More belly exercises please!
any exercise is good, but its important to remember that "marathon runners don't live any longer than cricket players"
1
I find that I can snap back into shape fairly quickly, in my 70s, having been in very good shape in my 30s. several health problems have kept me from the regular exercise I used to do, but then heart failure got me back into it, but at much lower level. still, I'm feeling ok lately...that is,on my non- dialysis days.
Being in shape enables me to backpack with my daughters above 10,000' in the Sierras, to surf, to take bike trips with friends, to jump off the sailboat 3' from the dock...
But I find as I age I find that I need to do more prep for those Sierra trips. Altitude affects me far more at 64 than it did at 17.
Exercise is good and couch potatoing is not.
Having said that there are two big caveats.
Extreme exercise is not needed for good health. Any benefit is counteracted with all sorts of back, leg, knee, foot problems not to mention countless hrs. in the gym or running and money for equipment.
Also if you have too much wine, women(men) and song so to speak (this is a metaphor, ie overeating, smoking, drugs, etc.) the good effects of exercise will do little good.
2
Hi
@ Scott Douglas and R S:
I just read the articles of Pandey (2019) and Johnson (2019) and iÍ found that the participicants were detailed asked regarding their physical activities (in Johnson 2019).
But there several measures not included: (In Section 'Discussion' Pandey et al. 2019, p. 7)
Now research is perfect, mostly the verify only the oppertunities.
1
I thank playing several high school sports for creating a lifelong near-daily exercise habit. My level of activity now is moderate for my age (late 30s) - run two miles, walk 3-5 miles, or yoga class at my gym — 5-7 times a week for 20 years. It seems like most exercisers my age are running marathons and doing cross fit - not for me. I eat real meals and enjoy sugar (but few processed foods and no soda) so am a healthy body weight although not thin. I have cellulite and some extra fat, which seems unfair given my age and that I workout most days. The biggest upside is mental, particularly since I workout with friends several days a week. There is also something very nice and confidence-building to being in shape — being able to say “yes” to a ski weekend, water skiing trip, yoga class, golf game, or long hike and know I will complete it without a lot of effort or struggle.
3
If you can find a way, and are capable, of "dual commute" by driving part way to work and cycling in the rest of the way, I'd urge you to give it a try! It can take care of most of your exercise requirements....and it can be super relaxing if you are able find a safe, free place to park and a nice quiet route into your workplace. Check your local google maps! Not everyone can do this, obviously, but if you can....
4
I’m not surprised by the results of this study. We recently did a 35 year reunion of our cross country team from high school. 35 years! And yet not a single person was overweight, much less obese. And all were in good health even though the amount of exercise among the group in adulthood varied quite a bit.
8
The study was published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 33(10):1774-1784, OCT 2001, not Frontiers in Physiology.
2
I Exercised from 24 until now, 60. I don’t think RUNNING is safe unless your built a certain way, or weights. At 60 have many problems I believe from strenuous exercise. I ran on pavement/sidewalks, should have ran on soft track! I used ankle and hand weights while doing squats and aerobics. I am 4 11” small! I can’t run or even walk fast up hill due to foot problem/Bunion. Have prolapsed body that could get worse if I ran. Have umbilical Hernia that I might not have if I had lifted less. Total Gym I think caused a pinched nerve that caused neuropathy. I believe with age should do yoga and walking!!! From 40 to 50 I should have been easier on body. For MEN it’s different. Dancing is probably the best. Even gave up bike because I am afraid of falling/Osteopenia. Still, I never miss a day of step aerobics or walking elliptical etc.
9
@Pamela You might've needed better shoes or had bad form while running. Either can definitely do damage over time.
Unbelievable how many benefits we could gain from exercising! It seems great and unexpected a little bit! Only imagine – you left doing workouts decades ago and they’re still working for you! It’s extremely important nowadays when people are not engaging in physical exercises. Have you ever known that less than 5% of adults take part in 30-minutes of exercising every day and only 1/3 adults receive the necessary amount of physical activity every week according to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services? I always thought that all advantages will disappear when I stop my fitness practices. It was told a lot about benefits from lifting heavy weights and eating right and much more like in this article complexminds.net/2019/04/19/maximum-benefits-from-workout-exercis/. But it’s great that scientists from Duke University decided to conduct such an amazing exercise experiment. I think, Strride shows us interesting discoveries. But it’s better, for sure, don’t stop exercising)))
3
Exercise is good, I am not sure if I believe the workouts I did 10 years ago helps me now IF I stopped working out 10 years ago.
