Train for the Long Run: Moves That Add Years (and Joy) to Your Life

Living a long life is a worthy goal, but living well for as long as possible should be the real focus. Longevity isn’t just about clocking up birthdays—it’s about maintaining independence, energy, and enjoyment through the years.

Interest in modern longevity practices has grown rapidly, especially those that not only support lifespan but also enhance the quality of life. The secret? It’s refreshingly straightforward. It’s not about biohacking or experimental treatments. It comes down to something more familiar: getting back to basics with your physical training and incorporating functional movement for a health-boosting, sustainable routine.

To unpack what longevity-focused training really looks like, we spoke with Matt Waterton, co-founder of Strength In Motion. “The most important factor in training with longevity in mind is a shift in mindset,” Matt explains. “You don’t need to punish your body to earn longevity. You need to train it with purpose, variety, and control.”

Here, he shares his key principles and exercises to help you move, feel, and live better for the long run.

It’s Not Either/Or

Traditional strength training—like squats, lunges, and presses—is still essential, especially as we age. That’s because muscle mass and bone density naturally decline with time. Resistance training that targets major muscle groups helps to slow or even reverse this process.

But longevity training isn’t just about classic gym moves. True resilience comes from combining those foundational lifts with functional, multi-directional movement. Life doesn’t happen in straight lines—it pivots, twists, and shifts—and your training should reflect that.

That’s why Waterton recommends blending strength and movement coaching—either in separate sessions or as part of the same workout. The goal is smart, balanced training that builds both strength and adaptability.

Strength Is About Direction and Control

No muscle in the body works in isolation, and neither should your training. Your connective tissue and tendons respond best to varied stress. That’s why longevity-focused movement should include more than just forward and backward patterns—it needs rotation, side-to-side and diagonal work too. Training in multiple planes of motion helps build coordination, joint stability and better mobility, reducing your risk of injury as you age.

Core Training: Resist, Don’t Twist

A strong core is about more than aesthetics—it protects your spine and keeps your body moving well. But building core strength doesn’t mean chasing a six-pack. It means training the entire torso to resist force and maintain stability.

Think about exercises that challenge your balance or require you to hold a position against tension. Movements like dead bugs, suitcase carries or Pallof presses help strengthen your core from all angles. These are the types of exercises that translate into real-life strength—supporting better posture, balance and daily performance.

Get Up, Literally

One of the best indicators of long-term mobility? Your ability to get off the floor without help. Movements like rolling, kneeling, crawling and standing from a seated or lying position challenge coordination, flexibility and full-body strength.

They may not look like traditional workouts, but they’re vital. These patterns mimic the types of movement we need to maintain independence as we age—and they’re often missing from standard gym programs. Relearning how to move from ground to standing is a powerful way to reconnect with your body.

Slow It Down for Strength

It’s easy to rush through reps, but moving slowly—especially during the lowering phase—builds more than muscle. Slowing down improves tendon health, increases muscle fibre recruitment and helps you develop better control.

Next time you lift, try taking five seconds to move up, then five to lower down. It may feel harder, but that’s the point. You’ll work deeper, build better body awareness and develop strength that lasts.

5 Longevity-Boosting Exercises to Add to Your Routine

These five movements embody the principles of smart, sustainable training and are closely linked to better mobility, strength and long-term health.

1. Turkish Get-Up (and Variations)

This total-body movement builds coordination, mobility, balance and strength. It’s one of the best exercises to train a skill that becomes more important as we age—getting up off the floor with control.

How to do it:

Start by lying flat on your back, holding a weight (or no weight to begin with) in one hand, extended straight toward the ceiling. Bend the same-side knee, plant that foot on the ground, and use your free hand to prop yourself up onto your forearm, then your hand. From there, lift your hips, sweep the opposite leg underneath into a half-kneeling position, and stand up. Reverse the movement to return to the floor.

Tip: Keep your eyes on the raised hand the whole time. Move slowly and deliberately—this is more about control than speed.

2. Pallof Press

An underrated but powerful core exercise that challenges your body to resist rotation. It strengthens the deep core muscles, helping protect your spine and improve everyday stability.

How to do it:

Attach a resistance band to a stable anchor at chest height. Stand side-on to the anchor and hold the band with both hands at your chest, then press it straight out in front of you. Resist the urge to rotate—your goal is to keep your torso square. Hold for 1–2 seconds, then return to your chest.

Variation: Try adding Pallof presses to a lunge or squat position to increase balance and core engagement.

3. Crawling Drills (e.g. Bear Crawls)

Ground-based movements like crawling reconnect you with natural movement patterns. They train core control, joint stability and coordination—without needing any equipment.

How to do it:

Get on all fours with knees slightly off the ground, back flat and core engaged. Step opposite hand and foot forward at the same time, then repeat on the other side, keeping movements slow and steady.

Progressions: Add crawling variations like bear crawls, lateral crawls, plank reaches or even leopard crawls for more challenge once your form is solid.

4. Multi-Plane Lunges

Don’t limit your lunge work to forward steps. Incorporate reverse and lateral lunges to train your body in multiple directions. These movements build balance, strength and resilience in the lower body.

Lunges are great for building lower-body strength, but when you move in different directions, you also develop joint stability, balance and injury resilience.

How to do it:

Start with bodyweight lunges—step forward into a lunge, return to standing, then repeat with a reverse step, followed by a lateral (side) step. Focus on slow, deliberate movement. Keep your front knee aligned with your toes and your torso upright.

Add-ons: Superset these lunges with machine-based leg extensions or hamstring curls to strengthen the muscles around your knees.

5. Vary Your Intensity (Train Across Heart Rate Zones)

High-intensity sessions have their place, but they’re not the whole picture. New research highlights the importance of VO₂ max as a key longevity marker—and the best way to improve it is a mix of intensities. Around 70–80% of your training should sit in zones 2–3 (think 40 minutes of moderate-paced cardio), while just 20–30% can push into higher intensity. 

It’s tempting to push yourself every workout, but smart training for longevity includes variety. Building aerobic capacity (your VO₂ max) has been linked to increased lifespan and that means more than just HIIT.

How to do it:

Use a heart rate monitor if you have one. Spend 70–80% of your cardio training time in Zones 2–3 (about 60–75% of your max heart rate), which might look like a brisk walk, easy jog or cycling at a conversational pace for 40+ minutes.

For the remaining 20–30%, include shorter bursts of high-intensity training (e.g. intervals or hill sprints) once or twice a week.

Longevity isn’t about punishing workouts. It’s about building a body that supports you through every stage of life. Train in all directions, work with intention, and prioritise quality over quantity. Whether you’re in your 30s or 70s, it’s never too late to build strength, mobility and endurance that truly lasts.