For more than two decades, most fitness centres have offered classes that provide a limited range of aerobic options.
Some add in stepping exercises, some integrate martial arts moves, and others use stationary bicycles, but the basic class - loud music, a high-intensity instructor and even higher-intensity work-outs - hasn't changed much. Until recently. Happily, most recreation centres and fitness clubs today also offer a plethora of programmes; these may hark back to ancient Chinese traditions, borrow from professional ballerinas or even pull in techniques from the boxing ring. Some are quite intense and not for beginners, others are perfectly suited to an older or out-of-shape execiser. Here we look at a few very different options.
TAI CHI CHUAN The name of this ancient Chinese martial art form (called tai chi for short) loosely translate to 'the supreme ultimate boxing system'. It involves slow, steady movements that incorporate both the physically of the body through the motions and the mental strength of the mind through mediation. Most of the movements are performed in a standing position, with inner calm being a key component.
Numerous studies attest to tai chi's benefits in improving balance, flexibility and cardiovascular health in people of all ages, but particularly in older people with or without chronic conditions. It can
reduce pain and diability from arthritis, significantly reduce the risk of falls, lower the blood pressure, relieve stress and improve aerobic capacity.
PILATES Pilates was created by the German fitness instrcutor Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s
both as a way to rehabilitate from injury and to strengthen the body to reduce future injuries. It utilises a series of low-impact, controlled, precise movements that are designed to improve balance, flexibility and core strength, accompanied by slow, steady breathing. Programmes sometimes involve certain machines that Pilates invented.
Like tai chi, there are hundreds of research studies documenting the benefits of Pilates-type exercises for preventing injury, managing pain and core muscle training. So far, they've found Pilates can relieve lower-back pain better than standard medical treatments and improve flexibility. Best of all, the risk of injury is low with a property trained teacher. Look for an instructor certified by a recognised UK Pilates association, who has had months, not a couple of weekends, of training.
BALL CLASSES You've probably seen those oversized rubber balls in shops or at fitness club. They're great tools for strengthening your abdomen and back, and improving your balance. But what do you do with them? Try lying across a ball on your back to do sit-ups. The combination of the abdominal exercise and the added effort required to balance on the ball supercharges the motion. Or simply sit on the ball with your feet hip-width apart and lift one foot at a time. Can you keep your balance? Classes that integrate balls after a low-impact option for improving muscle strength and flexibility.
KICKBOXING You might call kickboxing the high-impact aerobics of the 21 century. This is the class for you if you''re already fairly fit and strong, and you're looking for a great endurance exercise with strength training thrown in. You'll even get a bit of stretching for improved flexibility. Moves include kicks, punches and squats, for a full-body work-out. Come to class prepared to work hard.
KETTLEBELLS Coming soon to a gym near you, kettlebells is a high-intensity Russian fitness routine - not for exercise beginners - that incorporates solid cast-iron weights that look like bowling balls with handles.. Like Pilates and yoga, routines focus on strengthening core muscles; unlike those two programmes, you also get an aerobic work-out by working several muscles at a time.
Other studies find a much lower risk of upper respiratory tract infection such as colds and bronchitis, as well as pnuemonia, among physically active older people. Again, we're not talking about training for a marathon. Something as gentle as tai chi can boost your immune system enough that it can better fight off the virus that causes shingles, a painful nerve disease more common in those over 50.
7 A better sex life
Just 30 minutes a day of vigorous exercise is enough to slash a man's risk of erectile dysfunction by between 37 and 58 percent, depending on the intensity of the physical activity. Sexual frequency, enjoyment and satisfaction in older people is also directly linked to their fitness levels; the fitter you are, the more often you're having sex!
8 Less abdominal fat
Here's another good reason to be active: exercise is critical in reducing the size of fat cells around your abdomen, the so-called visceral fat. This is the fat that gives men their beer bellies and women an apple shape. It's also the type of fat that accumulates within your adbominal organs and liver, contributing to inflammation, insulin resistance and diabetes. Plus it's associated with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health markers that significantly increases your risk of heart disease as well as diabetes.
we now know that the size of these fat cells, as well as the number, is directly related to your risk of developing diabetes, regardless of your weight. Simply cuting calories may do little to shrink belly fat cells unless you exercise. That's what one team of researchers found when they studied three groups of women. All cut out 2,800 calories a week, either through dieting alone or a combination of dieting and exercise.
The two exercise groups burned 400 calories a week through walking and shrink their visceral fat cell size by 18 percent; the dieters, who reduced their body fat, weight and waist and hip measurements exactly as much as the diet-and-execisers, saw no change in the size of those fat cells. So it seems that exercise may be the key factor in controlling distribution of fat cells. A similar study found that while diet alone and diet-plus-exercise reduced total and abdominal fat in overweight women to the same degree, only exercise reduced blood levels of chronic inflammation markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6.
