#54 Discovering Longevity: How I Applied These 10 Surprising Lessons From Top Athletes

In this episode, I reflect on 10 surprising and powerful lessons I’ve learned from some of the world’s top adventure athletes. From reframing fear to finding joy, embracing awe to chasing big dreams, these lessons have reshaped my own journey—and they can inspire yours too.

Whether you’re an athlete or simply looking to live more fully, this episode offers actionable insights to start your year with purpose and resilience.

Key Highlights

1. Awe as a motivator and mindset shifter (Caroline Paul, Thomas Huber).
2. Fear isn’t the enemy—it’s a companion (Timmy O’Neill, Jeremiah Bishop).
3. Joy fuels longevity and resilience (Wingnut).
4. Mentorship grows both the teacher and the student (Lynn Hill, Fitzpatricks).
5. Power and flexibility are essential for lifelong performance (Jeremiah Bishop, Juliet Starrett).
6. It’s never too late to chase big adventures (Lionel Conacher, Amy Gubser).

I Want to Hear From You!

How are you applying these lessons—or similar ones—in your own life? What goals are you chasing in 2025? I’d love to hear your stories! Share your thoughts with me on Instagram or at my email kush@agelessathlete.co, and let’s keep inspiring each other to live agelessly.

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Transcript

Discovering Longevity: How I Applied These 10 Surprising Lessons From Top Athletes
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Kush: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Asia's Athlete. This is the day after Christmas and the last couple of days of 2024. ~And ~as we step into a new year, I wanted to reflect on some of the most impactful. and surprising lessons I've learned from our incredible guests since I started recording the podcast this January.

These aren't just insights for, they are universal lessons that can transform how we approach life, health, and adventure.

Today I'm doing something a little different. I will share how I have applied these lessons in my own journey and invite you to share yours as well and As we explore the full episodes [00:01:00] of the amazing guests who shared them, let's dive into these 10 surprising lessons for lifelong performance. The first one is, AWE is the ultimate performance enhancer.

Okay. I will repeat that again. Awe is the ultimate performance enhancer. I'm going to point to two athletes. If you've had on the show, Caroline Paul and Thomas Huber. Caroline said awe is a performance enhancer because it widens your perspective. It makes challenges feel smaller and your courage feels bigger.

She talked about finding awe in simple things like a sunrise or even a bird's flight. Or she believes changes how we perceive fear and gives us the motivation to keep going. This is so true. And [00:02:00] she also spoke about, on the other hand, our devices are these, they're anti, or they narrow down our focus.

They take us away from living in the moment and ~they ~do not enhance our performance. On the other hand, Thomas Huber described awe in the mountains. Standing at the base of a massive peak, you feel your insignificance. It is humbling, but it is also empowering. The beauty and the challenge fuels my spirit.

I have been playing in the outdoors for a couple of decades with climbing and even longer with , a lifetime spent, , trekking and, , trips in the beautiful outdoors. Sometimes I have personally been so caught up in the performance aspect of my sports. I have forgotten to truly appreciate the majesty of what surrounds me.

[00:03:00] So a couple of things that I have started doing, one is very simple, which is every day. In the morning, when I take my dog Raja for a walk, I've been focusing on appreciating the micro details, the plants, the bushes, the sounds of the birds, the sky above, the glow of the sun, if it is out there, high in the sky.

It seems minor, but, and I am still in this process, but I already feel that. It is helping me become more grounded. Another thing that I've been doing is, when one reaches the top of a climb and, uh, yeah, one reaches a high vantage point there is the view that [00:04:00] becomes bigger, but in our haste to complete the climb and in our desire to maximize performance, ~we forgot, ~we forget to appreciate the view.

So I have, at least on the last couple of trips, while I was in Red Rocks and, ~uh, ~before that in Bishop, I reminded myself that when I, Got to the top to clip the anchors. I would turn back and, ~uh, ~appreciate the view. So I'm still a beginner at this, but I do feel that, ~uh, ~we are so lucky some of us to be able to play in the outdoors and we don't appreciate or use this power of awe to enable us to become more grounded.