I know if I had stopped 10 years ago I would be in worse health now.
I will just keep working out, just in case :)
2
I'd be keenly interested in the specific measures used to determine level[s] of "aerobic fitness."
1
@Brad Kenyon The 2019 article is here, and explains the methodology: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00452/full
1
@Brad Kenyon It's in the paper, which is here: https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2001/10000/Studies_of_a_targeted_risk_reduction_intervention.25.aspx
1
To say that exercise has lasting effects on the genes smacks of Lamarck. (I must say, that while Lamarck was discredited, the fact that my ex-wife seemed to grow increasingly vapid with every bleach job made me wonder whether he had a point)
So, what was meant here? More robust telomeres?
1
@PG.. that comment about exercise affecting the genes tweaked my curiosity as well!
2
@PG Lamarck! The People's Man! His death is the sign we await!
Sorry, Les Mis fan...
I get lots of exercise, but there was a time when I lived in a place that required a lot of time in my car, and during those years exercise was a luxury. City planning really needs to take into account a human beings need for exercise with buffered sidewalks, walking trails connecting places, and bike lanes. These should be as important as roads. Children should be able to walk or ride bikes to their schools.
19
Unbelievable how many benefits we could gain from exercising! It seems great and unexpected a little bit! Only imagine – you left doing workouts decades ago and they’re still working for you! It’s extremely important nowadays when people are not engaging in physical exercises. Have you ever known that less than 5% of adults take part in 30-minutes of exercising every day and only 1/3 adults receive the necessary amount of physical activity every week according to U U.S. Department of Health & Human Services? I always thought that all advantages will disappear when I stop my fitness practices. It was told a lot about benefits from lifting heavy weights and eating right and much more like in this article . But it’s great that scientists from Duke University decided to conduct such an amazing exercise experiment. I think, Strride shows us interesting discoveries. But it’s better, for sure, don’t stop exercising)))
6
partner works a physical job for decades.on his feet all day, moving. exhausted and used up. I work at a cubicle. I get exercise everyday on my own and get praise from doctor. his doctor tell him to exercise and he just smirks! will a lifetime of hard work act the same as marathon running for these so called health studies that the nyt seems to be hashing out just for news?
3
Great article. Nice to know that my gyming and martial arts from 10 years back is still paying!
2
At our 55th high school reunion four years ago, I posed the question, "What were the most important things you learned in high school?" Answers varied, but my answer was learned out of the classroom. I went out for cross country and track, and I learned two very important life lessons: setting a distant goal, and how much hard work was involved in achieving that goal.
Now I'm just two weeks shy of turning 77, and both the mental (setting a goal, work involved) and the physical benefits of this exercise/distance running have served me very well in those intervening decades.
Here I am, maybe six pounds heavier than I was in June, 1960. I'm in no need of artificial knees or hips, and I don't have Type 2 diabetes. The major cancer surgery at 46 was a surprise, as was the cardiac pacemaker at 68. Surprises happen in life. But those hours spent running in high school, and then again in my 40s, are still paying me major dividends in good health decades later.
I will recommend to any parent, or grandparent, to encourage their children, or grandchildren, to participate in running sports. The physical benefits will last their lifetimes.
And the mental? Read "A Six Minute Mile," by Jinny Beyer, a woman who, at 40, set a goal.
13
A lot of vegetarian runners in this comment section. That's one road, but not the only one! Weightlifting has incredible benefits, even when only done once or twice a week. I'm a busy pastor with young kids who, in the new year, recommitted myself to fitness. The greatest part of weightlifting is the "newbie" gains -- the people newest to it see the most dramatic difference. In just three months it's transformed how I look and feel. I started seeing results in weeks.
With diet and exercise, all the research shows that what is most effective is what you can do consistently. I love walking, but don't have time for long walks everyday. I like cycling, hate running, but grinding it out in an aerobic exercise is no fun for me. I love coming to the gym and lifting more weight today than yesterday, and can actually pull that off twice a week (and now love when I sneak in a third session).
