Forget snake yoga and viral fitness trends. According to public health expert Devi Sridhar, all it takes to increase life expectancy is factoring a set of simple exercises into your weekly routine. In a recent article, she argues that bizarre trends like Zercher squats, goat yoga, and snake yoga are unnecessary for health and longevity.
Sridhar notes that social media is full of influencers promoting novel exercises, often playing on health anxiety and the desire to optimise results. However, she says the key to feeling strong, moving better, and living longer is three things: cardio, resistance training, and mobility training. No weights, reptiles, or cameras are needed.
She recommends a 13-minute workout that can be done anywhere. Start with three minutes of cardio (jogging on the spot, jumping jacks, or marching). Then three minutes of legs: five each of narrow squats, broad squats, backward lunges, forward lunges, and calf raises. Next, three minutes of upper body: five each of narrow push-ups, wide push-ups, and tricep dips.
Follow with one minute of plank and one minute of glute bridges. Finish with two minutes of stretching, such as reaching for toes or windshield wiper leg movements. Sridhar says this routine is her default on busy days and can be done with or without weights.
