Pub date
2010-03-26
The Easy Workout That Literally Makes You Younger
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The Easy Workout That Literally Makes You Younger
You already know exercise makes you look and feel younger. But here's a news flash: Exercise actually does make you younger—right down to your DNA. When researchers examined the lifestyle habits and DNA of more than 2,400 twins, they found that regular exercisers had significantly longer telomeres (a region of DNA that acts as a biological marker for aging) than their sedentary peers. Those who exercised a little less than 30 minutes a day had telomeres that looked 10 years younger than those who did just 16 minutes a week.
To ensure you reap all these benefits, we asked leading experts on aging and exercise to devise the ultimate anti-aging workout. All agreed that it should include the four cornerstones of age prevention: consistent cardio, intense intervals, yoga, and weight training. Start now and you can turn back the clock ... for life.
1. Do: Consistent cardio
The verdict is in: People who exercise almost daily really do keep ticking longer. When scientists pored over data from the famous Framingham Heart Study of more than 5,000 women and men, they discovered that active folks lived nearly four years longer than their inactive peers, largely because they sidestep heart disease—the nation's leading killer. Aerobic exercise such as walking, biking, jogging and swimming protects your heart by lowering blood pressure, reducing "bad" cholesterol, and keeping arteries flexible to improve blood flow. Your Rx: 30 minutes 5 days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Work at a pace that allows you to talk freely; if you can sing, you're not exercising hard enough. To get started, choose an activity you enjoy and do 10 minutes five days a week. Then increase by five minutes each week until you're doing 30 minutes at a time. Dividing your exercise into three 10-minute bouts throughout the day works, too.
2. Do: Intense intervals
Exercise keeps your mind fit by bringing more blood and oxygen to the noggin, rejuvenating your brain in the process. "The hippocampus, the main area of the brain where memory resides, is particularly susceptible to damage from low blood flow or lack of oxygen, both of which become more likely as we age," says brain researcher Eric B. Larson, M.D., of the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. Doing bursts of higher-intensity activity will increase blood flow and oxygen even more. Your Rx: 45 minutes twice a week (moderate-paced cardio exercise interspersed with one-minute speed bursts every two minutes). Based on a 1-to-10 scale, you should feel like you're working at an intensity of 7 or 8 (brisk enough that you can talk but would rather not) during the speed bursts and an intensity of 5 or 6 (moderate enough that you can talk freely) the rest of the time.
3. Do: Weight training
A healthy heart is key, but unless you have strong bones and muscles, getting up off the couch, climbing the stairs, and walking out the door to enjoy life won't be so easy. Lifting weights is one of the best ways to keep these body systems in tip-top shape, says Wendy Kohrt, Ph.D., a professor in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. And it can help you stand tall—a quick way to look younger. Your Rx: 20 minutes twice a week. Pick up two sets of dumbbells (3 and 5 pounds for beginners; 5 and 10 or 10 and 20 if you need an even bigger challenge), available at most department stores or sporting goods stores.
4. Do: Yoga
The less tense you are, the fewer lines and wrinkles you'll develop. One of the best workouts to fight stress? Yoga. In a German study, three hours of practice a week lowered the anxiety levels of 16 women ages 26 to 51 by a whopping 30 percent. "As your mouth, jaw, and brows relax, you can literally see the creases soften," says Larry Payne, Ph.D., director of the Yoga Therapy Rx program at Loyola Marymount University. It may also protect against free radicals, compounds that break down skin's elasticity. Your Rx: 30 minutes four times a week.
You already know exercise makes you look and feel younger. But here's a news flash: Exercise actually does make you younger—right down to your DNA. When researchers examined the lifestyle habits and DNA of more than 2,400 twins, they found that regular exercisers had significantly longer telomeres (a region of DNA that acts as a biological marker for aging) than their sedentary peers. Those who exercised a little less than 30 minutes a day had telomeres that looked 10 years younger than those who did just 16 minutes a week.
To ensure you reap all these benefits, we asked leading experts on aging and exercise to devise the ultimate anti-aging workout. All agreed that it should include the four cornerstones of age prevention: consistent cardio, intense intervals, yoga, and weight training. Start now and you can turn back the clock ... for life.
1. Do: Consistent cardio
The verdict is in: People who exercise almost daily really do keep ticking longer. When scientists pored over data from the famous Framingham Heart Study of more than 5,000 women and men, they discovered that active folks lived nearly four years longer than their inactive peers, largely because they sidestep heart disease—the nation's leading killer. Aerobic exercise such as walking, biking, jogging and swimming protects your heart by lowering blood pressure, reducing "bad" cholesterol, and keeping arteries flexible to improve blood flow. Your Rx: 30 minutes 5 days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Work at a pace that allows you to talk freely; if you can sing, you're not exercising hard enough. To get started, choose an activity you enjoy and do 10 minutes five days a week. Then increase by five minutes each week until you're doing 30 minutes at a time. Dividing your exercise into three 10-minute bouts throughout the day works, too.
2. Do: Intense intervals
Exercise keeps your mind fit by bringing more blood and oxygen to the noggin, rejuvenating your brain in the process. "The hippocampus, the main area of the brain where memory resides, is particularly susceptible to damage from low blood flow or lack of oxygen, both of which become more likely as we age," says brain researcher Eric B. Larson, M.D., of the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. Doing bursts of higher-intensity activity will increase blood flow and oxygen even more. Your Rx: 45 minutes twice a week (moderate-paced cardio exercise interspersed with one-minute speed bursts every two minutes). Based on a 1-to-10 scale, you should feel like you're working at an intensity of 7 or 8 (brisk enough that you can talk but would rather not) during the speed bursts and an intensity of 5 or 6 (moderate enough that you can talk freely) the rest of the time.
3. Do: Weight training
A healthy heart is key, but unless you have strong bones and muscles, getting up off the couch, climbing the stairs, and walking out the door to enjoy life won't be so easy. Lifting weights is one of the best ways to keep these body systems in tip-top shape, says Wendy Kohrt, Ph.D., a professor in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. And it can help you stand tall—a quick way to look younger. Your Rx: 20 minutes twice a week. Pick up two sets of dumbbells (3 and 5 pounds for beginners; 5 and 10 or 10 and 20 if you need an even bigger challenge), available at most department stores or sporting goods stores.
4. Do: Yoga
The less tense you are, the fewer lines and wrinkles you'll develop. One of the best workouts to fight stress? Yoga. In a German study, three hours of practice a week lowered the anxiety levels of 16 women ages 26 to 51 by a whopping 30 percent. "As your mouth, jaw, and brows relax, you can literally see the creases soften," says Larry Payne, Ph.D., director of the Yoga Therapy Rx program at Loyola Marymount University. It may also protect against free radicals, compounds that break down skin's elasticity. Your Rx: 30 minutes four times a week.
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