Any man’s ultimate fitness goal is to stay able and active until old age. The most common misconception about exercising, however, is its applicability only to the young, able-bodied individuals.
This is one big fitness fallacy that needs to be corrected. At any age, even at 70, you can still move around, stretch a little, and even dance to your heart’s content, maybe not as intense as during your younger days. How to get to this state, here are 6 workout tips to live a long, healthy life:
Be Consistent
Exercises that come in bursts and crunches are never ideal. They take a toll on your body unnecessarily and you may possibly endanger your health if the shift to a short-lived, highly intense workout plan is sudden.
As with all good things in life, have the patience and persistence to follow through a long-term fitness plan. Spend a good 150 minutes of physical activity a week to get your heart and muscles working.
Cycling is one of the easiest workouts to do. A mini exercise bike would work really well for those who are always short on time for exercising.
Vary Your Routines
Do not be lured into joining the trend to bulk up. Choose to stick to a routine that your body is able to adapt to. A study found that even light activities contributed to about 17% decreased risk of early death.
Even brisk walking and random dancing will suffice, so long as the major muscles are involved. The recommended exercise duration is 150 minutes a week.
Perform moderate exercises like dancing or cycling 30 minutes per day and you will add about 3 years to your lifespan, as the study shows. Lastly, include variations. Basic stretching, besides aerobic and strength-training, should also be done at least 2 to 3 days weekly.
Be Creative
When you’re already in late 40s and hitting the gym doesn’t appeal to you anymore, you can still stay fit by incorporating basic exercises into your daily chores, like lifting boxes, doing lunges like scrubbing floors, and biking to your office. This way, your workout plan is more sustainable and doable.
Be Selective with Your Food
Diet and exercise always go together, so observing a healthy diet plan is also considered an effective workout tip. People who feed less on junk foods and more on fresh produce generally live healthier and longer.
Chemicals, salt, fats, and sugar found on packaged goods or fast-food restaurants can cause diseases like cancer or aggravate genetically predisposed illnesses like hypertension and diabetes. Even if you sweat a lot but your nutrition remains undervalued, your lifespan can still be shortened with diseases.
Find Your Niche
Happy people live long as they tend to develop more positive attitudes towards life and practice healthier, cleaner ways of living. So for your long-term fitness plan, find an activity that you enjoy doing so much that you can envision doing it for the rest of your life.
Is it dancing? Swimming? Or simply gardening? Whatever that physical activity is, you sure know that you experience psychological flow when doing it.
Exercise prolongs life, as consistently supported by studies. To maximize the benefit it brings and not fall into the state of fitness boredom or frustration, remember the helpful tips above.
