Two of my favourite resources for learning to improve my healthspan (living healthy for a longer time; more emphasis on quality of time versus length of time) are Rhonda Patrick and Kelly Starrett. Their recent podcast: The Optimal Mobility Protocol for a Durable Body reviews many of the topics I discuss with my patients on a daily basis and is definitely worth a listen.
Sitting all day is quietly wrecking your movement. The good news? Your range of motion doesn’t have to fade with age — if you stop neglecting it. Here’s what actually moves the needle.
Top Main Points:
• Sit on the floor every day — especially if you’re over 40. It keeps your hips mobile and trains you to get up and down without falling apart. Aim for 20-30 minutes in the evening.
• Master the Couch Stretch — two minutes per side, every hour you sit. It opens those chronically tight hip flexors that desk life destroys.
• Pain isn’t always injury — it’s often just a request for change. Mobilize, roll, breathe through it — don’t freak out and stop moving.
• Ditch marathon sitting — more than six hours a day is toxic even if you train hard. Use a standing setup, perch on a stool, or shift positions constantly.
• Pass the Sit-and-Rise Test — sit down cross-legged and stand back up without using your hands or knees. It’s a legit predictor of longevity and functional strength.
• Warm up like you mean it — get hot, sweaty, explore end ranges, and wake up your nervous system. Foam rolling on the couch doesn’t count.
• Hang daily for three minutes — pull-up bar or downward dog to fight the rounded shoulders from screens.
• Train your breath — simple breath holds build CO2 tolerance so you can work harder with less stress.
• Movement snacks save lives — short bursts of effort throughout the day slash your mortality risk big time.
• Range of motion is trainable at any age — treat it like the one physical quality that doesn’t have to decline, and your future self will thank you.
My daily practice now includes a many of the items above and I encourage the family when we are finally relaxing at the end of the day do some foam rolling, couch stretch, 90/90s, massage gun and applying arnica and self-massage wherever we are sore from our daily physical activities.
Motion is lotion so keep moving!
Dr Dan.
