You’ve heard the list of to-do’s for a long life: exercise, eat healthy, get sleep, and so forth. But when it comes to physical activity, experts who specialize in healthy aging go beyond just fitting in 20 to 40 minutes per day. We spoke with longevity experts to learn what research-backed physical activities they incorporate into their everyday routines for a longer life. From mowing the lawn to jumping rope, their answers show that exercise for healthy aging doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated—but rather a culmination of little habits that build upon each other over time.
Experts In This Article:
- Brittany Ferri, PhD, occupational therapist with the National Council on Aging
- Greg Hammer, MD, former physician at Stanford School of Medicine and best-selling author
- Kathleen Cameron, BSPharm, MPH, senior director of the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging
- Matthew Kulka, DO, board-certified family medicine physician based in Pennsylvania
- Ronald A. Primas, MD, a translational longevity medicine physician and clinical instructor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital
- Yong Deng, OMD, staff physician and chair of the Department of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at Sonoran University of Health Sciences
- Zvinka Zlatar, PhD, associate adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, who leads the university’s Wellness Initiative for Senior Enrichment (WISE) research program
Here are the physical activities longevity pros partake in that may just inspire you, too:
- They stretch and move every hour
One of the most common habits of the longevity experts we spoke with: consistently getting up to avoid long bouts of sitting. “I try to get up and move around or stretch at least one time every hour,” says Zvinka Zlatar, PhD, associate adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, who leads the university’s Wellness Initiative for Senior Enrichment (WISE) research program.
Related Studies: Older women who sat for 11.6 hours or more per day had a 57 percent higher risk of all-cause death and 78 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease death compared to those who sat for less than 9.3 hours per day, per a 2024 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
- They bring a friend along to their workouts
When longevity experts get moving, they try to include friends and family. “I make physical activity a social event as much as I can,” Dr. Zlatar says. “So, I go on a daily walk with a friend rather than by myself. This helps us keep each other accountable and motivated.”
Related Studies: Older adults who are lonely have a higher risk of chronic illness, depression, and early death, but research suggests that improved social connectedness lowers those risks, per a 2023 review in BMJ Open.
- They add weights to their everyday routines
One very specific and actionable step longevity experts take to enhance their physical activity routines: They add weights, or at least use their body weight, to boost a workout. “Incorporating strength training exercises—using body weight, free weights, or machines at the gym—at least twice a week helps maintain muscle mass and bone density,” Dr. Ferri says.
Related Studies: Regardless of the amount of aerobic exercise they did, adults ages 65 and older who did strength training at least two times per week had a lower risk of early death from any cause than those who did less strength training, per a 2022 study in JAMA Network Open.
- They garden and mow their lawn
Another pervasive habit of our longevity experts: tending to their plants outdoors. “I garden two to three times per week, which includes walking around my yard,” Cameron says. “Watering plants, picking weeds, and bending over are excellent natural exercises.”
Related Studies: Compared with older adults who don’t exercise, those who garden as one of their main physical activities have lower rates of heart attack, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, per a 2022 study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
- They take their workouts outside
Even if it doesn’t involve gardening specifically, longevity experts know the value of…
