By James Riley
Contributing Author
Everyone wants to live long, but nobody wants to grow old. Historically, people have tried to postpone old age, hence Ponce de Leon’s quest for the fountain of youth. Not only would the fountain be personally valuable, but it would also prove to be a priceless commercial product. Unfortunately, there is no such well.
Perhaps it is more realistic to say that people really want to put off the chronic diseases that often come with age, such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke cancer, and other undesirable diseases. We all want to age well while maintaining an active, healthy aging process, but there is no magic pill to ensure such a happy lifestyle.
To a certain extent, life is a crapshoot. It pays to be lucky in life and not to be hindered by an accident or an unfortunate illness. There is research to suggest that lineage can affect longevity genes that aid the aging process. It is also known that the environment, diet, stress, and family life all have implications.
However, for centuries it has been known that sensible advice on aging involves exercise. Hippocrates wrote: “Eating alone does not make a man healthy, he must also exercise.”
The subject of this article is aerobic exercise, also called cardio – the type of exercise that offers the most longevity benefits.
Aerobic exercise was researched and popularized by Ken Cooper of the Air Force Aerospace Medical Lab in the late 1960s. His book “Aerobics” led to the jogging madness of the day. Aerobic exercise is sustained physical activity that is triggered by burning oxygen. Moderate aerobic exercise is considered to be prolonged exercise that increases the heart rate to 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
If you exercise at a moderate pace, you should be able to have a brief conversation. Typical moderate aerobic exercise includes: brisk walking, cycling, dancing, swimming, or similar continuous exercise. Vigorous aerobic exercise would maintain a heart rate between 70% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. Speaking in full sentences would be difficult on the powerful level.
Why aerobics?
Many studies since the late 1960s confirm the many benefits of aerobic exercise. The most obvious benefit is the cardiovascular system, which is why it is called “cardio”. Because exercise creates an oxygen deficit in the muscles, the heart beats faster and harder to provide the oxygen it needs.
Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and makes it more efficient by improving its cardiac output. Sustained cardiac output also improves the viscosity of the blood and the elasticity of the veins and arteries. Aerobic exercise additionally stimulates the growth and maintenance of every system in the body from the lungs to the liver, kidneys, and other organs.
Sustained moderate exercise increases good cholesterol levels and lowers bad levels, as well as triglycerides and lowers blood pressure. Aerobic exercise burns fat – helps with weight control – reduces inflammation and stimulates bone density maintenance as it is stressful exercise. An important benefit of aerobic exercise for seniors is the impact it has on brain health. We all want to keep our mental faculties. The brain requires 20% of the oxygen in our body, although it only makes up 2% to 3% of our body weight. Cardio improves the flow of oxygen to the brain to keep it healthy.
How much aerobics do you need
The need for sustained aerobic exercise is obvious, but how much exercise do we need to keep the body healthy? The latest update from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concluded that some physical activities are better than sedentary and that more physical activity offers additional health benefits.
For significant health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous weekly activity. Sedentary people who do little exercise can benefit the most from starting an exercise program, and the 150 minute weekly goal improves their chances of longevity significantly and is feasible for physically fit people. The health benefits of extreme exercise don’t seem to be much greater than those of moderate exercisers. However, if you enjoy exercise and appreciate how it makes you look and still feel good for you, it won’t be much more beneficial to your health than the HHS recommendations for moderate and vigorous exercise.
Physical decline in many of our modern Western societies is not inevitable. Think of an old building that has always been carefully maintained and is still very functional. Had it not been properly maintained, the wear and tear of weather, time, and use would certainly have resulted in deterioration. With routine maintenance and the good fortune not to experience a fire, earthquake or other unfortunate event, the building is still performing well despite the aging experience. The same goes for your body. Appropriate care and maintenance is required to perform well over time, with aerobics or cardio being an important part.
