Your Strongest, Fastest Days Could Still Be Ahead Of You!
We all have images of what aging looks like. It starts with grey hair, and wrinkles, then continues down a slippery slope of fatigue, sore knees and hips, low energy, and impaired balance. Until one day you wake up a frail shadow of your former robust self.
But hold on a minute. Rewind that image. A recent study, soon to be released in the March issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, says that people who continue exercising through middle-age and into their “golden” years don’t follow the same aging trajectory as their more sedentary counterparts.
The key to staving off physical decline is to exercise regularly and with intensity. What do researchers mean by intensity? Regular interval training where you get your heart rate up close to your maximum and then ease it back down. This trains your body to increase its oxygen consumption. And, if the choice is between intensity or frequency of exercise, intensity wins out. Why? Because intensity improves performance (measured by muscle strength and lactic threshold) more than frequency.
Exercise won’t put the brakes on the aging process but it significantly slows it down, keeping you healthier and more active longer. Read the New York Times article.
- Laurel-Lea Shannon
Source: New York Times
Related posts:
