We take a lot of measures to stay young and healthy: going to the gym, eating healthy foods, avoiding dangerous habits like smoking. But, what if the type of exercise we’re focusing on isn’t targeting one of the major problems of aging? Lung function and capacity gets worse with age and as it decreases, the health problems start to increase. In fact, what if the exercises we’re doing make the situation worse, not better?
Daily exercise is the single most important thing that you can do to stay healthy and have a high level of endurance as you age. Think of all the sports you played, and all the times you worked out when you were young. Why should anything change just because you’ve turned 40?
The conventional aerobic exercise we’ve heard as “great for our heart” and perfect for weight loss may actually be doing more harm than good. Strenuous aerobic exercise doesn’t increase your lung capacity and it can actually cause damage to your body.
Incorrect aerobic exercise won’t improve your aerobic capacity, or the functional capacity of your cardiovascular system (your heart, lungs, and blood vessels). In fact, it will shrink your muscles, heart, and lungs. Not only that, but it will eliminate your reserve capacity, the heart and lung’s ability to deal with strenuous situations (heavy lifting, for example) or physical trauma.
Just like when you’re jogging, take frequent breaks, particularly if you’re short of breath. Get out of the pool and rest if your chest begins to hurt. Although swimming can be very tiring, it’s a very effective exercise because it works different muscle groups in concert, improving both coordination and endurance. Swimming is a great exercise that can do wonders for your body.
The PACE program focuses on variation; alternating between periods of exertion and recovery. By increasing the intensity and changing the duration of the intervals, your heart and lungs will build up the reverse capacity that was lost over years of the wrong kind of exercise.
As with any age, it’s important to rest an average of one day a week to allow your body to heal from this accelerated activity. Once you have put in a few months of pleasant, enjoyable physical exercise, you may suddenly find you’re feeling at least 20 years younger.
Graham McKenzie in an online content syndicator for ground breaking new fitness equipment device that increases an athletes peak performance by an additional 13.8%.
