after giving birth to Bambi and all of the upper back, shoulder pain that I got from [00:06:00] carrying and breastfeeding, mainly from breastfeeding.

So, that put a firecracker on my stomach. up me to really do some upper back strengthening, which I’ve been doing since she was born. So guys, strength training, let’s do it. Embrace it. Let’s do it. Number three, stretching. As we age, maintaining flexibility becomes crucial, especially if you want to avoid feeling as stiff and creaky as the tin man with every passing year.

Now, regularly stretching keeps muscles long and limber. and reduces the risk of injury and joint pain in your later years. Now, it’s an investment in maintaining our range of motion and physical anatomy as we age. Now, personally, I love stretching. It takes me back to my days as a professional dancer, and I often do it while I’m listening to a podcast or audiobook or in the evening, if Nick and I are chatting before we go to bed, we’ll both be just stretching on the floor.

After a Pilates [00:07:00] class, I’ll always do a little stretch. I just love it. Try and do something each day. Get your kids involved. Do it with them. Okay? Number four, regular foam rolling. Now, foam rolling is like giving your muscles and fascia a therapeutic massage. It is great for increasing blood flow to your tissues and tendons, breaking up knots, and enhancing your mobility.

Plus, it feels amazing after a long day or a tough workout. So I, every single night, foam roll, mainly just my back, I will lay there whilst Bambi is going to sleep and I’m just rolling up and down, obviously she can’t see me because it’s a lot to wrap. And I’ll just roll up and down and roll out my back every single night.

And I love it. And if you’re new to foam rolling, there are so many free workouts available on YouTube. Just Google foam roller or foam rolling workouts and. whatever body area that you want to work on. So for example, your shoulders or your hips or whole body, and you [00:08:00] can find a routine that suits you.

Yeah? So try foam rolling. Your 100 year old self will thank you and love you for it. Okay, number five. Consuming high quality omega 3s. Now, omega 3s are essential fats that our bodies don’t produce naturally. They are crucial for your brain health, reducing inflammation, and may help prevent chronic diseases.

So, I make sure to include high quality omega 3 supplements in my diet. Now, you can use a high quality algae based one or an ethically sourced fish oil. Do what feels right for you, but just make sure it is really, really good, high quality. You do not want to be having anything of poor quality. Number six, soaking up daily sunshine.

Research shows that vitamin D may protect the length of your telomeres. A cellular marker closely linked to aging. Now it’s also vital for bone health, [00:09:00] immune function, and mental health. I think that’s where I feel it the most for me. Oh, it’s just the best, truly. Now, sunlight is the best natural source of vitamin D.

So I try to get at least 10 minutes a day of sensible exposure every single day. And it’s such a great mood booster. We have had the wettest winter where I live, like three or four months of rain. a couple of days of sunshine, but we’ve had a lot of rain, so I have been supplementing, and in winter I will supplement with a vitamin D.

Again, just make sure that you are getting a very, very good quality one, okay? Number seven, working on increasing your VO2 max. Now, your VO2 max is a measure of how effectively your body can use oxygen during exercise and the higher it is, the better. So having a high VO2 max doesn’t just mean you have got great cardiovascular fitness, it also has been linked to [00:10:00] reduce the risk of mortality.

And a longer lifespan. So the best way to increase your VO2 max is through vigorous activity that pushes your heart rate to its upper limit. So think running, cycling, high intensity interval training. You know the type of workout that I’m talking about where you are puffed out and you’ve pushed the upper limit.

Now the good news is you can see the benefits from relatively short workouts. The recommended length varies between 10 to 40 minutes, so it’s not like you have to go for like a two hour run or even an hour run. You know, 10 to 40 minutes of high intensity is so good for your heart and your VO2 max. So most trainers suggest that even just one of these vigorous sessions per week can lead to major benefits.

So you’re free to stack the rest of your week with medium and lower intensity workouts if you want. But if you have just one [00:11:00] in your week, then high five to you, my friend, okay? Now, I’ve got to admit, I don’t always do this, but it’s something that I want to work on. I really want to get better at this. In a good way, pushing myself to do this.

Because I will always lean more toward like a hot Pilates class or something like that, or a strength training session, not so much like a high intensity workout or run or, you know, something like that. So put it in your calendar once a week, push yourself in a healthy way to get that heart rate up. Okay.

I’m sure you could probably even do it with like a hardcore dance workout. That would be fun. That’s a good idea. I’m actually going to do that. A hardcore dance workout. I love that idea. Okay, let’s move on to number eight, focusing on nutritionally dense food. Now my diet centers around real whole foods that are rich in nutrients with plants front and [00:12:00] center.

