WELLNESS: EXERCISE
Moderate exercise makes a significant contribution
to both wellness and antiaging.
Exercise is critical to both overall wellness and contributes
to longevity. It maintains a healthy cardiovascular
and pulmonary functioning, activates the metabolism,
keeps joints lubricated, retains muscle strength and
keeps tendons supple.
Wellness Benefits of Exercise
Many studies have attempted to show how exactly exercise
affects one’s health, through its ability to:
- Relieve stress
- Lower blood pressure
- Increase the level of endorphins [happiness hormones]
- Increase the fat burning enzymes in the muscle,
aiding in maintaining or reducing weight
- Strengthens heart muscles and improves circulation;
reducing the risk of heart disease
- Reduces the level of glucose and cholesterol in
blood and calcium in bones (the cause of osteoporosis)
- Improves your respiratory system by strengthening
your lungs to help control asthma
- Creates the feeling of self-confidence and control
over one’s body and life
Antiaging Benefits of Exercise
Maintaining mobility is a critical element for the
quality of life. Skeletal muscle age-associated deterioration
includes reductions in size, structure and function.
Recent research suggests that oxidative stress contributes
to sarcopenia [age related muscle loss].
The level of oxidative stress imposed on aging muscle
is influenced by two biological processes:
- increased generation of reactive oxygen species
[ROS]
- Age-associated changes in antioxidant defence.
Overall, aging muscle has a decreased gene expression
of antioxidant enzymes possibly due to a diminished
ability for cell signalling. By using exercise to induce
mild oxidative stress we can stimulate the production
of these antioxidant enzymes.
Results of Studies on Exercise and Antiaging
Studies have shown that regular physical exercise has
more longevity impact on men than women in the 40-50
age group.
It seems that it is more about activity, than fitness
with the least fit physically active men having a lower
IHD mortality rate (6%) than the least fit sedentary
men (10%)
In the over 60 age group however, the impacts are more
apparent. Moderate exercise training has demonstrated
beneficial outcomes in both the prevention and rehabilitation
of many diseases of the elderly. Where moderate levels
of exercise improves, strenuous exercise or overtraining
suppresses, various immune function measures.
Since exercise does increase oxidative damage, it is
important that muscle training be supplemented with
powerful antioxidants.
Exercise Programs
One of the most important aspects of exercise, especially
in later years, is to ensure that the exercise is "appropriate".
Over-exertion can lead to serious damage to muscles,
tendons and joints, and also risk cardiac stress.
The key to a balanced exercise program is to contribute
to each of the areas above. This is done by using a
combination of the three main types of exercise:
Aerobic exercise
– for Cardiovascular, Pulmonary and metabolism
Anerobic
– Endurance and Resistance Training – for
muscles, ligaments, and bones
Stretching –
for tendons and joint flexibility
For guidelines on exercise
programs
For
the latest news on diet and exercise
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