All this is to say, male or female, young or old, consider weightlifting as one of your options. It's not just for hulking meatheads, and the research show that it is very beneficial for males and females, adolescents through seniors. Running marathons is far from the only way to go.
13
@Just JoeI I never see real old weightlifters, but I do see real old runners. At 70 I love to do both.
2
@bob
Jack LaLanne was still lifting weights at 96 years old.
There could be a flaw (confound) in the study. For the group which exercised many years ago, it is possible that there was high attrition and those who remained were already self-motivated to exercise or were interested to care for their health. In this case, the group becomes a self-selected group of people who are genuinely interested to care for their own fitness and health. This could then explain why they are able to maintain better fitness and health than the control group.
8
@Boon Siang
Your are right about self attrition. However it is quite likely that the researchers addressed this possible problem in the discussion section of the original research article. Well a serious journal requires that after all.. What we read is a newspaper content aimed for general public without scientific validity info.
2
Over and over, Vitamin Xercise wins the what works battle. Missing is the public commitment to make it easier to walk, run and cycle more often. Small investments in sidewalks and crosswalks. Pledges by architects and builders to design attractive staircases. Acceptance by drivers that roads shared by protected bike lanes benefit all. Resisting the infatuation with autonomous vehicles that will do little to reduce private vehicle congestion. Starting now to stabilize, improve and expand mass transit. Sure, for some, where’s there’s a will, there’s a way. For most, when there’s a way, they’ll have the will.
21
People with diabetes, please, rather than diabetics. Person-first usage doesn't reduce the person to the disease. Let's progress—in language and thought—bit by bit—all together!
12
@Ruth Carver
People from New York?
Although I’m an enthusiastic advocate for regular exercise, there’s always an exception to the rule. One of my aunts will be 99 this year and likely hasn’t exercised a day in her life. I’m sure she pretty much ate whatever she wanted throughout her life (Italian background, so likely lots of heavy food), though she was never a smoker. Her mind certainly isn’t anywhere near what it used to be, but generally she’s doing physically okay (though in a convalescent facility). Not that I’m going to give it up, but I can’t necessarily say that all my exercise will put me any further ahead of her if I manage to make it to her age!
10
@Vince The study does not address longevity nor does it imply that the only healthy people are those that exercise or have exercised. It is likely that for any given metric, there were some people in the no exercise group as that were "better" than some people in the exercise group.
I am a long distance runners as well as a crossfitter with my own crossfit gym in my man cave. I train for half/full marathons as well as the weightlifting sets in crossfit workouts for the day with the HIIT mixed into them. I enjoy and like exercising. It has helped me lose a ton of weigh 300lbs down to 175lbs and living a plant based diet. I am addicted to the endorphine release in the brain chemicals released, the runners high is awesome. Yes there are days when I should tzke a rest day, but I am someone who requires physical exertion to feel good! Getting blood circulating is good as well as for the mental/medatation part of exercising. Its good for the body and mind!
7
Well, that’s good news. I used to run 10 miles/day and do a lot of hiking. Now, thanks to my back, I can’t stand or walk much. Maybe I’ll try getting on a reclining stationary bike and see if that initial investment has any perceivable returns.
12
I wonder if the improvements to metabolism and aerobic health continue after death. Anyone know? Just askin.
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@Mike They have for me.
4
@Charlie Hey Charlie! Tell us more! Winning lottery ticket numbers would be a help. Tap once for yes, twice for no.
To the NY Times - the links to the study articles are reversed -
the "joined an exercise study a decade before" links to the current study article.
The link to "new study . . . published in Frontiers in Physiology" links to the old study (published in Med Sci Sports Exerc published in 2001.
3
Just over 30 years ago I lost over30 pounds at age 32. I became an avid jogger (to maintain my weight loss!) I ran 3-4 miles 3-4 days a week. Over next 2 years I participated in many 10 k runs! Imaintained my weight for just over three years! Unfortunately when I stopped exercising gradually added 40 pounds! at the age of 65 I am still at that weight despite walking 2-3 miles 3-4 times a week! While I love what this study has hypothesized it doesn’t seem to have worked for me!
