WHOOA! Slow it Down! The Aging…

Life With Lisa

If you are not at the place I am mentioning you will be there before you know it. So, read on anyway, because you will want to know about this at one time or another. Aging is a natural process we are all going through. Some of us are at different places than others. Either way we all get to the point that we decide it plain sucks! Your body changes: it slows down. So, naturally we either give up or decide to do something about it. Just remember, we do have a little control. Control on the most basic level, the cellular level.

The reason we become sluggish and lose stamina is because we have less oxygen in our bodies. As we age our heart rate slows and we have decreased lung capacity that negatively affects the amount of oxygen that reaches our muscles. Without oxygen muscles can not work. This includes even the most basic activities.

Research shows that regular aerobic exercise can decrease our biological age by 10 years or more by improving cellular function.

Specifically the power generator of each cell: the mitochondria. The harder we exercise the greater changes in the mitochondria, leading to a bigger reduction in biological age over the life span.

Interval Training is one of the most effective ways to exercise at a high enough intensity to significantly increase oxygen demand and ultimately slow aging. Intense exercise is defined as “going all out”.  Interval Training consists of short bursts of high intensity followed by brief periods of active recovery. Typically high intensity exercise is associated with high impact aerobic training, which can cause injuries. The challenge is how to exercise with intensity without injury.

We can increase the intensity by adjusting these variables:

• Adjusting our speed: speed increases the
risk of injury-be careful.

• Add an incline.

• Increase the resistance or work load.

• Move through a full range of motion as
opposed to shorter ranges.

• Impact like plyometrics: this is non-
sustained jumping- careful this is high risk.

• Alternating a lower body exercise with an
upper body exercise.

Keep the changes simple by adjusting one variable at a time. Our body doesn’t care what has changed only that something is different enough to work the muscles harder so the demand for oxygen is greater and the heart rate goes up.

How do we do it? It is simple. We only need to spend 30 seconds to 1 minute in the all out phase and 2-3 minutes in the recovery phase. Time increments are less important than incorporating short bursts of high intensity in our training sessions.

Remember to exercise in a style and an intensity that is safe. Intense exercise or “going all out” is practiced at 85% of our maximum heart rate. 85% is not feasible for everyone. A 20 year old in great shape can probably go all out. Someone who hasn’t been exercising regularly or intensely should proceed carefully with a lower heart rate target. Another consideration is joint degeneration. Most people over 40 years old have some form of this from normal wear and tear on the body. If jumping and running doesn’t feel good don’t do it. Stick to the lower impact activities.

To learn how to practice interval training safely schedule a circuit class with us at our studio. Mention this article or Trends magazine for 50% off.

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