December 16th, 2007

You can slow down aging by doing simple exercise.

STOP listening to workout celebrities NOW. You do not need to do strenuous regime until you drop dead. In fact, many researches proved that most professional athletes die young. They have the shortest life spans among any group of adults.

The idea anti-aging exercise should address to 10 areas in your health.

1. Metabolic Rate

As you age, your metabolic rate slows down. Some snake-oil gurus will tell you to do certain special aerobic exercise. However, a regular routine such as walking 20 minutes a day will dramatically boost your metabolism and burn extra fat in the body.

2. Muscle Mass

As you age, you are losing muscle. Therefore, muscle is the sign of youth. The older you are, the more muscle you need to keep. You can achieve this by exercising with weights. Repeat it 10 to 20 times. You only need to work each body part once a week to see significant difference.

If you want to build up muscle faster, your diet should include more protein such as red meat. It increases production of growth hormones, which tell your body to make more muscle and testosterone.

3. Bone Density

Every bone in the will lose its density, once a person hit age 35. Simple weight-bearing exercise such as stair stepping, mountain hiking, and weight training can help to retain bone mass.

4. Growth Factor

Imagine this… You have stopped doing exercise for many years. Suddenly you climb up the stairs in a 5-story building, and you do it fast. What will you get after that? Your legs ache.

That is normal. Your body is reacting to the need for growth. It releases growth hormones to build more muscle. Your heart is pumping more blood to distribute the hormones. That is the growth factor.

That is why whatever exercise you do make sure it gives you the growth factor. Anti-aging exercise should be short and intense.

5. Lung Volume

Always do exercise that requires you to use your lungs at their full capacity. That does not mean long intense cardiovascular workouts, which can burn off your needed muscle.

Pushing your car for 10 feet distance is actually a good workout for your lung. Breathing exercises such as Qigong is extremely good for your lung. It boosts your lung’s capacity to absorb oxygen, which also improves blood circulation.

6. Fat Gain

Never do long cardiovascular workout to burn fat. It does help to increase metabolism and burn extra fat. But it also burns away your muscle.

7. Strength

Training for strength is different from training for muscle mass. For strength, you exercise for shorter duration, usually not more than 5 repetitions.

8. Flexibility

Regular stretching exercises will keep your body limber as you age. Yoga and some other martial arts often teach excellent stretching exercises.

9. Heart Fitness

10 to 20 minutes of strenuous cardiovascular exercise can build up your cardiac reserve capacity. Cycling, swimming, and stair stepping are much better than jogging. However, you need to start slow and build up

10. Neuromuscular Coordination

Always exercise to improve the functionality of brain with your body. This usually deteriorates as you age. Exercises such as martial arts and Yoga help to reduce this tendency.

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