6
@Pat Hughes. Pat, I am so sorry for you. I am in a similar situation. I lost about 40 pounds about thirty years ago. Throughout the years, I have walked daily, about 3 miles, briskly. I couldn't do running because of my knees. I did brisk walking, however. My weight stayed steady until this year it ballooned back up 40 pounds. I turn 69 this year. All the studies about regular exercise don't appear to apply to me either! I have concluded that I don't exercise hard or long enough or that I must add weights to my routine.
2
@Susan I had a similar story, but went on a plant-based diet, and started cycling and swimming. No pressure on the knees and I'm fitter than ever (age 70). If nothing else, give swimming a go. It's marvellous for those of us with dodgy knees and hips because there's no pressure on the joints and you can still get the aerobic benefit.
1
These articles are inspiring and help keep me working out and eating right. Nothing fancy, I run 2 miles every day and do bent knee sit-ups and half push-ups. I almost never miss a day no matter where I am. Also, I stay away from foods I know are bad. Simple, but effective for me ever since high school.
21
Fits in with my experience. I was pretty sedentary until 2008 when, at age 50, I started jogging and, in three years worked up to the point I completed two marathons. (Slow times: both 5 hours, 30 minutes). Basically stopped running after 2011, but I still feel benefits. Resting heart rate still less than 60. (It was less than 50 during my marathon training.)
9
@Thomas N. Lee
Why did you stop running?
3
"But those men and women who had exercised vigorously for eight months during Strride retained substantially more fitness. On average, their aerobic capacity had fallen by only about 5 percent, compared to when they had joined the Strride study, and those few who reported still exercising at least four times a week were more fit now than they had been a decade before."
Love this! I am more fit in my mid-thirties than I was in my mid-twenties, and I hope I am more fit in my mid-forties than I am now!
12
I'm not sure from this article whether confounding variables, like exercise levels since the original study, are accounted for in the follow-up. It wouldn't be surprising if the walkers continued walking, and the vigorous exercisers continued doing that as well.
4
I sure hope so as an avid exerciser my entire life. The last two articles about studies I've read in the Times have made me wonder why, I could of waited until these past two years to get this result, and if I quit it's all over.....so I am glad to read good news for a change.
5
I've exercise religiously (6days/week, strenuously), for years, and hate it - and envy all the people who say they love exercise. But some things you just have to do. Best part of the workout: the shower afterwards.
27
It’s sort of like beating your head against the wall... feels so good when you stop. Actually, the brain makes its own cannabinoids probably to help deal with the pain of the workout. It seems that these provide a sense of euphoria during and after the workout, and are mildly addictive; hence, the ability to lace on the sneakers the next day to do it all again.
Exercise feels great and, if done well and intelligently "it couldn't hurt"! In my early 40's, I finally got off my butt and started fast walking (13:20 miles) 3X/week, at least 6.5 miles each time. Now in my 60's, I moved up to jogging (10:15 miles) the same route by the ocean 2X/week or more, as my work schedule permits. I'm the same size as I was decades ago, but what's more important is how good I feel, overall. Are there age-related problems? Sure. How much worse would they be without the output, though?
21
11th-Airborne respondent active 1953-54; inactive since then except 01 May 1971 - 01 May 1973. BP, CH, Tri-g, pulse, glucose ad inf still baseline; pulmonary feeble at 90. Killer-app: N centenarians, both sides. Poor genes will be remediated via CRISPR. Hang in!
5
@Don Bronkema
Very tongue-in-cheek! Thank you for having such a great sense of humor.
Also please remember the longest term study ever done on the benefit of exercise.
https://news.stanford.edu/news/2008/august20/med-aging-082008.html
2
This is a small study and the results need to be confirmed and studied in more detail. But my anecdotal experience suggests there may be long-term benefit from vigorous exercise. I'm 71 and have not exercised regularly for most of my adult life. But I was a runner in my forties and early fifties. In February of this year, while away on a ski weekend, I received an urgent message from my Cardiologist. My recent ECHO showed accelerating deterioration of my Bicuspid Aortic Valve and my Aortic Aneurysm. I was told to immediately cease skiing and to cancel international travel. I had my chest opened, my Aorta replaced and a new valve inserted one month ago.
