Physical exercise has more to give than to take. Many people consider exercise as a time wasting activity yet it might offer you much more time in terms of compensating with longevity improvements. Nowadays, exercise is something recommended at all ages. An inactive lifestyle is denominator for aging. Lack of liveliness exposes one to shortening telomere, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, bone loss, cardiovascular disease in contrast to those who do physical exercise at a regular basis.
Bring Facts to the Exercise Room
Studies have shown that people develop Alzheimer’s faster if they do not perform regular exercise. Facts depict that around 400 000 of Americans decease because of inactivity and uncontrolled diets. It is the second most killing source, causing 17 % of fatalities where tobacco is the one exceeding with only a few percentages.
Muscle mass is also a determinant of life span according to doctors from England. A survey was conducted on 4,107 men of age of 60-79. The study showed that men having biceps of average and waists 64 % smaller than average where less likely to die within the following 6 years.
Another study conducted on more than 13,000 participants proved that exercise helped to prevent disease and death caused by progressive disease by 60% compared to sedentary individuals.
The American Diabetes Association says that 90% with diabetes are obese. Moreover, performing exercise for 30 minutes a day decreases body-weight by around 10 percent. It does thereby reduce risk of diabetes by 58%.
Our body needs a balance of food and exercise to be in a healthy state. The younger you are the less exercise you might need, due to resistance. However, many of our cells are practically replaced by stem cells (neurons etc…) every week and month on a normal basis. We can determine the health of these cells through exercise.
Old Age – Call for Exercise
Exercise does not have any age limit. A research carried out on 2,205 Swedish men of age 50 was classified according to their physical activity lifestyle into being sedentary, low, medium or high. The research was followed as these people aged into 60, 70, 77 and 82. People in the high group of physical activity level had a lower mortality rate compared to the other.
However, the interesting fact was that the level of mortality rate for people who began to exercise at the age of 50 to 60 had the same mortality rate as those men who had always been regular exercisers. The low group had to constantly perform physical activities for up to five years to catch-up with the higher order groups. The findings proved that it is never too late to initiate physical exercise.
Summary of Benefits Exercise
1. Functions of cells turn younger
2. Body becomes healthier
3. Less heart attack – sedentary people has 75 percent higher chance of suffering form Heart Attack
4. Exercise remove inflexibility constraints of old age – Shape your Body
5. Regulated hormone levels
Negative Effects of Exercise
1. Over-exercise creates free radicals. The overflow of oxygen to cells causes pressure on cells. This accelerates the metabolism and free radicals are produced. Long-term (regular) exercise will eliminate side-effect of free-radical. The body will thus be better able to cope with oxidative stress and other related pathologies related to free radicals.
2. Suffering from chronic disease such as chest pain, varied heart beat, pneumonia, infection, foot or ankle sores, join swelling and eye problems. It is thus recommended to consult a professional medical practitioner.
Types of Exercise
1. Strength Training
Exercise does absolutely increase the body’s ability to handle oxidative stress. However, it has other constructive effects on bone density and tendon, joint strength and ligament. Training avoids osteoporosis, which is associated with tissue damage.
Exercise is a convenient way to challenge the aging phenomenon. William J. Evans and Irwin H. Rosenburg, in the book biomarkers, say that there are 10 markers for aging. Yet, these physiological markers can be reversed by strength training.
Strength training is a good way to decrease the level of fat and augment flexibility of the body. Studies have also shown that weight training is more effective than aerobic training especially for insulin resistance. It tends to increase insulin sensitivity by providing more blood flow to various muscles.
Weight Training Formula
The best result of weight training is achieved through intensity and not through quantity. It is vital to exercise heavily on particular muscles. The last effort becomes the most performing one. Moreover, each muscle needs rest. Particular muscles should only be exercised once every three days and up to a maximum of three hours.
Strength training provides stamina, flexibility and improves our immune system. The key is to exercise all the major muscles at least twice a week. The weight can gradually be augmented. Moreover, it is important to take a small rest of about a minute in between every set of 15 reps. If you are able to do more than 15 the weight is too light.
Reality of Weight Lifting
Strength training does actually make you smaller. For instance, a pound of fat is five times bigger than a dense pound of muscle. The more muscle you have the more dense you will be and thus smaller you will be. Density of muscle increases resistance, healthy, flexibility, stamina and overall youthfulness of the body.
2. Cardio Training (aerobic)
Cardio training such as aerobic training enhances energy, breathing, blood pressure, sleep, cholesterol levels, digestion, bowel functioning, cardiac condition and cognitive functioning. The fact that it improves the cardiovascular system is already a good sign for longevity as heart disease is one of the major killers.
Some aerobic exercises are brisk walking, swimming, jogging, bicycling, running, elliptical machines and stair-steppers. To derive the best benefit the heart rate should be augmented for around 20 minutes to harness the most conducive benefits. Extensive period of cardiovascular exercise is not necessarily better. Long duration of exercise initiates the body to store fat instead of burning fat.
The best way to lose weight is to do exercise with an empty stomach, such as in the morning. It will make use of reserve fuel and some pounds might easily vanish.
Exercise session should consist of warm-up exercise; intended to slowly augment the heart rate by 50%. The next step is the core workout session itself. The last stage is cooling down exercises to allow body mass to relax. When doing exercise, the level of effort exerted must gradually increase and then gradually slow down. More effort exerted the better will the effects be. It is nevertheless significant to breathe well during.
Be Cautionary
Research has shown that cardio and strength exercise must be combined. The effects of strength exercise such as weight training with the absence of aerobic can eventually be harmful. It can increment the chance of heart attack and stroke. This is why both type of exercise must be combined.
Train on Regular Intervals
Training must be conducted on a regular basis with intervals of 20 minutes or more. It is an appropriate strategy to shape the body and burn calories. It also addresses Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
There is a particular recommended target heart rate (THR) which should be reached when exercising. The range varies with age. To calculate the target heart rate, it is only to subtract your age from 220, and multiply it by an ideal percentage. The Borg Scale as shown below gives a guide of how training activities should be performed at various ages.
Physical fitness through strength and aerobic exercises can perfectly shape your health. Exercise can be made an interesting and funny routine. Exercise programmes that are enjoyable should be envisaged. It will assure continuity and motivation one to constantly do.
Effects of Physical Exercise
Physical exercise will overcome disease and make one of a chronological age of 15 to 20 years younger. The lifespan can increase and exceed 90 years. It is never too late to start exercising. In the seven steps to longevity, diet and exercise are primordial elements to tackle the chronological age. The diet is necessary to supplement exhaustion of resources; vitamin, high quality food, fruits and fish.
Exercise the Brain As Well
People should set fitness goals to make sure they rejuvenate their body as well as their brain. It is all about attitude. The brain needs oxygen, proper blood flow and nutrients. Some exercise for the brain is continuous learning, playing puzzle, chess other challenging games related to problem solving. The more diverse the fitness goal is the more widespread can you vitalize your complete body and mind. It will thereby prevent dementia.
Summary of Exercise goals
1. Exercise body regularly
2. Exercise Brain Regularly
3. Manage stress through proper exercise in your life
4. Let exercising help you to balance hormone levels
5. Provide the body and brain with healthy nutrition to support proper rejuvenation of the self.
Main Source: Maximum Life Foundation; David A. Kekich, CEO, Maximum Life Foundation
Info on Swedish Study
Anti Aging, Gerontology, Health And Aging, Lifestyle, Longevity
Sun, Feb 28, 2010
Anti Aging, Gerontology, Health And Aging, Lifestyle, Longevity