Your Body on Exercise

As we age exercise becomes more and more important. 

A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk for conditions that can lead to negative health issues, even causing early mortality.

Regular physical exercise helps maintain:

• balance, reducing falls and fractures,
• independent lifestyle,
• stamina, muscle strength,
• mood, well-being,
• healthy bones, muscles, and joints.

Regular exercise can also help:

• control arthritis and healthy blood pressure,
• prevent disease such as some cancers, Type 2 diabetes, etc.,
• improve living with debilitating conditions.

Changes To The Body w/ Regular Exercise

Heart – The heart is a muscle and responds to exercise by becoming stronger. Enhance cardiovascular health with regular exercise to:

• improve circulation (pumping blood throughout the body),
• make the heart stronger,
• help prevent disease (high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, early mortality, etc.).

Brain – Increased cardiovascular fitness / regular aerobic exercise helps:

• slow cognitive decline,
• improve memory and learning,
• brain structure (hippocampus ) growth,
• boost focus.

Mood – Attitude adjustment. Sedentary behavior alters brain chemistry, increasing the risk of:

• depressive symptoms – happiness and sadness are activated by chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters),
• decreased mental health.

Bones and Joints – Maintain or increase bone strength and mass with resistance/weight training. Prevent falls/injuries with flexibility and balance exercises. These types of exercise will help you:

• prevent or slow development of osteopenia and osteoporosis,
• continue to perform activities of daily living (ADL) daily longer, into older age.

Waistline – to decrease waistline girth, increase exercise. Enlarged waist circumference is linked to an extra risk of:

• cardiovascular disease,
• developing insulin resistance,
• high blood sugar.

Cancer Risk – There is a correlation between lack of regular exercise and increased risk for certain cancers. Sedentary behavior is associated with an increased incidence of:

• Endometrial Cancer,
• Ovarian Cancer,
• possibly Breast, Colorectal and Lung Cancers.

Bottom Line: Exercise Regularly

It is important to exercise on a regular basis. The type of exercise that is best for you depends on age, injuries (past and present) and health conditions. Older adults should participate in the following amount and type of exercise.

More Is Better?

As always, check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine. Participate in exercises designed to be safe and challenging for older adults.

Exercising more than the minimum recommendation results in extra health benefits and increased fitness. Increase workouts gradually.

Listen to your body, stay attentive to your rating of perceived exertion. Follow this link for additional information about perceived exertion:

Interval Training: Burn Calories Fast and Effectively