You know that working out can help balance weight loss, regain muscle mass, and protect your bones. The research proves it: fitness affects our health as we age, and it’s never too late to start working out.
Fitness makes you look good and it makes you feel good. It gives us energy for work, for love, for adventure, for everything we want. It also helps manage stress levels. Even when you are stuck in traffic may seem a little less stressful when you have endorphins floating in your system from a great workout. Everything seems way better when we feel strong in our beautiful, strong bodies.
This physical activity may prove to be the difference, as we all age, between dependence and independence. Isn’t that what we really want for ourselves in the long run? Not just to look good in the clothes we love today – although we all enjoy the confidence about our bodies – but to be STRONG and capable for the whole journey. To become that kind of old people who have the energy, strength and brain capacity to take care of our own needs, drive ourselves around, make our own decisions, to see the world and keep living fully for as long as possible.
Move to stay heart – healthy
A lot of women, all around the world today, die from heart disease and one of the best ways to keep your heart strong is of course: working out! Any kind of cardiovascular exercise that elevates your heart rate is a good way to protect your heart, blood vessels and your lungs. Choose whatever kind of exercise is close to your heart: dance, swim, walk long distances every day, anything to get that blood pumping.
Move to sleep better
In one study of adults who suffered from insomnia, participants who began a consistent exercise regime reported that they could fall asleep faster, sleep longer and sleep better than before they started to exercise. For example, I do my work out routine in the morning and I can tell you, even if a lot of studies already say that, working out in the morning helps me sleep so well at night, so I completely recommend that.
Move to stay smart
Have you ever gone for a run just to clear your head? Or come up with great ideas while riding your bicycle? Well, there’s no coincidence. Why? Because exercise helps promote new connections in your brain. Exercise also increases neuroprotective factors in your brain, like the protein BDNF – ‘brain-derived neurotrophic factor’ , which is a neuroplasticity that helps with learning and memory. It is found in the parts of the brain that manage food and weight.
Move to fight cellulite
Can exercising help us to manage our cellulite? Research points to: yes. Up to 90 % of us will get cellulite at some stage of our lives – even thin women. As we age, those fat cells accumulate and push up against the skin. At the same time, the biological rods that connect your skin to the muscle beneath it can strain, which combines with the fat cell accumulation to change the surface of the skin. Decreased estrogen levels lead to reductions in blood flow and decreased circulation. As a result, less oxygen and fewer nutrients are delivered to skin cells. The collagen production and elasticity decrease with age, and as fat cells increase they become more visible as cellulite under the skin. Although cellulite has a genetic component, working out increases blood flow that may reduce cellulite accumulation as we age.
Move to feel good
If you aren’t used to exercise regularly, start with the basics, like going for a walk in the park or your neighbourhood a few times a week. You can take a group class if you also want to socialize to keep your determination, or find a personal trainer. Whatever works fine for you, as long as you shake your bones and muscles:) Believe me, once you get used to being more active, your body will crave it. You will develop a better balance and your energy levels will reply: a body in motion stays in motion.
Final tip: Go out. Get that body going. Feel good. Then go home and get a good night’s sleep.
Credit photos: harvard.edu / runnersworld.com
