What Can Exercise Do for Me?
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July 13, 2007 |
Research suggests that growing older does not mean you have to lose your strength and ability to do everyday tasks and the things you enjoy doing. But an inactive lifestyle does mean that you probably will lose some of your strength and ability, and that you will be at higher risk for diseases and disabilities.
 Fortunately, even many frail people can improve their health and independence by increasing their physical activity.
Challenging exercises and physical activities done regularly can help many older adults improve their health, even when done at a moderate level. They may prevent or delay a variety of diseases and disabilities associated with aging.
Four types of exercises are important:
1. Endurance activities increase heart rate and breathing for extended periods of time. They improve the health of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system, and help prevent or delay some diseases such as diabetes, colon cancer, heart disease, stroke, and others, and reduce hospitalization rates.
2. Strength exercises build your muscles, but they do more than just make you stronger. They give you more strength to do things on your own. Even very small increases in muscle can make a big difference in ability, especially for frail people. Strength exercises also increase your metabolism, helping to keep your weight and blood sugar in check. That’s important because obesity and diabetes are major health problems for older adults. Studies suggest that strength exercises also may help prevent osteoporosis.
3. Balance exercises help prevent a common problem in older adults: falls. Falling is a major cause of broken hips and other injuries that often lead to disability and loss of independence. Some balance exercises build up your leg muscles; others require you to do simple activities like briefly standing on one leg.
4. Stretching exercises help keep your body limber by stretching your muscles and the tissues that hold your body’s structures in place. Physical therapists and other health professionals recommend certain stretching exercises to help patients recover from injuries and to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. Flexibility also may play a part in preventing falls.
Exercise as much as you can. It’s best to increase both the types and amounts of exercises and physical activities you do. Start at a level you can manage and work your way up gradually, building up to include: endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility exercises.
* If you do too much too quickly, you can damage your muscles and tissues.
* Also your enthusiasm needs to last a lifetime.
* Start with one or two types of exercises that you can manage and that you can fit into your schedule, then add more as you adjust to ensure that you will stick with it.
How much you exercise depends on you and on your unique situation. For some, muscle-building exercise might mean pushing more than a hundred pounds of weight at the local gym to keep your legs in shape for hiking or jogging. For others, it might mean lifting 1-pound weights to strengthen your arm muscles enough to use a washcloth. That might mean the dignity that comes from being able to wash yourself, instead of having someone else do it for you.
The goal is to improve from wherever you are right now.
Some people are reluctant to start exercising because they are afraid it will be too strenuous. Researchers have found that you don’t have to do strenuous exercises to gain health benefits; moderate exercises are effective, too.Labels: anti-aging, exercise |
posted by Maggie @ 5:24 pm   |
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