~The, ~the joy that ~is, ~is around us. And which is why I started. Climbing in the first place, but then I forget about it. So anyway, moving on, ~the next one is number two, ~fear is a companion and not [00:05:00] an enemy. ~So the thing is, so the number two one is exposure to fear. The number two is ~fear is a companion, not an enemy.

Let's go back to the conversation I have with Hazel Finley, where I asked Hazel about how, as I get older, I start feeling a bit more fragile. I start getting scared when I am trying to work on large climbs. in the alpine and how I become gripped sometimes by the fear of getting hurt and of falling when there are big runouts between protection ~and ~Hazel talked about the power of exposure therapy ~and again it seems basic you know ~a baby doesn't just Get out of the crib and start running.

It starts with taking a couple of stumbling steps ~Actually, it starts with ~getting on the knees or [00:06:00] crawling actually before getting on the knees before taking steps before running So yes, while maybe in my younger days, ~I was more ~I need to learn those things again and it is okay. ~So ~I am here in Petrachiko and I have done harder climbs here when I was here five years ago, ~but ~I am going to do some multi pitch routes and start with a easier climbs and get back to that feeling I have of being high up and ~being ~exposed but ~being ~in control ~and then ~hopefully I can use that exposure therapy to slowly dial up the difficulty, dial up the adventure ~and, uh, yeah, ~I hope to build on that foundation and maybe get back to ~where I was with ~being a more bold climber.

The other one ~Example here ~I have ~also ~is. ~of ~my chat with Matt Egleton, a high [00:07:00] end mountain biker in his 60s. I spoke with Matt about how as a newer mountain biker, I was afraid of going down a blue black trail outside San Francisco and how I would get gripped with fear and I would sometimes get off my bike.

~And ~Matt ~again ~talked about the power of repetition and ~of ~breaking down that fear of breaking down that trail to smaller bites. He talked about going back into, going back to that trail and doing that trail multiple times. attacking maybe small sections of the trail and then over time as the trail becomes more familiar the difficult sections start becoming easier.

I may be able to get back and do that difficult trail without any issues. ~getting off my bike. ~So I haven't [00:08:00] actually gone back to that trail yet because I'm currently traveling. But when I go back and go to Pacifica, I hope to try that trail again. And I think that's the lesson here as well ~is, uh, fear can grip us.~

Fear can be a companion. ~Is a companion, uh, ~through, ~uh, ~a lot of these outside adventure sports and ~maybe ~broadly in life ~in general, and maybe instead of, uh, ~instead of fear paralyzing us, we can learn to break it down into smaller manageable pieces. And ~then ~once we overcome that particular thing, it can help us build back our competence, which we can then ~take and ~apply to the next project and, ~uh, ~keep progressing.

Okay. The next one, number three is mentorship multiplies growth. I'll repeat that again. Mentorship multiplies growth. I spoke with Tim and Diana Fitzpatrick who are both elite ultra [00:09:00] runners running races over 100 miles and winning their categories in some of the most iconic races like the western states.

Tim and Diana have been mentoring this incredible running program at San Quentin State Prison. They have been teaching inmates ~on ~how running can transform their lives. ~And ~they have had profound experiences that have come back to power them through their own life, ~their own ~running career and mentorship.

~Yeah, ~it is more than just teaching skills. It's about passing on the mindset and values that have shaped their journey. ~Next, ~I also had the pleasure of talking to iconic climber Lynn Hill, the first person, man or woman, to free climb the Northern El [00:10:00] Capitan. ~And ~Lynn talked about mentoring younger climbers and how their enthusiasm keeps own passion ignited.

She shares how sharing her knowledge, deepen her own understanding. Yeah. When we teach something to others, it helps. us relearn some of these important lessons, the basics, the skills, the knowledge. This idea resonates deeply with me. ~I, yeah, ~I have mostly been fueled by my own climbing journey, but I recently started teaching My girlfriend, how to rock climb.

She's new at the sport, but ~just ~breaking down some of those basics, ~some ~things that I. took for granted, but may have forgotten ~or may or may not have remembered as clearly. ~[00:11:00] Those skills, starting from how to use a body in certain positions, to building anchors, to finding routes, to even coiling the rope.