9 Relief of depression
Researchers took 156 people aged 50-77 who had been diagnosed with major depression and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: either exercise (30 minutes of bike riding, walking or jogging three times a week), medication (the prescription drug sertraline) or a combination of the two. After 16 weeks, all three groups showed similar improvements in depression, but only the exercise groups also improved their cognitive abilities. Plus, when researchers checked on the participants six months after the study ended, they found much lower relapse rates in the exercisers than in the medication group.
10 More muscle strength
Sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious - in this cause, that exercise makes you stronger. Exercise your arms, and carrying groceries becomes easy. Exercise your legs, and stairs won't be a problem. As little as two to four weeks of weight-training can create the kind of microscopic molecular changes in your body's production of hormones - including growth hormone and other chemicals, as well as proteins related to muscle growth - that contribute to muscle repair and strengthening. Researchers have even seen significant improvements in as few as four work-outs.
This is critical, according to Dr Mitchell, because the more muscle you have, the better your cells use insulin and take it glucose. Those two factors play a major role in inflammation, obesity, heart disease and diabetes, and are behind many of the health-related benefits of exercise and its ability to keep you feeling young. Yet he notes, "There's no magic pill you can take to train your muscles.' He's not just touting the company line; Dr Mitchell, 79, walks an hour a day most days and works out with weights two or three times a week.
Slow or fast?
Is it better to walk slow or fast? Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the USA wondered the same thing, so they tracked nine overweight, sedentary women aged 50 to 65. The women walked 5km (3 miles) a day, a total of 25km (15 miles) a week, for eight months. At the end of the study, those keeping a modest pace -covering 1.6 km (1 mile) in roughly 20 minutes - increased their insulin sensitivity and thus reduced their risk of diabetes, although the improvement tapered off as their speed increased. The slower walkers also lost more body fat than the faster walkers.
On the other hand, faster walkers (who averaged a 15 minute a mile pace) secreted more growth hormone, while growth hormone levels in the slower walkers actually declined.
The message just get out there and walk. Mix it up a bit - perhaps try walking fast uphill or slower coming down, or vice versa.
The message...
Just get out there and walk
Some add in stepping exercises, some integrate martial arts moves, and others use stationary bicycles, but the basic class - loud music, a high-intensity instructor and even higher-intensity work-outs - hasn't changed much. Until recently. Happily, most recreation centres and fitness clubs today also offer a plethora of programmes; these may hark back to ancient Chinese traditions, borrow from professional ballerinas or even pull in techniques from the boxing ring. Some are quite intense and not for beginners, others are perfectly suited to an older or out-of-shape execiser. Here we look at a few very different options.
TAI CHI CHUAN The name of this ancient Chinese martial art form (called tai chi for short) loosely translate to 'the supreme ultimate boxing system'. It involves slow, steady movements that incorporate both the physically of the body through the motions and the mental strength of the mind through mediation. Most of the movements are performed in a standing position, with inner calm being a key component.
Numerous studies attest to tai chi's benefits in improving balance, flexibility and cardiovascular health in people of all ages, but particularly in older people with or without chronic conditions. It can
reduce pain and diability from arthritis, significantly reduce the risk of falls, lower the blood pressure, relieve stress and improve aerobic capacity.
PILATES Pilates was created by the German fitness instrcutor Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s
both as a way to rehabilitate from injury and to strengthen the body to reduce future injuries. It utilises a series of low-impact, controlled, precise movements that are designed to improve balance, flexibility and core strength, accompanied by slow, steady breathing. Programmes sometimes involve certain machines that Pilates invented.
Like tai chi, there are hundreds of research studies documenting the benefits of Pilates-type exercises for preventing injury, managing pain and core muscle training. So far, they've found Pilates can relieve lower-back pain better than standard medical treatments and improve flexibility. Best of all, the risk of injury is low with a property trained teacher. Look for an instructor certified by a recognised UK Pilates association, who has had months, not a couple of weekends, of training.
BALL CLASSES You've probably seen those oversized rubber balls in shops or at fitness club. They're great tools for strengthening your abdomen and back, and improving your balance. But what do you do with them? Try lying across a ball on your back to do sit-ups. The combination of the abdominal exercise and the added effort required to balance on the ball supercharges the motion. Or simply sit on the ball with your feet hip-width apart and lift one foot at a time. Can you keep your balance? Classes that integrate balls after a low-impact option for improving muscle strength and flexibility.
