Keeping fit actually does wonders for your brain. Exercise helps lower stress, regulates your blood sugar and improves blood flow. . . . British nonagenarian, Charles Eugster, says he only took up exercise in his 80s but now runs competitively. He works out at least three times a week, doing weights, running and rowing, which has resulted in what he likes to call his “beach body.”
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Longevity Tip ~ Pump Iron
It is within our power to combat this natural process of muscle loss [due to aging]. With exercise and an active lifestyle, we can begin to bring some muscle back. And the really good news is that exercise can help at any age. Several studies have compared people between 70 and 80 years old with people 20 to 30 years old engaging in the same regimen: a strengthening exercise program with weight lifting for 12 weeks. Researchers evaluated the participants’ strength before and after the program and found that the amount of strength gain in both groups was similar, despite their age difference. So it is never too late, or too early, to work on protecting your muscle mass.
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Longevity Tip ~ Keep the Body Tuned Up
Healthy older adults should do four types of activities regularly: aerobic (or endurance) exercise and activities to strengthen muscles, improve balance, and increase flexibility. For any new physical activity, if you have not been active, start slowly and work up to your goal. To track your progress and stay motivated, keep a daily diary of what you do and how long you do it. Many activities give you more than just one benefit! Water aerobics with weights gives you strengthening and aerobic benefits. Yoga combines balance, flexibility, and strengthening. Choose what you like to do—some physical activity is better than none.
Longevity Tip ~ No Excuses, Make Going to the Gym a Daily Habit
A review of research published online April 24, 2017, by the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that physical exercise may help improve thinking skills in adults ages 50 or older, regardless of their mental performance when they started exercising. . . . All exercise types but yoga appeared to have benefits for the brain. The authors say the exercise regimen with the biggest brain boost was a combination of both aerobic and resistance-type training, of at least moderate intensity, for at least 45 minutes per session on as many days of the week as possible. The takeaway? Start exercising, and incorporate resistance training into your weekly routine.
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Longevity Tip ~ Age Is Only a Number
In order to protect your body and mind, remaining active is important. This not only relates to physical exercise, but also mental stimulation. When you remain active, you essentially enhance your quality of life. It’s important to seek activities that you enjoy and challenge you. Physical exercise can be as simple as walking for 30 minutes daily. Once you’re in the habit of being an active individual both in your home and community, you’ll find that age is simply a number.
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Longevity Tip ~ Stay Active
Being active doesn’t just help prevent chronic diseases. As we age, it can also lower the chance for serious injury. Regular exercise could also boost your brainpower. When sedentary adults performed three 45-minute exercise sessions per week for six months, they had improved executive function (the ability to focus and make plans) equal to someone nine years younger, found one Neurology study. So go ahead and lace up those sneaks.
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Longevity Tip
Maintaining five healthy habits — eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy body weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and not smoking — during adulthood may add more than a decade to life expectancy, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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Wellness Tip
Don’t just take the stairs — use them
If you have stairs at your home or office, take them every chance you get. But don’t stop there. For a strong cardio workout, walk up and down the stairs repeatedly. Start with a limited number of repetitions, then increase them as you feel stronger.
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Longevity Tip
What physical activity is best for healthy longevity?
The one you enjoy most, but also the one you can easily incorporate into your daily schedule and the one you can keep doing up to your hundredth birthday and beyond. . . . What’s important is working all your body parts with rigor — meaning to the point of breathing rapidly or sweating — for five to ten hours a week . . . It’s important to exercise, but not to overexercise, because knees, hips, and joints will eventually get damaged — particularly if you continue to exercise when you feel pain.
Longevity Tip
Looking for the fountain of youth? Increasingly, experts are telling us that it’s all about lifestyle, the choices you make, and, especially, staying active by engaging in regular physical exercise in your sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond. . . . Regular exercise may prevent or delay serious health problems . . . It can boost energy and mood, reduce arthritis pain, and help you get a good night’s sleep. And . . . exercise can help you maintain the physical health to continue living independently. ~ Carol Weeg
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