Americans are now living longer lives thanks to modern medicine.  Unfortunately, it is evident many are not healthier despite the extra years of life.

Now at 78, life expectancy in the US has improved in the last few years.  The negative side of this is that Chronic Disease and Illnesses have steadily increased and are appearing earlier in people’s lives.  Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Disease are on the rise despite the longer lives many Americans experience.

A new study from the Archives of Internal Medicine has shown that individuals that are fit at midlife suffer fewer chronic diseases after the age of 65.  Furthermore, the fit people over 65 years of age have a better quality of life in their senior years.

This Research done by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that “fitness” in your 40’s and 50’s reduced the chance of developing eight chronic diseases.

“The Big 8”:  Heart disease, Congestive heart failure, Type 2 Diabetes, COPD, Kidney Disease, Alzheimer’s disease and lung or colon cancer.

“We have determined that being fit is not just delaying the inevitable, but it is actually lowering the onset of chronic disease in the final years of life”, said Dr Jarrett Berry, assistant professor of internal medicine.

So what kind of exercise should You do to get fit now and reap the benefits demonstrated in this study?

Based on your age, current level of health, symptoms, health history, injury history, and exercise experience it is possible to create a program that will progress you towards your goals and achieve a healthy level of fitness without injuring yourself.

Not all exercise is good within the scope of a longevity based approach.  It takes a personalized approach  to avoid the potential dark side of exercise

It is becoming common knowledge that Athletes, although supremely fit, are not in the best of health or creating an environment for longevity.  An athlete is focused on performance and exercising for performance usually does not support health.  The level of training and strict dieting required to be a competitive athlete is often destructive to the athlete’s body over the course of their career.

Unfortunately, in the “Health and Fitness Industry”, the athletic training model has been used as the template for the general population’s health and fitness.  The result is often an inappropriate overtraining effect and/or short term fat loss diet advice that can create the foundation for dangerous unexpected problems one would not usually associate with exercise.

For example, a suppression of Thyroid function leading to a cascade of problems caused by aerobic or intense anaerobic training is not uncommon; although people can recover from this with rest and proper nutrition, when done repeatedly the long term effect is not worth the short term perceived “healthy” effects.

Dr. Raymond Peat, PhD states:

“In experiments, T3 (The Active Thyroid Hormone) production is stopped very quickly by even “sub-aerobic” exercise, probably because of the combination of a decrease of blood glucose and an increase in free fatty acids. In a healthy person, rest will tend to restore the normal level of T3, but there is evidence that even very good athletes remain in a hypothyroid state even at rest. A chronic increase of lactic acid and Cortisol indicates that something is wrong.

The “slender muscles” of endurance runners are signs of a catabolic state that has been demonstrated even in the heart muscle. A slow heart beat very strongly suggests hypothyroidism. Hypothyroid people, who are likely to produce lactic acid even at rest, are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of “aerobic” exercise. The good effect some people feel from exercise is probably the result of raising the body temperature; a warm bath will do the same for people with low body temperature.”

So what can one to do to create an anti-aging program?

What is required to support Longevity, Health and Fitness?

In short, how do You sustain and bolster Your Dynamic Body?

Build useful, functional muscle without exhausting yourself at least twice per week.

“Train, don’t Drain” is key for someone doing exercise to support anti-aging and longevity.

Do aerobic activity that does not leave you breathless and fatigued.  Walking in a pleasant atmosphere is probably the best aerobic activity for the body and mind.

Exercise 3-5 times per week in short segments and support your training with a good diet and lifestyle.

To benefit from exercise you need a solid anabolic rebound; to achieve this, nutrition needs to be in place before you exercise so that your body is ready to recover immediately post-exercise.  Always make sure  your blood sugar is up and ready for exercise or risk cannibalizing yourself and creating a damaging effect instead of a healthy effect.

It is not complicated but does require some adjustments to the common doctrine on exercise.

To get a personalized Program that supports Your Longevity and Health contact:

Mark@TheDynamicBody.com