Grandma-of-11 ‘ageing better than millionaire biohackers’ and ranked 4th in Rejuvenation Olympics shares longevity tips
A GRANDMA-of-11 who placed fourth in the Rejuvenation Olympics says she’s ageing better than millionaire ‘biohackers’.
Amy Hardison, 64, has followed the same simple daily health regimen for decades and managed to beat out Bryan Johnson – who sinks billions into “ageing backwards” every year – in a global online competition that tracks the longevity metrics of thousands of people.
More interested in following a regular exercise routine and eating mostly healthy, home-cooked meals, Amy was never one to take supplements.
But the grandma-of-11 decided to join a trial for a supplement called NOVOS at the suggestion of her son-in-law.
As a member of the trial, she agreed to provide her bloodwork to the Rejuvenation Olympics, an online competition launched in 2023 that ranks participants’ pace of ageing.
Some 4,000 participants – a few of them self-professed biohackers – aim to “win by never crossing the finish line” and slowing their biological clock.
The bloodwork results showed Amy was ageing at a rate of 0.74 of a year for every chronological year, according to epigenetic DNA tests that measure changes in an individual’s genes.
After a couple months, she realised she was in the running with the likes of Bryan Johnson and Peter Diamandis.
At some point, the 64-year-old placed fourth, outranking Bryan, 46, who’s gone to the lengths of infusing himself with his teenage son’s plasma and recently had “young Swedish bone marrow” injected into his shoulder, hips and knees in his quest for eternal youth.
Upon learning she’d beat out people 20 years younger, Amy said: “I just kind of giggled.”
Amy has since moved around in the ranking, now placing 13th.
In contrast to others in the competition, Amy’s not too fussed about living to ripe old age.
She told The Times she hoped to keep going for another 20 years, rather than reaching 130.
She shared her simple longevity secrets for ageing well.
1. Daily aerobic exercise
For the last 50 years, Amy has done an hour of aerobic exercise each day.
How she gets her cardio boost varies – she’ll either use a cross-trainer machine or or do laps of her home swimming pool.
Next, she’ll do short bursts of higher intensity weight training and stretching.
2. Brain games
Amy doesn’t only pay attention to her body – she makes sure to limber up her mind too while exercising.
The grandmother said she enjoys listening to audiobooks on the history of the Second World War, as well as biographies and novels, while working up a sweat.
“That’s really important to me, to have my mind engaged and stretching and learning,” she said.
3. Not eating ‘too healthy’
Amy prefers home-cooked food and makes sure to pack in plenty of fruit and vegetables.
She eats healthily but doesn’t deny herself treats.
The grandma typically starts her day with a glass of chocolate milk and homemade bread.
For lunch, she’ll prepare a hearty salad packed with chicken, nuts, berries and leafy greens for lunch or dinner.
She confessed to rarely eating out. Amy also always has a sweet treat for dessert, as long as it’s under 100 calories.
“We eat healthy but not ‘extreme healthy’,” she said.
“I have paid attention to my diet and exercise my whole life so that a lot of times people will say to me, ‘oh, you’re so thin. I’m sure you’ve never had to worry about weight’.
“And I thought ‘only my whole life’. But after you do it for a decade or two, it just becomes what you love to do. It’s not hard work.”
She’s also added an $160 cocktail of anti-ageing supplements to her routine, including magnesium, l-theanine, ginger and fisetin.
4. Don’t force it
Amy said she’s comfortable with the idea of growing old.
“I’m not going to resist falling apart because that’s just setting me up for disappointment. Why do I want to resist something that is inevitable?” she explained.
Her advice was to find a routine that you don’t mind sticking too on a regular basis.
Longevity tips from the Blue Zones
The Blue Zones are five regions across the world where people regularly live to the ripe old age of 100, largely thanks to their diets and daily habits.
The term was coined by author and National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, who made a name for himself studying the world’s longest living people.
The Blue Zones include Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece, Sardinia in Italy and Loma Linda in California.
According to Dan, inhabitants of these swear by nine lifestyle tips.
Dubbed the ‘Power 9’, the longevity guru argued that they can provide “instructions and clues for how we can set up our lives to live longer”.
They include:
- Moving naturally rather than going to the gym
- Having a purpose in iife
- Keeping stress to minimum with naps and happy hours
- Stopping eating before you’re full
- Eating mostly plants
- Drink no more than two glasses of wine a day and never bingeing
- Belonging to a community, faith-based or not
- Putting your loved ones first
- Keeping a social circle that supports healthy behaviours
Read more on the Power 9 tips here.
“And then love your life, embrace the richness and the adventure of growing old. It’s like every day you get older is a new adventure you’ve never done.
“So enjoy that, the changes that you go through, just see it as an adventure.”
5. Taking wellness trends with a grain of salt
Amy has been around to see a few health and fitness trends come and go.
But she tends to take them with a grain of salt and stick to the basics instead.
“I have lived through several decades, and I have seen things come and go, so I don’t get too excited about the latest and greatest,” Amy told Fortune.