A typical day consists of lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, high quality proteins and healthy fats like. avocado and olive oil. Now, these foods provide the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants my body needs to function at its best. Now, my personal aim is to eat an abundance of plants, at least 30 different types of plants per week.

Now, if you were interested in hearing more about this way of eating and the crucial role that plants and fiber play in creating peak health, Now, I want you to check out my episode with Dr. Will B and that is episode number 337 and I will link to that in the show notes for you as well. Okay, next one, number nine, building strong relationships.

Strong connections with family and friends aren’t just fulfilling, they are actually good for your health. They help combat loneliness, reduce stress, and have been linked to increasing your lifespan. Now, I love investing time and energy into [00:13:00] nurturing these relationships. It’s amazing that while we’re hanging out and having fun, we’re also doing our future selves a favor at the same time.

And when I interviewed Dan Buechner, he was the explorer that discovered the blue zones around the world, and they are the zones around the world that have the most centenarians. And one of the nine commonalities amongst those blue zones was they had a very strong focus on relationships, community, friendships, family, which is just so beautiful.

So here is your excuse to deepen your relationships because it makes you live longer. So go for it. And number 10, living my purpose, or what is called your ikigai. Now, ikigai is a Japanese concept that means a reason for being. It’s about finding joy, fulfillment, and balance in the daily routines of life.

And yep, you guessed it, finding and following your ikigai is [00:14:00] linked to having a longer and healthier life. Now, for me, I feel wildly grateful that my work is my ikigai. I absolutely love what I do. I get to work with women, I get to coach women and help them create the business and life of their dreams. I mean, for me, what else is better than that?

And it is just incredible to know that my work isn’t just rewarding me financially, But mentally and emotionally too. It is fulfilling me on such a deep level. So, of course, your ikigai is not just limited to your work. You might find a sense of purpose through a hobby, or a philanthropic cause, or a creative pursuit, or spirituality, or being the best mama that you can be, whatever it is.

It doesn’t matter, but You got to find that reason for being like, what is your reason for being? And the key is to figure out what lights you up, what floats your boat, [00:15:00] then to infuse as much of that into your life as possible. Okay. And doing work that you love is one of the greatest longevity hacks ever.

Again, When I interviewed Dan Buechner, that was another commonality between the centenarians. They all did something of meaning. They all loved what they did. Now, this is a longevity hat because you literally get to embrace your icky guy every single day. And if you are an online business owner and you want your business to be wildly fulfilling on every level, including financially.

Then come and check out SheLaunch. I want to help you make that a reality. I want to help you turn your passion and purpose into profits. So just head to shelaunch. com and again, I will link to that in the show notes for you. So there you have it, my complete game plan for aging with health, happiness, and no regret.

Let’s just do a recap, okay? Number one, you’re going to prioritize sleep. Number two, embrace strength training. Number three, stretch. [00:16:00] Number four, regular foam rolling. Number five, you’re going to consume high quality omega 3s. Number six, you’re going to get some sunshine on that sexy body of yours every single day.

Number seven, you are going to work on increasing your VO2 max, okay? One high intensity session per week. Number eight, you’re going to focus on nutritionally dense food. Number nine, you’re going to build strong relationships, invest in your relationships. And number 10, live your purpose, okay? So what steps are you going to take today for your centenarian self?

I would love to hear. Now remember, it’s not just about one off gestures. It’s about committing to the small, steady habits. that compound over a lifetime. Okay. So my friend, here’s to a future where you’re not merely older and wiser, but are living boldly, sharing brightly, [00:17:00] handstanding, and overflowing with health and vitality.

Cheers to that. That is what I want. And that is what I want for you. So I hope you got a lot out of this episode. And if you did, please subscribe to my show and leave me a review on Apple podcast, because that means that we can inspire and educate even more people together. And it also means that all of my episodes will just pop up in your feed, so you never have to go searching for a new episode.

Now, come and tell me on Instagram at Melissa Ambrosini what you got from this episode. I absolutely love connecting with you there and love hearing from you. So come and tell me what is your biggest Take away from this. What one are you going to implement today? And before I go, I just wanted to say, thank you so much for being here, for wanting to be the best, the healthiest and the happiest version of yourself.

And for showing up today for you, you rock. Now, if there’s someone in your life that you can think of that would really benefit from this episode, [00:18:00] please share it with them right now. You can take a screenshot, share it on your social media, email it to them, text it to them, do whatever you’ve got to do to get this in their ears.

And until next time, don’t forget that love is sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word.

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

P.S. If you’re looking for a high-impact marketing opportunity for your business and are interested in becoming a sponsor for The Melissa Ambrosini Show podcast, please email pr@melissaambrosini.com for more information.

P.P.S. Please seek advice from a qualified holistic practitioner before starting any new health practice.