I get info updates from a few sites (Medscape Daily News from WebMD and Daily News from Healthfinder.gov). Often times there are articles directly related to exercise that I will pass on. This is great stuff because it produces actual evidence (truth) as to why we need to exercise certain ways to optimize our health and why exercise can make us healthier and live longer and better.
High-Impact Exercise Reduces Stroke Risk. While research has shown for some time that light exercise is beneficial to reducing stroke risk, this new study adds further insight that moderate to high intensity exercise may be even better. This is great info that needs to be shared with everyone. Unfortunately, our society and way of life often looks for the easiest way to do things. Many people take the same approach to their exercise, what is the least I can do to get some benefit. To get the greatest benefit we need to find what is the most I can do. We need to be smart about this, though. I am not advocating everyone go out and run as fast as you can for as long as you can till you throw up or pass out. But with proper monitoring and gradual training we need to try and increase our intensity with our workouts. A great quote I heard once was, “You shouldn’t run to get in-shape, but you should get in-shape so you can run.” Monitor things such as your heart rate, your breathing patterns, listen to your body while you are exercising. We shouldn't experience pain, but we do have to get to the comfortable side of uncomfortable. It is okay to get a little short of breath when you are exercising, just rest as needed.
I take a simple insight from Ella my soon to be 5 year old. She loves to play tag in the yard. She runs as fast as she can to get away from me, when she needs to rest she stops, touches something and says “base”. When she is rested off she goes again while I chase her throughout the yard. This is great exercise and great fun!!!
When exercising at a higher intensity realize you need appropriate rest and should not perform the activity as long as light to moderate exercise. This is great news for those that have a hard time finding time to exercise. Higher intensity means less time exercising, plus better benefits – sounds like a win-win to me. We just need to review the Exercise Guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association to see how true this is. “Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week Or Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.” This is why looking at adding some interval training to your workout is beneficial, which I will post on in the future.
Lifelong Exercise Keeps Senior Young at Heart. This study found that seniors (people over 65) that exercised the most throughout their life had the healthiest hearts. While any exercise showed that they had better hearts than those that did not exercise, those that exercised more frequently had the best hearts. Those with the best hearts were the master athletes. Master athletes are seniors who've exercised six to seven times a week for 15 to 25 years and retained 100 percent of their heart's youthful characteristics and have hearts similar to those of 30-year-olds. This is a great study to show the importance of starting early with our exercise and continuing on as a lifestyle and not something to ever stop. The more you put in the more you get out of it. Just like simple investing principles of our money – the more you put in over a longer time will produce more in the end.
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