~Uh, ~these are simple things, but ~they've first, ~they helped me, ~uh, ~relearn the basics first. And, and then they also, they also give me this, ~uh, ~deeper sense of, ~uh, ~fulfillment when I help somebody else in their journey. So again, ~I, uh, ~I haven't ~really ~done much with this, but I'm hoping some of you will share how giving or mentoring others has been a key part of your journey as an athlete.

Yeah. If mentorship is something you've considered, ~uh, ~then yeah. Linz. and the Fitzpatrick episodes are incredible resources. The next one, ~okay, ~power training. This is as simply as I [00:12:00] could describe this. So, but okay, so as we get older, we sometimes Actually, we often start losing power. We start noticing some declines with being able to do difficult things with whether it's explosive moves on the rock or ~it's ~sprints up a hill.

The idea is to not stop doing them. ~The idea is actually the opposite. Opposite, ~Jeremiah Bishop explained, Power is the first thing we lose as we age, but it is also the most important. ~Trained with, ~we likely already have the endurance and the slow twitch muscles, ~say a lifetime. Maybe less of doing a sport.~

We need to focus on keeping that power. ~So yeah, if you're a mountain biker, uh, following, uh, uh, yeah, ~if you're a mountain biker inspired by Jeremiah, ~then ~short explosive intervals, ~for example, ~can do wonders for one's strength and agility. [00:13:00] Another person who deeply inspires me. Lee Schefter, who is now 77, he still rock climbs at the high, at a high level.

He shared how he started incorporating power training into his routine in his 50s. ~And this is ~a few decades ago when people did not even ~know. ~know much about how to train for power and climbing. Lee was experimenting with his home climbing gym and designing system boards ~and ~doing difficult things that allowed him to become, ~yeah, ~maybe at that time, the oldest person to climb 514, ~uh, ~a 99 percent grade ~in, ~in timing.

And it was because he went against the grain and started leaning for power. Inspired by people like Lee Shiftell and Jeremiah and even Matt Samet, [00:14:00] who's been on this podcast, I have started realizing that I already have, ~uh, ~endurance with climbing and that comes back quickly when I go climbing outside.

I, ~however, ~need to Focus on training for power, training for difficult things that I need to hold on to. You know why? Because if I don't hold on to them, I will never get them back. So the last year, year and a half, all my indoor climbing at the gym has been on the kilter board. The moves feel difficult. I am often Often I'm the board with, ~uh, ~these young hotshots, these kids who make things look easy and it would be easy for me to ~kind of ~slink away because I can't do some of the easiest, bolder problems.

Those guys ~are, uh, are, are, are, ~are flashing. ~Uh, ~their problems are like, ~yeah, ~the easy problems. They're like, my projects, you know, it's not about me. worrying about looking bad. I'm here to, ~you know, ~[00:15:00] train and do my thing. ~And ~if I can't do the ~easy, ~easier problems quickly enough, I will continue at them.

And then eventually I've seen growth where I've been able to do things that were difficult for me or ~seemed, yeah, ~seemed like I would never be able to do them. ~So ~those were ~like small. ~Small victories and I hope to continue to do power training ~as I, yeah, ~as I get older. The next one is number five.

Explore your limits today. Okay, so again going back to Hazel's episode. Hazel Findlay has a mantra. If you wait for the perfect time to push your limits, you will never do it. So today is the day to do it. Take that step. We often compare our current performance to our past or to our peak performance [00:16:00] and that is ~a, that is let's say ~a self limiting mindset ~because ~who knows, maybe we will exceed our past peak, ~but ~even if we don't, it is about realizing what we are capable of accomplishing at that moment, at that day and That is what can give us joy, can give us satisfaction, can help propel us to maybe train or come back excited for our next day on the rocks or our next adventure, whatever that might be.

If we comparing ourselves to some past version of ourselves, we will. likely not be as happy. So yeah, think about the day. So again, so this is something that again, I resonate deeply with. I have experienced some performance [00:17:00] declines from climbing, let's say higher grades. I am now trying to get back to.

Climbing in the 512s, for example, ~uh, ~who knows if I climb a 513 or harder again, but I'm here in Petrechiko and I got on some 511s today and I had a great time. ~And you know what, ~I have recently unsent routes, which means that I failed to do some routes that I did, ~you know, ~a decade ago when I visited Bishop for the first time.

