By Joan Pagano
Inevitably, things change: you notice a little chunk at the waist that's affecting the way your clothing fits; you feel a bit stiffer in the mornings; you look for escalators instead of a taking the stairs; your reflection in a window reveals you're not as straight as you thought. We've all had moments when we realize we could be doing better.
Are you too old for your age? Without regular exercise, your body ages faster than necessary. What makes us old are the physical limitations that restrict our capacity for life. Each of us wants to be able to maintain all of our everyday activities without undue fatigue and with energy to spare. Your ability to handle the physical demands of your daily life reflects your body age (otherwise known as your functional age). Although genetics plays a role in retaining a youthful body, the single most important lifestyle factor is your engagement in a well rounded exercise program.
The three aspects of physical fitness that can affect the aging process and preserve a youthful body are:
- Cardiovascular stamina - Your vitality and capacity for life depend on the efficiency of your cardiovascular system. The heart is a muscle that gets stronger with training, improving your ability to function day-to-day. The more you can do, the "younger" you are.
- Muscular strength and endurance - Strength training sculpts the contours of your body and strengthens the bones within. By building lean body mass, it boosts your metabolism and your energy levels, making you resistant to the slow down that occurs with age. Muscle strength makes you more resilient to injury and less likely to suffer from poor posture and back pain.
- Flexibility - Stretching discharges tension from the muscles, energizing the body. It defends against aging by lengthening the muscles to keep you tall and straight. Being flexible makes you agile, your movements fluid and youthful.
A balanced exercise program consists of a minimum of:
- 30 minutes, five days a week of moderate level cardio activity ("some beads of sweat")
- Two full-body strength training sessions per week
- Daily stretching, especially after every workout
Your body age represents a quality of life. If you follow the program consistently for eight weeks, you can expect to:
- Firm up by developing lean muscles
- Lose 1-2 pounds of fat and gain 1 pound of muscle
- Increase stamina, the amount and intensity of cardio work you can sustain.
- Decrease feelings of stiffness; improve posture and joint health
Turn back your body clock! The degree to which you can revitalize your body depends in part on your starting level of fitness. If your starting level is low, you stand to make the greatest initial improvements when you begin your exercise program. Those whose starting level is above average can also improve their fitness profile and "get younger". The more time you commit to your program, the more dramatic you can expect your results to be.
Joan Pagano is an authority on the benefits of exercise for women's health issues such as pregnancy, breast cancer, menopause and osteoporosis as well as strength training through the decades. For more about Joan and her services, please visit http://bit.ly/9IJYQk
Joan's expert guidance is also available in a series of best-selling fitness books. View her bibliography on Joan's Author Page on Amazon at http://bit.ly/bapUkU
(c) Copyright - Joan L. Pagano. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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