In the Cath Lab, the ICU and the post-op ward, I felt like the only healthy patient. I was up and about in less than 12 hrs and asking for discharge within 24. OT and PT had nothing to suggest. Protocol required monitoring for 72 hours, so I went home 74 hours after my surgery began. I was tired and anemic, sleeping a lot initially. But compared to four friends, with similar or lesser cardiac procedures recently, my recovery has been light years easier and shorter. Several younger family members came to visit last week and I wore them out with sightseeing and even hikes in the headlands of the Golden Gate. I wasn't pushing, I just feel normal.
One case is just one case. Perhaps my situation is genetic and the running made no difference, but I think otherwise
12
I thank the US Navy for making me work out for all those years. It's been 11 years since retiring and at 51 I don't feel too bad I guess. I need to get out there more, but I'm a teacher who is on my feet all day so I suppose that's my exercise right there, well, there's sex also.
6
@Scott Franklin Should probably leave those students alone...maybe jumping jacks instead.
4
These long-term somewhat unexpected benefits are validating and encouraging. But the health establishment will most encourage frequent exercise by publicizing the DAILY, IMMEDIATE benefit of exercise, which is that you feel better for the rest of the day. It seems that Americans require an immediate validation to alter their bad behaviors. And the worst thing being done right now is removing the shame of being purposefully obese. Shame has a place in this equation too.
2
@Richard Katz Your last 2 sentences show self-righteousness, as well as ignorance of a very complicated problem. Who are you to judge if a person is “being purposefully obese”? Shaming is bullying behavior and should not be tolerated in civilized society. It benefits no one and merely reflects badly on the shamer.
3
Apparently our bodies are out to sabotage us. If your metabolism maintains the positive effects of long ago exercise, your muscles definitely do not. If you pick up where you left off 10 years ago, I give you 10 minutes before you pull your calf, strain your hamstring or something worse.
7
Is it my imagination or all of the comments so far -- the ones describing their laudable lifelong exercise habits, of which they are understandably very proud -- from men? ... Over the decades of my life, I have known many men who have been impressively devoted to (often obsessive about, frankly) their daily run, their daily workout, preparing for their marathons and Ironman competitions, etc. But they were able to do that only because their wives were at home raising the kids, making the meals, doing the housework, etc. Historically, men simply have not expected the same sort of personal sacrifice of themselves on the home-and-hearth front as women have. Let's just hope these men haven't been hard on their wives for gaining a few pounds and not having the same waist size as they did in high school (sheesh! what vanity). Sadly, I expect some of them probably divorced their wives for these very superficial reasons.
72
Hearth and home work is pretty physical and exhausting -no one else is responsible for the calories consumed during that day.
@Madison Minions I have been working out religiously since I was 26. At 60, I workout usually 6 days a week paddling (outrigger canoes), hiking, and/or weights. My husband is a surfer and we would trade off watching our kids on the beach so he could surf and I could boogie board. My children became surfers also. I am very fit and work out because it just makes me feel good. It’s a life style choice. I have arthritis and osteoporosis but it doesn’t slow me down. My husband has his aches and pains but we both love the water. I say keep moving until you can’t!
14
@Madison Minions
I'm not a man. For a long time, I was married to someone who shared most of my exercise activities; he got me into running, I got him into yoga, we learned to canoe together and so on. We both had careers, shared cooking, housework. But I realize many men of my (Baby Boom) generation haven't been as willing to share responsibilities at home.
3
The weak research design of the study and the non-random nature of the follow-up mean no "legacy" results can be claimed. It's entirely possible that the study did no more than to find people who exercise more, and more frequently, have better proxy markers of fitness and health than those who do not. That's exactly what we would expect. Virtually all health and fitness studies as well as dietary studies are, if not useless, awfully close. All we really know is what was emphasized as long ago as 450 BC by the Greeks: learn discipline and be moderate in all habits, don't get fat, take regular exercise, walk outdoors at least one hour daily, bathe regularly, keep your clothes and home clean, eat a varied diet with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, don't make a steady diet of spicy or fatty or salty foods, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Aristotle summarizes all of this in his inimitable way. His wisdom hasn't dimmed or been displaced. That is no surprise because he was a very scientific philosopher and had accumulated, studied and challenged all the knowledge of his day. Aristotle would not only be appalled by all the overweight, lazy and undisciplined people of today, but also by those who prescribe and follow restrictive diets, exercise compulsively, or take supplements or put faith in various cures and preventives for which good scientific medical evidence is lacking. Really, it's common sense. Discipline, balance, moderation.
