- Celebrity personal trainer Luke Worthington focuses on longevity over hitting fitness personal bests.
- Strength training and jiu jitsu tick boxes for strength, cardio, mobility, motor control, and fun.
- He has learned that not compromising on sleep is essential for his performance.
Luke Worthington is one of the most in-demand personal trainers in London, but after 27 years in the industry, he's learned that he needs to prioritize his own well-being as much as his work, he told Business Insider.
Longevity is his focus.
"I'm comfortable enough to accept that my physically strongest days are probably behind me now, so I'm no longer that excited by trying to lift the heaviest weights possible or do something the fastest I've ever done it, because it's not going to be the case," Worthington, 45, said. "So it's more about improving my quality, and hopefully quantity, of life."
Interest in longevity is soaring and an increasing number of "biohackers" are sharing the extreme lengths they go to in a bid to reduce their "biological ages." However, experts tend to agree that the best thing you can do for your longevity is nail the basics: keep active, eat a balanced diet, sleep enough, avoid alcohol and cigarettes, and maintain social connections.
Worthington, who has trained celebrities including Dakota Johnson, Naomi Campbell, and Jodie Comer, shared his longevity non-negotiables with BI.
1) Strength training three times a week
Making time for fitness is now essential for Worthington, which wasn't always the case.
"The busier you are with clients, the less time you have for your own intentional exercise," he said.
Worthington's approach is about consistency over intensity and he doesn't take shortcuts.
Three times a week, Worthington strength trains using the "3 x 52" format he uses with his clients. His workouts are split into tri-sets — sets of three exercises back to back — where each exercise works a different body part. For example, an upper body movement, a lower body one, then a core exercise.
Resistance training has been proven to boost longevity including by strengthening muscles and improving bone density.
2) Jiu-jitsu for cardio and connection
Worthington does jiu-jitsu three or four times a week which ticks his boxes for cardio, mobility, motor control, and fun.
Four years ago, Worthington started jiu-jitsu to push himself out of his comfort zone because he wanted to be a beginner again.
"'Have I put my stuff in the right place? What does that mean? How long's left?' All of those things that go through people's minds when they're brand new at something," Worthington said.
He fell in love with jiu-jitsu and the community, which boosts his emotional well-being.
"Feeling part of something is important in a more and more disconnected world," Worthington said.
Combining strength and cardio is shown to be the best for boosting longevity, and strong social connections are often cited as a key part of living a long, healthy life.
3) Prioritizing sleep
Worthington has learned not to compromise on sleep, he said.
When he was younger, a lack of sleep didn't bother him so much, but now he finds that a late night affects everything he does the next day.
"As you get older you can still do it, but you're very aware of, 'OK this feels harder than it normally does,' and there's a very tangible and almost immediate consequence," Worthington said. "So I'm quite protective of that time."
With a 5:30 a.m. alarm so he can walk his dog before his 7 a.m. jiu-jitsu session, Worthington's bedtime is 10 p.m., he said.
Studies suggest that people who consistently sleep fewer than six hours a night have a higher risk of dying early of any cause.
4) Cooking from scratch
Worthington doesn't eliminate any foods from his diet but focuses on whole foods, including plenty of protein and vegetables.
While Worthington used to rely on recipe boxes and convenience foods, he's started cooking from scratch over the past year.
It's a fun activity that he and his girlfriend do on video dates as they don't live together, he said.
"I cook a lot of big sauces and stews and things that I can use for different dishes, and I actually enjoy that process. So I've found it as a new hobby really," Worthington said. "I used to very much see it as a chore and try to spend as little time as possible preparing food, but now I actually quite enjoy it."
Eating protein is important for minimizing age-related muscle wastage, and vegetables are packed with fiber and nutrients that have many benefits, including boosting gut health.
5) Time management
The final tool in Worthington's longevity arsenal is time management, which helps him be productive and minimize stress, he said.
For example, Worthington schedules blocks of time to deal with life admin.
"It plugs right into emotional well-being and being clear about how much time you want to allocate to certain things, whether that's work or life admin or whatever," Worthington said. "It's compartmentalizing to stop things spilling over in your mind."
"Obviously if the ceiling falls in, you might have to go beyond that, but having times of the week when I'll book all of my appointments for clients, and my scheduling's done," Worthington said.
Reducing stress has been linked to a longer lifespan.