We may not control health but we can make a new habit of exercise

Since the article brought up the subject of death; there is the possibility that our bodies are not healthy, we may find yourselves in decline earlier in our 60’s or 70’s. Medicine is invaluable in helping us when we are fighting diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. I take a little issue with the idea early decline is an issue of lifestyle. Some of these things are lifestyle problems but there are people with good lifestyles who are fighting these things. It's still remains that we can do the right things and bad things happen. 

It seems as if we develop the habit of exercise where we include 30 minutes of aerobics, a couple days of strength training, we increase our chances of living longer. And if we lived longer into our late 80s or 90s we tend to wear out and die with a brief decline to let us know to make a piece. According to Chicago Tribune article, An Active Lifestyle Makes Life and Death Better, by James Fell reports to us what Dr. Mike Joiner Mayo clinic and Dr. Jim Fries of Stanford University. Also weighing in is Dr. Spencer Nadolsky.

I have written similar data from Dr. Cooper from Dallas from his research. Regaining The Power Of Youth and Start Strong, Finish Strong.There is no doubt in my mind that exercise can be a habit that is good for us. Lifestyle dynamics in health give us something positive that we can participate in, in what is a very unpredictable aging process that we have little control of. 

I think their advise is sound “the quicker or earlier we start exercising the better as far as longevity is concerned. If we start exercising at 50 or later we definitely can help our quality-of-life.”

Both Dr. Cooper and Dr. Joyner believes aerobic exercise benefits younger people more and seniors who have more limitations “by musculoskeletal frailty”, need strength training to improve bone and strength health. Dr. Nadolsky adds, “My older patients who lift weights do a lot better at being independent.”

Exercise is good for our brain. Exercise increases oxygen to the brain and our brain is one of the biggest users of oxygen in our body. As we get older I believe that exercises are the best investments we can do for our selves and we know exercise improves the immune system which fights things that can hurt us. 

When we strength train as we get older we have to pay attention to proper form and safety. We may be starting at a point our life when we are weaker or we are battling some injury or disease. We also have to weigh in on what our Doctor advises. Recently I wrote about research that informs us it takes twice as long for us to see the benefits of exercise and we are younger. The positive side of that is we can see the positive effects.

Walking with the fat man excepts the inevitable problems with aging. Exercise can still be an option regardless of our limitations but we have to be realistic in our expectations and need patience if we are dealing with slow progress.

I think of two ideas we need to hold on to. One is our independence and the ability to carry-on our life. The other is exercise helps us to have the ability to help in our eventual care that we will need when we get older. Some walking and resistant training can go a long way in improving how we deal with getting older.

One more thought I like to share about strength training, If you're going to do it have a goal in mind to get stronger. Make a goal that eventually you will be lifting a little more weight or you are using a heavier band then when you started. Select fitness goals that you can get off the floor without holding on to something. That you can carry a bag of groceries or open jar. If you're more fit set a goal that she will do push-ups at a lower step. Push-ups can be done off-the-wall, leaning away from the wall, moving to counter doing the push-ups, moving to the stairs doing push-ups off to forced air, Then the third stair, then the second stair, etc. all away to the ground. Along the way you are getting stronger at each level resistance. 

No matter where you're at, your health as long as you have breath that there something that you can do. Keep walking