12
I would say that part (or even all) of the effect could be the mental changes that happen when you learn and master a new skill, e.g., exercising. The exercisers emerged after the study with new habits and skills developed during the course of the study. They learned how their body responds to physical effort and how hard they could push themselves safely. They may have even learned to enjoy physical activity. They probably learned how to overcome obstacles and persevere in creating this new skillset. They got positive reinforcement from endorphins and generally feeling healthier. All of these mental benefits probably changed the way they approached their lives going forward so that they continued to build more activity into their lives, even if they didn't turn into workout fanatics.
7
@Chipmunk
Yes, that's entirely possible. Still, it would've been the positive aspects of exercise which turned them around.
This is great good news even for us folks who exercise at the gym 3x per week. I can literally feel myself aging backward as my workouts increase weights used and distances walked. Now that it is approximating spring here in Boston, I have taken to walking on the days when I do not bike to the gym and lift weights. At first, I as a former runner was ashamed at how poorly I moved while walking and now have recovered a good gait and have been able to double and triple distances. Because I exercise alone, there is little social reinforcement of my efforts so this article fills a portion of that gap.
I am part of Yale's STRIDE study and am trying to get them to adopt balance exercises I used in High School football to prevent my falling as a way to prevent elderly falling generally, so far to no avail. If Julian Edelman did a exercise workout at TD Garden, all of the older women in Boston would likely show up and learn tons of good stuff to prevent falling.
10
In my 30's I jogged, in my forties and now into my 70's I walked. The exercise makes everything easier, gives you more energy and lets you survive setbacks. It is addictive. Now I have trouble with weight gain and cholesterol after enjoying retirement. A recent diet (the "no" diet - no alcohol, no caffeine, no chocolate, no spicy food, little or no red meat, and a few other "nos"), has resulted in weight loss and better sleep and my stats are good. I've actually lost the taste for caffeine and alcohol, although chocolate is a struggle. In my life the best health regime is exercise and diet. Fortunately you can begin this at any point in life, start when you can, you will like it.
20
Important stuff but we need to stop talking about exercise in isolation. I exercised my entire life and still wound up with three heart stents. Diet is also very important. There is a synergy between how we eat and how we move. Exercise probably prevented me from dying but in order to be fully healthy into old age, it is not enough.
19
2/3 of US adults are overweight or obese. Many US adult are inactive. US health care costs are out of control. Maybe a connection?
38
For 10 years, I lived as a monk, a running monk --- or as the guy in the barber chair in Forrest Gump said, " a running fool."
I dropped 35 lbs. I was in pain a lot of the time. I was exhausted. I lived mostly on fish and chicken, except when I was gearing up for a marathon when I ate chocolate. Eventually, injury, work, and a hereditary heart disease caught up with me but I still run and walk, though not as much.
20 years later, I can attest that I added 10 years to my life. And, despite the pain, I look back at those years as the best of my life.
15
Very odd article.
I find I lose my fitness quickly but regain it just as quickly now. I hike, do yoga and lift weights during the week. but if there were times I was sick or just took a break I really felt it going back.
I simply find it unbelievable that taking a ten year break still yielded positive results.
12
This article is frustratingly incomplete. There's mention of continued exercise in some of the exercise group from the old study, but no data given on how many of the exercise group continued with some form of regular exercise after the initial study.
Without knowing that, the 10-years-later findings are meaningless: Were the exercisers from the original study really fitter from what they did briefly a decade ago, or because of continued good habits?
28
@Scott Douglas - Yes, I read the original paper and also thought it could have been more clear about whether the exercisers changed behavior and continued exercising for the 10 years since their 8-month trial or not. In fact, I wonder why they did not contrast those who continued exercising with those who did not.
The other odd feature is that, in the original study, people self-selected whether to be in an exercise group or a control group. This introduces a number of correlation/causation issues re: whether there are other things in common among those who would volunteer to be the exercisers vs. those who chose to be the controls.
