THE BASIC SCIENCE of 50+ EXERCISE
"Exercise is, arguably, the most effective means to extend human healthspan," according to research just published by the American College of Sports Medicine.
With just a little aerobic exercise (walking, biking, gardening, dancing, skating, swimming) for 30 minutes, five days a week:
• heart disease can be cut by over 40%
• cardiac mortality reduced by 31%.
• can lower the risk of breast cancer by 25% and bowel cancer by 45%
• decrease the risk of developing dementia by as much as 30%
• lessen the chance of having a stroke by 30%
• it is effective treating Type I and II diabetes.
• is effective in the treatment of depression
• it improves cognitive function and reverses brain atrophy.
Exercise: The miracle cure. Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Hippocrates said exercise is man's best medicine – and prescribed it to his patients 2,400 years ago. The American College of Sports Medicine adopted the ethos in 2007, with its Exercise is Medicine initiative. Exercise, it says, "can prevent and treat chronic diseases like cancer, type II diabetes and heart disease".
The science is clear:
"Adults who met aerobic activity recommendations (of 150 minutes a week) but did not weightlift had a 32% lower risk of all-cause mortality, while those who also reported weightlifting 1-2 times per week in addition to the aerobic activity had as much as a 41% lower risk of death compared with adults reporting no moderate to vigorous aerobic activity or weightlifting,” according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, September 2022.
Just 60 minutes of weight lifting, once a week: "lowered the risk of all-cause mortality by 15%, (cardiovascular) mortality by 19%, and cancer mortality by 14%." according to a 2022 study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
"Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle," according to McMaster University researchers.
Exercise, including weight lifting, has been proven to safely improve the health of everyone – especially older adults.
According to medical doctors and scientists,
you are never too old to start getting fitter.
"The combination of strength and endurance training in the elderly is the optimum strategy by which to improve both neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory functions and, consequently, to maintain functional capacity during aging." 2013 American Aging Association paper.
Moving & lifting weights may even make your brain work better.
Exercise can be as effective as many frequently prescribed drugs
– but always listen to your MD.
Plus, regular exercise makes you look and feel better.
Just 30 minutes a day of moving at a moderate pace and one or two weekly strength training sessions can make anyone – especially older adults – much healthier and even happier. And you can do it in the comfort of your east Toronto home, safely and with the guidance of a senior's certified personal trainer.