But if I think about that past success, it would, ~it would like ~kind of crush me. And it is difficult for me to forget that I used to be a better climber, but I have to really shove that aside and I'm trying my best. That's all I can say. And I also, ~yeah, ~encourage you to go and listen to Hazel's [00:18:00] episode ~and ~she has some great actionable insights for stepping out of one's, ~uh, ~comfort zone or one's tendency to glories and instead enjoy our present.

Okay. Next one. Number Sick.

This is so profound. ~Um, so ~I had Craig DeMartino on the podcast a while ago. Craig is an incredible adaptive athlete who took a hundred foot fall, lost a leg, and got hurt in many other ways, but he rebounded. and is now an adaptive climbing coach. He shares his joy and his knowledge of climbing with not just other climbers ~who haven't heard, ~but also other people who [00:19:00] are perhaps differently abled, such as veterans, ~and ~showing them the joy of rock climbing and the joy of being outside.

and that has given him so much back. He said helping adaptive climbers reach their goals has taught me more about perseverance than any climb I have done. ~Yeah. So ~Catherine Hayes is the second example I will use. ~Uh, ~she is an inspiring ski coach who's been working with adaptive athletes, people who you would not normally see on the ski slopes, has been teaching them how to ski.

And she said breaking barriers isn't just about access, it's about showing [00:20:00] others what's possible. ~possible. So yeah, ~their stories remind us that giving back creates deeper meaning in our own lives. ~So talked about earlier about mentoring somebody. ~I did something different recently where this place I go meditate at, I have been helping and volunteering with doing things such as, ~um, ~helping cook for the, ~uh, ~meditation group, two hanging hallway lights outside the center above a tree.

Well, my climbing skills, ~uh, not often been but ~can sometimes be of use. ~So ~when I do simple acts such as this, it makes me feel good. I do hope that I can, so, okay, ~so ~this is maybe not, ~uh, ~the same, and not to, ~you know, ~pat my own back or anything, but I've been producing this, ~uh, ~podcast, ~uh, ~with my own resources and ~kind of ~[00:21:00] doing it full time for the last.

I have not received a single penny yet. ~And, uh, yeah, ~hopefully one day I can, ~uh, ~make ~maybe ~some money out of this podcast to at least keep it going. ~But in, in, in, in, ~in most ways, this thing that I feel I've given back to people through sharing these inspiring stories and actionable insights. Hopefully it has helped some of you in some way, but it has also helped me deeply back.

This podcast has been so fulfilling to me. This project, being able to interview, talk to these elite athletes and shine a light. incredible, yeah, performers out there and bringing, bringing their stories to life ~has been, ~has been profound for me. So yeah, that's my little bit of giving back for 2024. It's been amazing.

We'd love to hear from [00:22:00] you, ~uh, ~if you have any great stories of giving back and how it has created deeper meaning ~in, ~in your life. ~Okay. ~Moving on here, number eight. Maintaining strength and flexibility. I will talk about two athletes I've had on the show. Juliet Starrett, she is the co writer of this best selling book called Built to Move.

She emphasized longevity starts with foundational mobility. A few minutes a day can make all. It is not about. lifting big weights or joining a gym membership and going there every day ~if you cannot. ~There are many simple things ~such as, ~such as the one legged test, such as being able to simply keep a couple of kettle [00:23:00] balls around so you can do swings.

It is about incorporating ~and ~mobility in our day to day. ~Right? ~And this is something I have taken to heart deeply over the last couple of years. I have ~been able to create this lifestyle or no, I, I ~created this environment in my own house where I would have this yoga mat on the floor next to me. I would have some simple weights.

I would have some resistance bands two or three times a day. I would take a break from work or whatever I was doing to stretch. Do some rehab exercises, do some simple exercises such as squats and, ~uh, uh, uh, squats and also, um, ~different types of pushups. ~And ~they not only provide me, ~I guess, ~with a lot of health benefits, they also break up my day.

And when I go back to work, I just feel recharged. So I encourage. [00:24:00] all of you to figure out how you can make exercise this part of your environment where it is simple to do a few things and you don't have to break away from family or something else to go to a gym which can sometimes be kind of onerous and, you know, A difficult habit to keep up with.