20
From what I experienced, read and studied what you say is basically true.
However if you stop a common sense exercise program, the benefits also start to fade real quick.
Like anything else in life exercise is relative. A moderate program is good but can be thwarted by stopping it, eating/drinking too much, getting hit for a car or any number of other bad things.
However nobody can deny that a moderate program is good and by itself cannot harm you and can only help you.
4
Interesting. My cross-country coach told us this back in high school in the late 70s. At the time the value of this effect didn’t sink in (or make me more enthusiastic about early-morning workouts) but I suspect my exercise legacy helped get me through some very sendentary periods later on.
4
@MoTime - 'cross-country coach told us this back in high school in the late 70s' ?
you're talking my language - I didn't have a coach but was stuck in boarding school in 1970 where the only way we were allowed off the grounds each afternoon was doing a cross-country run. So, despite being a skinny weakling that had never succeeded in any sports, I ran the 3.5 mile round the golf course track most every afternoon.
I continued jogging occasionally until about 2003 when I was accidentally bumped into a metre-deep concrete storm drain by an ex-'friend' on a pitch black night and tore my knee cartilage meniscus - and had to stop.
Years later at a health show they had a 'breathe into this tube to test your lung capacity' test, so I did it for fun. Both observers went 'Wow - your lung capacity is amazing !'
I was 'huh ?' - I hadn't been running for years.
And so I thought - as this article suggests - maybe the benefits of exercise do last years after you might have stopped.
4
More study of interaction with the microbiome would be interesting.
3
Makes intuitive sense. There is no magic bullet, but one simple exercise that requires no equipment is controlled and conscious breathing. Couple this with walking and a moderate diverse diet things will probably work out as they should.
2
Over and over, Vitamin Xercise wins the what works battle. Missing is the public commitment to make it easier to walk, run and cycle more often. Small investments in sidewalks and crosswalks. Pledges by architects and builders to design attractive staircases. Acceptance by drivers that roads shared by protected bike lanes benefit all. Resisting the infatuation with autonomous vehicles that will do little to reduce private vehicle congestion. Starting now to stabilize, improve and expand mass transit. Sure, for some, where’s there’s a will, there’s a way. For most, when there’s a way, they’ll have the will.
33
I hope this research is correct. But then again, at my age I shouldn't complain given my health and love of exercise.
1
Job, family and financial stresses drove me to take up jogging in my early 30's. From a slow slog of two blocks, I worked my way up to 20 mile weeks, 3-6-or 10 miles at a time, 10K runs and a few half marathons. The pleasant rhythm of those early morning distances, the joy my body experienced at doing what it was designed to do, and the calming afterglow, addicted me to regular exercise. I added moderate strength, core and flexibility routines, and though no longer running, at 76 I'm a 3X/week gym rat, regular tennis player and golfer who needs no prescription medication. Exercise has given me an excellent quality of life, and hopes for an even longer one.
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I’ve enjoyed exercising my whole life. I spent a decade in my forties until mid fifties doing Ironman triathlons, I agree probably a little excessive for most people but it kind becomes what you do every day. I’m lucky that I don’t seem to have suffered any over use injuries in my joints but that of course is a concern. I still exercise pretty much everyday and have now introduced more weight lifting into my exercise as I enter my 60’s, I think there is a mental Benefit to exercise too besides the fact I have the same waist size since I was I guess 15/16 years old. I try to be an example to my 20 year old friends and do-workers.
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My parents set a good example. They were both avid tennis players. After the MS made it impossible for my mother, she swam, and got a tricycle which she rode regularly (my father had to help her onto it).
My mother also fed us healthily according to what was known in the '50s, '60s, and '70s.
My two siblings and I also get lots of exercise and always have, and we all eat healthily--something my sister manages to do despite the fact that her husband doesn't. I eat almost no processed foods.
I suspect that it's some combination of genetics and childhood environment that's responsible for our habits--much as I chafed against having to eat vegetables and not having soft drinks or much more than ice milk for sweets as a kid.
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If epidemiological results lack a physiological rationale, be careful.
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Satchel Paige still has the best fitness advice ever:
never look behind you when you run angry. You will get bloody.
