At the age of fifty one and with a chronic condition requiring ongoing treatment, I see my physician on a regular basis. On my most recent visit we discussed the progression of aging and some things in particular that I am doing to improve, and or maintain my health. I discussed specifically my half hour daily workout and was hoping to score some form of praise from my doctor. Instead, I was surprised when he told me I needed to do more aerobic style exercising and get my heart rate pumping faster.
Needless to say I was a bit ticked off given the fact I try to balance out one half hour of aggressive core training and bodyweight exercises every day, more so than most people my age so, yes, I was somewhat miffed. Not to mention the fact that I – like so many others – simply hate anything to do with aerobic movement such as running, bicycling and the like. Maybe there is a pill for that – one can hope!
Numerous studies have revealed that a person can successfully decelerate the advance of aging by commencing a habitual regimen of aerobic training. The caveat is that you need to talk it over with your physician prior to beginning a routine so they can monitor your progress and make recommendations with your well being in mind. When you get the green light from the physician, take it easy in the beginning and increase the intensity slowly as you build your tolerance.
When you start any new training regimen the primary objective is to maintain program discipline, not necessarily the amount of exercise your body is enduring each time. Consistency is the key factor when you start any exercise program rather than trying to set new personal records. You could easily hurt yourself and suffer a setback or lose interest entirely in the early going by doing too much, too soon.
Many physical activities fall under the banner of aerobic exercise or cardio training; all of these utilizing the biggest muscles in your body including and specifically, the legs. When you work out the larger muscle groups, your heart muscle automatically gets heavily involved, working harder and gradually becoming stronger.
Doing this cardio training successfully means you must raise your pulse rate to sixty or seventy five percent of its maximum capacity. The list of aerobic exercises is a long one and is comprised of doing cycling, running, walking, rowing, swimming, power walking or jogging to name a few. These will all have your heart rate screaming in no time [once more, take it slowly in the beginning].
As you settle into a consistent rhythm with your training course, you will begin to notice subtle changes like a general boost to your energy intensity. The advantage of cardio training is your body works to become accustomed to managing the heightened level of action it is getting. You will soon feel a sense of pride when you begin to feel less weary when you exert yourself physically.
You will also find when you increase your level of aerobic training that the base plane of your metabolism rate is elevated. The common notion is when you are physically exerting yourself you just burn off calories at the time of exercising – this is wrong. It has often been displayed that ongoing aerobic training enhances the metabolic rate for the complete day. A benefit of this then is you will shed excess weight even if you do not adjust your food intake.
When a person exercises aerobically on a consistent basis they will find it much easier to manage their weight. You do not simply raise your metabolic function as discussed earlier; you will be burning off calories much more ably. The secret to losing weight quickly, is really no secret at all. When you follow an aerobic exercise program and simultaneously reduce your intake of high fat and high calorie foods, the pounds and inches will begin to drop off in short order. The reason why more people do not do this is they lack the constitution to sacrifice for the end result. Motivation is a vital component for a successful aerobic – weight loss plan. Where losing weight was once a demanding challenge for you, it now becomes quite the opposite.
Of all the benefits of aerobic exercise, the potential to thwart heart disease is easily the greatest of all. Obviously our heart health has a profound impact on our physical and mental well being as we age. When we practice aerobic training we are building a more powerful heart muscle and we will begin to feel so much healthier. In addition we will quite likely be delaying or safeguarding ourselves entirely from the dreaded age related illnesses suffered by so many seniors linked to weakened hearts. These would include but are not limited to obesity, diabetes mellitus and heart disease – and all because we had the wherewithal to pull ourselves off the couch and get more active doing aerobic exercise.
Consequently, if the objective is to reach a heart rate of somewhere between sixty and seventy five percent of capacity, how do we determine just what that capacity is? The quickest method of establishing this number is to deduct your age from 220. For instance, if you are fifty years old, your max capacity would be 170. Sixty percent of this would work out to 112 and 75 percent would be 127.5. In the end, your objective is to maintain your heart rate in that region for no less than forty five minutes a day for a minimum of five days per week [hence, why I was ticked off with my physician!] At the onset of your training program you will not come close to these numbers so just take it slow to begin with.
When you are just beginning your routine, three times each week is a good start. Perhaps you will just be walking about the neighborhood and home again, that would be wonderful! Remember that your initial goal is to form a habit of doing the routine, not putting yourself on ice. As you build your tolerance level you will start to see progress and that will breed motivation.
It is critical to remember that as a senior or older individual, your physical activity at this point is not really considered exercise at all but more of a shaping up period so you can actually begin to start physical training. Keep your expectations reasonable during this time and soon you will astonish yourself at the way your body is changing and settling into the program.
Fortunately, these days new exercise equipment comes outfitted with pulse monitors in many cases. In the initial stages of your program the monitor can be utilized to check that your pulse does not exceed the seventy five percentage points. As you advance you can use the monitor to aid in maintaining the target levels during your training routine. Many of these new pieces of equipment can emit a sound when you have entered your target zone making for a more productive training session.
Sustaining our health throughout our lives is a difficult challenge with so many potential dangers that can derail us. The difficult truth is that many middle aged people today will not have the level of health they will require to live well into their retirement years with any meaningful participation. So many people work tough jobs their entire lives only to suffer at a point when they have the financial resources, and more importantly the time, to take pleasure in their declining years.
Regardless of your current age – but specifically if you are of the baby boomer generation – you can delay the inevitable age progression responsible for many health crises that could arise. Start today by arranging a consultation with your physician and discuss the process of establishing an aerobic exercise program for your future, then get started. Do not waste time thinking about it. Make it a habit by maintaining consistency.
It is recommended that you do some research in advance of commencing an aerobic program and try to identify a form of training that suits your personality and current health condition. If you have bad knees, running or jogging might not be your best choice, bicycling on the other hand could be beneficial for strengthening the muscles around the knee joints. If you are obese to begin with, jumping into the sport of tennis may not be the wisest choice until you lose some weight and gain some endurance. It would not hurt to strengthen your abdominal muscles or core area somewhat before advancing into a secondary stage of aerobic exercise. This will assist in stabilizing your overall body for any future activities.
When you become elderly and have time to contemplate your life, you do not want to have any regrets. The saddest of these would be admonishing yourself for not taking your fitness more seriously when you had the chance only twenty or thirty years earlier.
Wed, Jun 16, 2010
Anti Aging, Anti Aging Theories, Gerontology, Longevity