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Antiaging Benefits of Exercise

Exercise Helps You to Feel and Look Young

It is well established that a regular fitness program has antiaging benefits.

Staying, or becoming, more physically fit delays the onset of many age-related problems.

Weight bearing exercise increases bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Aerobic or cardio exercise strengthens the heart muscle and the entire vascular system.

Performing widely varied movements, whether in a class, while playing a sport or while stepping out on the dance floor, preserves range of motion and balance, and frequently lessens the pain of debilitating conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.

A well rounded exercise program also improves respiratory and immune function, joint flexibility, sleep patterns, and intellectual capacity.

Aerobic exercise can reduce high blood pressure, risk of breast cancer and insulin resistance.

Exercise is powerful medicine against depression.

Finally, if you have a little (or a lot) of excess weight to lose, exercise can burn calories, rev up your metabolism to continue burning calories at a higher rate, and replace that ugly fat with toned and sculpted muscles.

Are you convinced yet? Then let’s get moving!

It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercising

As long as you can move at all, it’s never too late to start an antiaging exercise program.

Study after study shows that beginning an appropriate fitness program, even in one’s eighties, provides the benefits mentioned above. One of the most heartening studies I’ve encountered was conducted by Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. and associates for elderly nursing home patients in Florida.

Twenty-seven physician referred patients began the study and 19 completed it.

Two died of unrelated causes; four developed illnesses that prevented their continuing participation; and two dropped out for personal reasons.

Average age of the participants was 88.5 years. All were non-ambulatory at the start of the program.

The program consisted of two 20-minute sessions on a Nautilus machine each week. Duration of the actual resistance exercises was only six minutes; the remaining 14 minutes were required to move between stations and adjust the weight stacks. Even with this minimal amount of strength training, the results were nothing short of amazing.

One woman gained enough strength to walk unassisted again. Another, who had been moved to the nursing home unit of the compound because of her constant pain and high need for care was able to return to live with her husband in the assisted living apartment they had shared.

All participants who completed the program exhibited increased strength and lean muscle mass, improved posture, increased range of motion, higher level of mobility and higher degree of independence. The increase in lower body strength averaged 80% and the increase in upper body strength averaged 40%.

Finally participants achieved an average 14% improvement in their Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) scores (a standardized system for rating patient independence in performing daily living activities), mobility distance, and frequency of falls.

Another study examined the effects of exercise on over 3,000 70-year olds. The participants were divided into three groups (inactive, active and regular exercisers) according to their responses to a questionnaire about their activity levels.

Total physical activity included household chores and stair climbing, as well as moderate and vigorous exercise activities.

A separate exercise section of the questionnaire included walking for exercise, aerobic dance, and weight lifting, plus eight specific moderate intensity activities (like golfing and dancing) and ten specific high intensity exercises (like jogging and swimming).

The participants' physical fitness was then measured by: time required to complete a one-quarter mile fast walk; leg and knee strength; and the ability to balance on one leg.

Not surprisingly, the active and exercising adults had significantly better physical function than those who were inactive. Further, those study participants who followed a regular fitness routine of moderate intensity exercises enjoyed the greatest benefits.

That is, any physical activity you perform in the course of your daily activities provides health benefits. The most antiaging health benefit is gained through a regular exercise program.

A well-designed fitness program is one that is appropriate for your current physical condition and includes all the essentials of a well-rounded fitness program: cardio, strength and flexibility.

Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program. Even if you have an illness or condition that limits your ability to exercise you don't have to miss out altogether.

Talk to you doctor about what alternatives are right for you.

If you have arthritis, for instance, pool exercises can give you the benefits of increased activity without placing stress on your joints.

Almost anyone can enjoy the benefits of exercise. Your doctor can advise you of any precautions you should take based on your personal risk factors and current health and fitness level.

Exercise: Just Do It!

The hardest part for most people is getting started. If they choose an activity not well suited to them or overdo and suffer an injury, they quickly give up and return to the armchair.

If you can get past the start-up phase, you stand more chance of success and will soon start to feel the benefits. Start slowly and listen to your body.

First, assess your current fitness level and add more movement to your daily activities.

1. Do you get winded easily? Start building aerobic capacity by adding extra steps to everything you do. Park the car further from the store. Don’t pile items near the stairs to be taken in one trip. Climb those stairs as many times as you can each day! Walk Fido instead of letting him out on his own.

2. Do you feel like your strength is ebbing away? Have you gotten into the habit of letting other people do things for you?

Carry that bag of groceries yourself. Make sure it’s a light one. Next trip to the store, grab a heavier one. And so on.

If you have difficulty getting up from a chair, rise more slowly pushing with your arms as lightly as possible and only as far as necessary. Put your weight onto your quads, not your knees.

Concentrate on those large muscles flexing and lifting you. After a few days you will notice that your legs don’t need as much assistance.

3. Is your range of motion getting shorter and shorter? Do you have difficulty turning your head enough to back up the car? Can you make a proper circle with each arm, raising it in front of you to overhead and bringing it down behind you?

If it’s muscle tightness that is restricting your range, the muscles will lengthen again when pushed to the point of gentle tension. You’ll be amazed at how quickly this occurs.

In a matter of days, you notice a difference. If your range is restricted by arthritis, you will feel a little twinge when you push beyond your current range, so just go very gradually.

4. Do you lose your balance more and more easily? Here’s some good news. Since balance requires strength and flexibility, any activities you adopt to improve these fitness essentials will also work to improve your balance.

Caution: you must do this gradually and consistently.

Don’t push yourself too hard. Remember how many heart attacks occur after a major snowstorm when people go beyond their limits?

It won’t help to add an activity for a few days. If it’s one you just don’t like to do or that doesn’t feel right, analyze why you don’t like it or why it doesn’t feel right (weak knees, a joint that seems to slip).

Then substitute the uncomfortable or disagreeable activity with one that addresses the problem. Your doctor or a personal trainer can make some suggestions here.

Difficulty getting up from a chair was what motivated me to address my own declining physical fitness. Once I was able to rise again unassisted, I wanted to build up my quads further to support my knees.

You may laugh at this, but I have an electric toothbrush that times out after two minutes of brushing. I started doing deep squats while brushing my teeth every morning.

When that became easy, I tried holding the squat as long as I could. When one two-minute squat became easy, I added bicep curls and tricep kickbacks with five pound weights; then moved up to eight pound weights.

The point is, start where you are. When a move becomes easy, do something to make it more difficult again. You need to keep challenging your body; just the way you need to keep challenging your mind. Use it; or lose it!

Once you’re feeling stronger, more flexible and more fit, it’s time to “get with the program”. Remember how the 70-year olds who added formal exercise activities to an active daily lifestyle reaped the most antiaging benefits? By this point, being more physically active and able should have boosted your self confidence and sense of well-being to the point where you feel ready to select a formal exercise program.

Read AntiAging Workouts for tips on how to select a fitness program that's just right for you.

Or visit Fitness Programs For Life, a unique approach to fitness using The Alexander Technique.

Programs are designed to keep you moving to get the best results from your exercise.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as medical advice.

 

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