Workout Tips to Keep Your Body in its Prime
According to David Proctor PHD, from the American College of Sports Medicine, regular exercise is the prime medicine to prevent aging. If this is true then we can all partake of it in various ways and keep our bodies fit and healthy.
Proctor believes we only have about 30 years of life before our physical fitness starts to decline. The speed of the decline depends on the exercise we do - or rather , don’t do - so the sooner after 30 years of age that we start the proper amount of exercise, the healthier we’ll be and the more we will reduce and slow the aging process.
Once we hit 30, we get fatter around the middle, less flexible, have higher blood pressure and stiffer blood vessels; our blood sugar and bad cholesterol rises while our muscle mass and strength decrease. If that’s enough to make you feel depressed, cheer up. You can minimize the effects with a good exercise program - and exercise is fun.
What we need is aerobic training plus strength training, the latter being weight lifting with machine weights or light dumbbells and using stretch bands. As we age, the training should progress more slowly, and we should take longer for recovery. We should also avoid those kinds of exercises that are classed as high-impact.
With any workout, you should take time to warm up before the start. Whatever kind of exercise you do, simply do a lighter, shorter version until your body warms up. This will help prevent injury. When you have finished, warm down in the same manner.
If you don’t want to join the ranks of those who can’t even lift their luggage out of the trunk or up onto the overhead racks in train or plane, then do this. Start off flat on the floor (face down), rest on elbows with palms flat on the floor. Lift your body until arms and toes support your weight. Keep your body and head straight and pull in your abs. Maintain for one minute at a time. Your upper body and your core will be strengthened by this exercise.
Other exercises you can do to keep your upper body fit are lifting weights and you don’t have to go to the gym to do it. You can buy weights or use a can of beans to start off with. Lift them above your head and hold for as long as feels comfortable when you first start, then increase the time, as you are able.
If you find it hard to fit in an exercise regime, start by writing it up into your daily diary of chores. Ten minutes two or three times a day will make a big difference to your health.