At 101 years old, Iñaxi Lasa has become one of the most shared names on social media when it comes to active aging. The Spanish centenarian, born in the Basque Country, appears in several media profiles as an example of a consistent routine, in a journey in which references to health problems and recovery phases also appear.
A routine that started by chance after 90
According to the Spanish newspaper, Iñaxi Lasa began training regularly after he was 90 and currently maintains a daily routine that can last around two hours. The same publication states that the centenarian has close to 20 thousand followers on Instagram, where she shares videos and everyday moments.
The Spanish press has also highlighted the clinical context associated with the journey. The AS mentions osteoarthritis, glaucoma, macular degeneration, hip fractures and loss of vision, framing exercise as a habit that has been maintained despite these limitations.
What do you say you removed from your diet?
It is when talking about food that the two exclusions that motivated many of the recent titles emerge. According to the newspaper La Razón, Iñaxi Lasa claims that he has completely eliminated two common everyday items: flour and sugar.
The same idea appears with slight variations in other regional accounts. Noticias de Gipuzkoa writes that the centenarian says she gives priority to quality vegetables and fish, also mentioning that she consumes “very little” sugar and flour.
What science allows us to say about strength training and disease risk
Iñaxi Lasa’s story is an individual case and does not allow us to conclude, in itself, that the same combination of habits has the same effect on everyone. Still, there is research that helps frame the discussion about strength training and health.
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that muscle-strengthening activities are associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and a lower risk of several non-communicable diseases, with the greatest risk reduction observed, across several outcomes, at volumes of approximately 30 to 60 minutes per week.
In the studies themselves, reading is done with caution, as this type of evidence describes associations and can be influenced by other factors, such as general lifestyle, diet, access to healthcare and the starting physical condition of each person.
Why muscle mass enters the aging conversation
The topic is often linked to the gradual loss of muscle mass with age, a phenomenon known as sarcopenia. Harvard Health Publishing states that, from the age of 30, it is common to lose up to 3% to 5% of muscle mass per decade, which can influence strength, mobility and risk of falls.
The phrase that became a motto
Among the elements that most circulate in reports about Iñaxi Lasa is a phrase attributed to her, used as a summary of her stance: she says she prefers to be the oldest person in the gym rather than the youngest in a home. The expression appears repeated in different versions of the story and helped to set the tone of the public portrait that has been constructed around the centenary.
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