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I entered college in the early 70s, just as Diet for a Small Planet and similar books came out, and they made a huge impact on me; I've kept to a mostly plant-based/organic diet ever since. At the same time, I started regular exercise (hey - no P.E. or marching band any more): high-impact aerobics and biking in my 20s, running, hiking and aerobics (high and low) in my 30s and 40s, walking, hiking, and yoga in my 50s and (now) 60s. My size/weight are the same as they were in college. Everything feels great. But something more than feeling good, fitting into old clothes, etc. carries these habits forward: I lost my very healthy, vibrant parents in a car accident when I was 23 -- a hard lesson in the deep value and transience of life. I would not undermine, but seek to enhance, enjoy, and treasure the life they gave me, for as long as I am lucky enough to be here.
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i have often wondered whether being a fit competitve quater miler and very committed football player has any effect on my condition 45 years later.
I did not continue with competitve sports or conditioning after HS other then pick up basketball, recreational bike riding and raising 3 kids
i now owrk out strenously 4 times a week as well as walk 5 miles a day
i often wonder what health effects would linger from my youth if i did nothing but keep from being obease and moderate incidental excersize
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This is anecdotal evidence, but the WWII vets I knew seemed to be in good health decades after basic training, even though they seldom exercised. I think they were thinner and more active than middle-aged people are today. My father did hard manual labor in the merchant marine before the war, but he said army basic training put him in the best shape in his life.
I guess they also missed out on the changes in diet starting in the 1970s that caused the whole U.S. population to gain weight. I also missed out on those changes. I never eat fast food or modern food that wasn't available in 1960, mainly because I do not like the taste. I have not gained weight.
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@Jed Rothwell I was in pretty good shape after basic training in 1967 -- good shape during my West German duty station -- gained weight in Vietnam due to the lack of exercise, warm beer, and bad food habits.
I used to do high intensity interval training and there's no doubt that even a little intense exercise greatly improves fitness. However, I managed to injure myself, and my wife doesn't like anything beyond walking, so I've settled into a pattern of just walking. I have a vacation in Britain planned that involves walks as long as 14 miles, (with no need to carry much and lots of pubs along the routes), and averaging over 10 miles day after day for two weeks. Our metabolic health ought to be permanently okay after that.
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My comment does not diminish the import of this article. I myself work out every day at my club. Exercise provides many benefits including feeling good and looking better. But .. your diet (and maybe genes) trumps exercise. Dr. Michael Greger has reported on this issue. It's up to you: eat a healthy, plant-based diet or run the equivalent of 2 marathons per week to achieve the same effects on your health and longevity.
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@John I'd say that a whole foods, plant-based diet is far more important than running marathons or doing other endurance sport activities. I am a long distance, athletic cyclist and have known similar cyclists who have died of heart attacks. The reason was that they chose to eat harmful foods in larger quantities to make up for the very large calorie consumptions associated with their physical exercise. Ironically, these people may still be living had they simply walked for exercise.
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@John - Maybe genes? One's genes are far and away the number one factor in determining a person's susceptibility to disease and ultimate longevity barring exposure to environmental toxins, violence or accident.
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@John
Except for your prescription in your last sentence I agree. You most certainly do not need to avoid meet to be healthy. For the planet to be healthy give the total human population, probably. But moderate meat eating is better for you then not eating meat at all.
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Good news.
There is no down side to exercise. People need to know that, and just find an exercise they enjoy.
Feeling well matters.
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@David Henry
1. falls. I have known several older cyclists who broke ribs or had head injuries when biking. so, be careful.
2. overuse injuries. know your limits and avoid crossing the line into tendonitis or stress fractures.
3. collisions. never trust cars. watch for other out of control exercisers who run into or trip you.
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@David Henry - I've often attributed th word "enjoy" with motivation. Yes, find an activity that you enjoy, repeatedly, and motivate yourself always towards th next workout.
However, there is one ingredient here that's as important as everything else: CONSISTENCY. Figure on an average amount of 3 or 4 exercise sessions per week or, every other day. This will keep one from going overboard as one's condition improves. Also, one needs to understand th importance of *recovery periods* both after, and even during, a workout.
Consistency! Minimum 2 workouts a week; 4 or 5 workouts weekly is most advantageous..
3