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The Fountain of Youth - Fighting the Aging Process with Exercise

By Tim Baird

Everyone wants to grow old gracefully, maintaining independence and physical ability well into their golden years. No one wants to walk around in a perpetual state of exhaustion, combating the joint pain and weight gain that's typically associated with growing older. We're all waiting for the miracle drug – the fountain of youth – that'll keep us feeling young and looking young even when the numbers say we're not so young anymore. Well, there is no miracle drug, but there is a fountain of youth. It's called exercise. If you want to maintain your quality of life for the rest of your life exercise will put you on the road to health and happiness, regardless of your age.

The Effects of Aging

The aging process can be very unkind if we don't take steps to take care of ourselves. Did you know that men and women lose between five and seven 2 and 3 kilograms of lean body mass during every decade of their adult lives? Lean body mass is the combined weight of your muscles and your bones. That means that as we age, the very structure of our bodies deteriorates. Our muscles grow weak and our bones grow brittle leaving us susceptible to injuries and decreased mobility.

Aging also takes a toll on our cardiovascular systems. As we age we lose elasticity in our blood vessels. At the same time there is a thickening of the vessel walls, which is caused by a build up of fatty deposits. As a result, there is a diminished circulatory capacity. All of these factors, left uncontrolled may lead to high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.

Aging Gracefully

While the list of effects that aging can have on our bodies sounds pretty bleak, there is some good news. Exercise can slow and, in some cases, even reverse the effects of aging. Strength training in particular helps us maintain the physical structure that allows us to perform daily functions. It also helps to slow the natural decrease in lean body mass as we age, which is important since studies show that the body burns up to 30 more calories a day maintaining one pound of muscle tissue than it does maintaining one pound of fat. That means the more muscle we have, the more calories our bodies will burn at rest, resulting in a decrease in overall weight gain with age.

Additional benefits of exercise on aging are stronger bones, decreased blood pressure and a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke. Cardiovascular exercise, or aerobic activity, results in improved circulation and cardiovascular capacity, which leads to increases in energy levels. Exercise will improve your appearance as well as your overall health.

Getting Started

Many older adults resist the idea of beginning an exercise program because they believe that it's too late for them to start exercising or that they won't be able to do it. In reality, however, it's never too late to begin exercising, and if you can move, you can exercise. Regardless of your age, it's important to consult your doctor prior to starting a new exercise program in order to identify any medical problems that should be addressed. Always start slowly and keep your expectations realistic. It's important to remember that recovery times in older adults are longer than in younger adults. Therefore, keeping workouts simple in the beginning and gradually increasing intensity levels will result in increased energy and greater improvements in overall physical and mental wellbeing.

Exercise Choices

There are three major components to physical conditioning that should be considered when developing a workout routine – strength, cardiovascular conditioning and flexibility. It's important to use variety during your workout plan so you can prevent boredom and so you can train your muscles from all different angles.

Strength training will help slow or prevent conditions such as osteoporosis in older adults. If you've never worked out with weights before, it's important to work with a personal trainer to learn proper techniques before working out on your own. This will allow you to get the greatest benefits from each exercise and it will help prevent training injuries. Start out with light weights, or even no weight until you are comfortable with the movements of each exercise. Gradually increase weight as your strength increases.

Cardiovascular conditioning, or "cardio" can help decrease the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. There are many different ways to get cardiovascular exercise, which include swimming, walking, jogging and biking. When choosing cardio exercises for your training plan, you should pick exercise that you enjoy and that is lower impact to avoid potential joint problems. You should aim to do 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five days a week. If that's not possible start by doing what you can – always keep in mind that doing something is better than doing nothing at all.

Finally, flexibility training is an extremely important component to fitness that is frequently overlooked. Flexibility training in older adults can reduce joint pain, back pain, stiffness and even fatigue. Your muscles have to be stretched everyday in order to maintain range of motion. Simple stretches should be performed while your muscles are warm, either after working out or after a hot shower or bath. When you stretch, you should feel a slight pull on your muscles, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain relax the stretch slightly until the pain subsides. As with all forms of exercise, flexibility training needs to be approached gradually.

Now, it's time to stop looking for the fountain of youth and start drinking out of it. It's never too late to reap the benefits of regular exercise. You can improve your quality of life and add years to your life just by devoting 30 minutes a day to your health.

About the Author:

Tim Baird is a certified Personal Trainer and founder of Toodfood Weight Loss & Fitness in South Melbourne. Visit his website is at http://www.toodfood.com.au