~Um, ~the start of the new year is the highest, ~um, ~activation time for new gym memberships. ~So yeah, I mean, ~if you are going to ~go ~join a gym to supplement your, ~uh, the ~sports totally do that, but at the same time doing some things a little bit differently with your environment can also yield powerful benefits.

~Um, ~I am currently in a van as I've shared and ~it, it has become, uh, it has, ~it has been [00:25:00] a little bit more challenging, but I have, ~uh, ~exercise bands around me. I also have weights and if I stay at a place for more than a few days, those bands and ~those ~weights absolutely get used. The next one, number nine is eating whole foods.

and doing the 800 gram challenge. ~Okay, so ~just recently I had EC Sienkowski of the, ~yeah, ~well known Optimize Me Nutrition, ~uh, ~program. She has this simple approach to nutrition that blew me away and that's why I wanted her to be on the podcast. ~And ~she talked about ~focusing on She focused on ~how one can adopt a simple practice to eating, which is getting enough vegetables, ~get ~six cups of [00:26:00] vegetables, whatever kind those might be every single day.

~And then ~she talked about how one needs to get a minimum of protein every single day, but it also doesn't have to be excessive. ~So if ~The two main takeaways I want to share with you is get six cups again of fruits and vegetables, even, even, ~um, ~onions and tomatoes and ~let's say ~the non sexy ~kinds of, uh, ~kinds of veggies.

They all have amazing micronutrients. So consume those things. They're easy to find. ~And then get ~Keep up your protein intake. I'm a vegetarian, so this is a little bit difficult for me, just with some simple adaptations. I eat, yeah, I don't want to go about my, ~um, ~my, my food habits. It's still a work in progress, but I'm very conscious of what I [00:27:00] eat ~and absolutely, um, ~eating right does not have to be that difficult.

So, Easy and optimize me has been amazing. I encourage you ~to, yeah, ~to listen to that podcast episode or ~maybe even just go, just ~look them up and ~yeah, ~do the 800 gram challenge. And well, the very last one, it is never too late to start a big adventure. ~Lionel Connature proved it's never too late by becoming the~

~at Mavericks, one of the most renowned and fearsome big wave surfing spots outside San Francisco by Half Moon Bay. And then also ~Amy Gupser. ~She is ~a 55 year old grandma ~who ~completed a historic 17 hour swim in 43 degree freezing waters from Golden Bridge to the Farallons. The

It is never too late to chase your dreams. ~You may just ~Not only will you surprise yourself, but you will shock everybody around you ~who, ~who may think that [00:28:00] you are too old to do anything amazing. Well, in my life, ~um, ~I think ~the, ~the main adventure, it's not exactly athletic, but in a different way, ~I, Yeah, ~I decided to make a big life shift.

I got rid of my home, ~uh, ~packed away, gave away, sold away most of my possessions to move into a van and live full time in this small environment. This allows me to All the things I need, right? ~So ~people told me, Oh my goodness, ~you know, ~you are in your forties. This is crazy, right? ~Like, uh, ~the background I come from people my age are doing very different things, ~you know, ~they are pursuing, ~you know, uh, you know, ~intense careers and raising families.

And here I am, ~you know, ~with my dog living in a van and driving through North America, but this is. I dreamt off [00:29:00] 20 years ago and I realized, you know, I'm not getting younger. I am going to go out there and live in a van and explore these beautiful, wondrous places around North America. So love to hear from you guys.

What is Adventure that you're dreaming of and then what is your plan ~on going about ~to realize ~Big adventure ~that big change that's going to give you meaning. ~Okay, so, um, ~I just shared 10 Amazing lessons and ~I shared ~how ~in some ways ~I am trying to embrace some of them in my life I'm doing better in some versus the others.

I'll admit the struggle is real every single day ~Um, ~i'm ~trying to ~trying to really, ~um ~think about ~uh the you know, uh ~What are these takeaways I can apply and how I can do better with them. ~They are ~They are changing my [00:30:00] life, slowly but surely, and I hope they are inspiring to you as well. For deeper dives into any of these topics, check out the full episodes of these remarkable guests.

You can find them all within the archives of this podcast. Thank you for listening. Have a wonderful new year, and here's to chasing your dreams. in the year ahead. Until next time, my friends, stay ageless. [00:31:00] [00:32:00]