Staff Writer

Exercise is an important part of maintaining a healthy body and mind.  It has an impact on almost every facet of health and living, in fact it is the closest thing to an anti-aging “silver bullet”.

Exercise has been shown to be protective against heart disease and stroke, two of the top causes of death in the developed world. Exercise decreases damaging free radicals in your blood and increases your natural production of protective anti-oxidants. For men, testosterone levels stay higher for longer with regular exercise, leading to better moods and healthy sexual lives.

Burning calories lowers excessive sugar and insulin levels in the body, helping prevent diabetes and leading to an increased lifespan.  Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or cycling, is particularly good at decreasing insulin levels.

Anaerobic exercise, such as weight training and circuit training, builds the muscle mass that you can use in aerobic exercise.

In the past, most people got all the exercise they needed through their daily working lives – walking, carrying things, and doing physical labor. Today’s modern lifestyles have much less of these activities as people drive cars instead of walk and work in offices instead of fields.  At the same time, calorie-rich foods are abundantly available, leading to widespread overeating.  These combine to make exercise more important than ever before to maintain good health and keep young.

The good news is that the amount of exercise we really need is not that high.  Walking casually for an hour, or half an hour at a fast-pace or 25 minutes of riding a bike on a daily basis are enough for women – and just a little bit longer is fine for men.  The rates are lower for women because they have slimmer bodies with less muscle mass.  For this reason a man’s exercise program can never be the same as a woman’s.  Furthermore, nobody’s exercise program will ever be identical to another person’s.

Your exercise regimen should be tailored to your needs. Short-term exercise fads are about as useful as fad diets, and in fact could be harmful.  A study in the US indicated that people who don’t exercise and then suddenly try to do too much can actually increase their risk of heart attacks.  An exercise program should be long-term, incorporated into your lifestyle, and not a quick weight-loss gimmick.

A good exercise therapist can help you develop a program that is right for you, and make sure that your form is correct.  “Form” means the way you do your exercises, how you hold your weight, what your back looks like when you jog.  Learning the correct form is very important, as otherwise you can cause serious damage to your body.  It is quite difficult for anyone to see their own form, so the exercise therapist acts as a good coach while you’re learning the right forms.

It can be difficult to find a good exercise therapist.  Every fitness center has plenty of very healthy looking personal trainers on staff, but their qualifications and knowledge can be difficult to understand. Most qualified anti-aging doctors should have some affiliation with good exercise therapists since a fitness regimen should be part of a complete anti-aging program.

The power of the mind – stress reduction
The brain is a terrible thing to waste, and you may be surprised to learn that utilizing your brain’s powers can lead to a more prosperous, longer life.

The brain reaches its peak level of performance when we reach around 20 years of age.  Not surprisingly, the same steps taken to aid the body also have an impact on the brain.  A balanced diet and a proper exercise program will lead to improved brain functionality as you age.  Other than that, stress reduction is the key.

Stress reduction to improve your brain’s ability should involve a form of meditation which gives you a way to control your brain patterns and can lead to better functionality. Meditation involves clearing your brain of problematic thoughts and focusing on a word or phrase through chanting or repetition.  The idea is to repeat this word or phrase whilst concentrating on your breathing and achieving a state of relaxation, ignoring the random thoughts that enter your brain from time to time.

The benefits of meditation can be very real, including an effect on your blood pressure level and heart rate, which can lead to an improved immune system.