HURRY TO LIVE HEALTHIER AND LONGER

HURRY TO LIVE HEALTHIER AND LONGER

As a 77 year- old author of a blog entitled "Growing Young with Ray", I have become increasingly aware of the natural aging of my body as nearly all of my movements have slowed down a tad.  For example, my mind tells me that I can race across the tennis court to smash the ball, but my body arrives a step or two late. 
                                              

My new favorite magazine, GROWING BOLDER, {November/December 2016} recently featured Kenneth Cooper, M.D., who started a global health and exercise revolution with his 1968 best seller, "Aerobics".

86 years old Dr. Cooper has logged over 38,000 miles running and continues daily exercise at his Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas."


He believes that:  "You can lead a long happy life before dying suddenly.  We've been led to believe that you should slow down as you age when in reality, people who do this are shortening their lives and not enjoying their lives to the fullest.  We're now seeing scientific evidence that proves you can slow down the aging process- and in many cases, reverse it." 

As we age into adulthood, most of us we lose our ability to do many things such as running, hiking, climbing, kicking, throwing, catching and hitting a ball simply because we stopped doing these things and our muscles lose their ability to perform... which reminds me of a friend in his forties who had not thrown a baseball since high school who picked up an abandoned baseball and threw it to us resulting in tremendous arm and shoulder pain and he has never thrown another ball since then.  IF YOU DON'T USE IT, YOU WILL LOSE IT.


I will probably never regain my lost step in tennis, but if I practice sprinting, I can regain a half step and maybe more.

Recent research has shown that regular exercise is essential to successful aging.  The best exercise includes total body strengthening with brief sessions of intensity which strengthens the heart and lungs.

Hurry Up!  Walk fast!  Increase the speed of your bike!  Park away from the entrances of stores!   Avoid the escalators and elevators and climb and descend stairs!  Try to execute chores quickly and efficiently. 
  
Try to keep busy and avoid prolonged periods of time in a seated position.  The American Heart Association equates a largely sedentary lifestyle to smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day.  If your job requires you to sit at a desk all day, try to get up and move about several times every hour.  You can try sitting and moving on a fitness ball which strengthens your core and posture.  (inflate the ball so your lap is flat).

A JAMA Gait Speed and Survival study revealed that the faster you can move from one spot to another significantly determines how long you will live.

JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) conducted a mammoth study of 34,485 adults over 65 years who were followed for 6 to 21 years. 

Participants were timed as they moved short distances. As the graph below shows, there was a significantly high correlation between gait speed and longevity.

The researchers theorized that walking places demands on the entire body including the heart, lungs, circulatory systems, muscular and nervous systems.  Consequently, our gait speed indicates our overall health and longevity potential. Personally, I have incorporated speed walking into my life. 

Our bodies are truly amazing in their capacity to adapt to our desires, and if we want to remain as youthful as possible as we chronologically age, it is achievable...with practice, perseverance, and patience.   

So keep moving as quickly as you can and live happier and longer.

You might want to check out our next post about the MINI MAX WORKOUT , which maximizes fitness benefits in a minimal amount of time.