KICKBOXING You might call kickboxing the high-impact aerobics of the 21 century. This is the class for you if you''re already fairly fit and strong, and you're looking for a great endurance exercise with strength training thrown in. You'll even get a bit of stretching for improved flexibility. Moves include kicks, punches and squats, for a full-body work-out. Come to class prepared to work hard.
KETTLEBELLS Coming soon to a gym near you, kettlebells is a high-intensity Russian fitness routine - not for exercise beginners - that incorporates solid cast-iron weights that look like bowling balls with handles.. Like Pilates and yoga, routines focus on strengthening core muscles; unlike those two programmes, you also get an aerobic work-out by working several muscles at a time.
Other studies find a much lower risk of upper respiratory tract infection such as colds and bronchitis, as well as pnuemonia, among physically active older people. Again, we're not talking about training for a marathon. Something as gentle as tai chi can boost your immune system enough that it can better fight off the virus that causes shingles, a painful nerve disease more common in those over 50.
7 A better sex life
Just 30 minutes a day of vigorous exercise is enough to slash a man's risk of erectile dysfunction by between 37 and 58 percent, depending on the intensity of the physical activity. Sexual frequency, enjoyment and satisfaction in older people is also directly linked to their fitness levels; the fitter you are, the more often you're having sex!
8 Less abdominal fat
Here's another good reason to be active: exercise is critical in reducing the size of fat cells around your abdomen, the so-called visceral fat. This is the fat that gives men their beer bellies and women an apple shape. It's also the type of fat that accumulates within your adbominal organs and liver, contributing to inflammation, insulin resistance and diabetes. Plus it's associated with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health markers that significantly increases your risk of heart disease as well as diabetes.
we now know that the size of these fat cells, as well as the number, is directly related to your risk of developing diabetes, regardless of your weight. Simply cuting calories may do little to shrink belly fat cells unless you exercise. That's what one team of researchers found when they studied three groups of women. All cut out 2,800 calories a week, either through dieting alone or a combination of dieting and exercise.
The two exercise groups burned 400 calories a week through walking and shrink their visceral fat cell size by 18 percent; the dieters, who reduced their body fat, weight and waist and hip measurements exactly as much as the diet-and-execisers, saw no change in the size of those fat cells. So it seems that exercise may be the key factor in controlling distribution of fat cells. A similar study found that while diet alone and diet-plus-exercise reduced total and abdominal fat in overweight women to the same degree, only exercise reduced blood levels of chronic inflammation markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6.
9 Relief of depression
Researchers took 156 people aged 50-77 who had been diagnosed with major depression and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: either exercise (30 minutes of bike riding, walking or jogging three times a week), medication (the prescription drug sertraline) or a combination of the two. After 16 weeks, all three groups showed similar improvements in depression, but only the exercise groups also improved their cognitive abilities. Plus, when researchers checked on the participants six months after the study ended, they found much lower relapse rates in the exercisers than in the medication group.
10 More muscle strength
Sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious - in this cause, that exercise makes you stronger. Exercise your arms, and carrying groceries becomes easy. Exercise your legs, and stairs won't be a problem. As little as two to four weeks of weight-training can create the kind of microscopic molecular changes in your body's production of hormones - including growth hormone and other chemicals, as well as proteins related to muscle growth - that contribute to muscle repair and strengthening. Researchers have even seen significant improvements in as few as four work-outs.
This is critical, according to Dr Mitchell, because the more muscle you have, the better your cells use insulin and take it glucose. Those two factors play a major role in inflammation, obesity, heart disease and diabetes, and are behind many of the health-related benefits of exercise and its ability to keep you feeling young. Yet he notes, "There's no magic pill you can take to train your muscles.' He's not just touting the company line; Dr Mitchell, 79, walks an hour a day most days and works out with weights two or three times a week.
Slow or fast?
Is it better to walk slow or fast? Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the USA wondered the same thing, so they tracked nine overweight, sedentary women aged 50 to 65. The women walked 5km (3 miles) a day, a total of 25km (15 miles) a week, for eight months. At the end of the study, those keeping a modest pace -covering 1.6 km (1 mile) in roughly 20 minutes - increased their insulin sensitivity and thus reduced their risk of diabetes, although the improvement tapered off as their speed increased. The slower walkers also lost more body fat than the faster walkers.
On the other hand, faster walkers (who averaged a 15 minute a mile pace) secreted more growth hormone, while growth hormone levels in the slower walkers actually declined.
The message just get out there and walk. Mix it up a bit - perhaps try walking fast uphill or slower coming down, or vice versa.
The message...
Just get out there and walk
No comments:
Post a Comment