More than Anti-Aging
Every time I cut myself I’m amazed. I can’t help but feel like the bionic man. First I bleed and then my alien super skin takes over and stitches the whole thing up. Sometimes you can’t even see the patch job. It seems to happen faster than taking a '70 Mustang from 0-60.
Skin repair always reminds me of the constant rebuilding my body does. When I’m feeling great, I simply forget about it, but when I’m sick or dealing with a health challenge, I’m aware of every single area that’s in pain or needs attention. Fortunately, we were designed to renew and regenerate. Wasn't that the 11th Commandment – "Thou Shalt Rebuild and Regenerate"? (The 12th one was Eat Organic, but that's another blog) Exercise helps clear lymph systems, strengthens muscles and bones, oxygenates cells and helps our bodies regenerate, heal and magically youth.
If you’re dealing with cancer, or a life threatening illness, keep hitting the gym. If you feel “sucker punched” and want to give up, don’t, just work out smarter. Find a doctor who will support you in caring for your whole body. The days my mind wants to keep me from the gym are the days I get the most emotional and physical benefits from it. You might feel like your walking on a newly hot tarred highway in the middle of August when you're on the way to your workout, but it's worth it.
Here’s my "Zen Exercise" version of regenerating and youthing
Zen Mind
We create with our thoughts.
Zen Exercise
What we push against pushes back against us.
Zen Muscle
Resistance makes our muscles work hard and break down.
Zen Repair
Rest and eat the right nutrients.
Zen Body
Muscular-skeletal system renews.
Zen Mind
Refreshed mental clarity, creativity.
Pretty simple isn’t it? We have an ongoing external and internal "youthing" system. The opposite of this is disuse and neglect. The highest groups at risk for illness, depression, premature aging and early death are individuals who are completely sedentary.
A Tufts University study by researchers William Evans and Brian Rosenberg has shown that exercise can reverse ten measurable biomarkers associated with aging. Their studies were published in a book called Biomarkers. The book title refers to the ten measurable biomarkers of age that have been shown to be reversible. It didn't matter what age a person was, everyone reversed their biomarkers of aging on an exercise program.
If you’ve been putting off getting started, here are ten good reasons to hit it at the gym, and hit it as hard as you can. Modern medicine rates its statistics on the “average adult”. Is that really what you want to be?
1. Exercise develops lean body (muscle) mass.
The “average adult” loses 6.6 pounds of muscle each decade.
Yikes, that’s almost 20 pounds of muscle lost between the ages of 30 and 60. Guess what it’s replaced with.
2. Exercise increases strength and muscle function.
Bundles of muscles and motor nerves deteriorate between the ages of 30 and 70 with the “average adult” losing 20% of the motor nerves in the thighs, with similar losses in all the large and small muscle groups elsewhere in the body. This brings a whole new meaning to bundle up. Whatever your exercise choice, your muscles and motor nerves will thank you.
3. Exercise increases your basal metabolic rate.
The body’s metabolic rate declines in the “average adult” by 2% every decade after the age of 20. That’s an 8% decrease by the time you’re sixty. When your metabolism slows down, your body stores the unused calories and fuel for the future as guess what…. See number 4.
4. Exercise reduces body fat.
Between the age of 20 and 65 the “average adult” doubles his or her ratio of fat to muscle. This can be even higher in very sedentary lifestyles. Excess fat, particularly belly fat is deadly to men, promotes estrogen production which tips a mans natural testosterone/estrogen balance toward estrogen, which in turn promotes more fat production.
5. Exercise increases aerobic capacity.
By the age of 65, the “average adult” looses the ability to use oxygen by 30 to 40%. Don’t you wonder what’s going to oxygenate your cells, help your body remove toxins and get you to the bus when you have to run a block to catch it? There is a reason for doing cardio. Interval training combines anaerobic and aerobic work in the same workout. This is the best way to increase your aerobic capacity and burn calories.
6. Exercise decreases blood pressure.
The “average adult” experiences an increase in blood pressure with aging. Why put your system through the problem when you can maintain it with age-defying exercise. If your blood pressure is out of the ballpark, you’ll probably have to take medication, if not, work on controlling it with exercise and diet changes.
7. Exercise increases blood-sugar tolerance.
Type II diabetes risk increases with age in the “average adult” because of the body’s reduced ability to use glucose in the bloodstream. Exercise amps up your natural ability to deal with everything, including glucose. Better yet, tame your tongue and exercise.
8. Exercise improves your cholesterol/HDL ratio.
Overall cholesterol in the “average adult” increases with age, and “bad” LDL cholesterol gains ground over “good” HDL cholesterol. Cholesterol (the good kind) is required to produce testosterone; testosterone helps our bodies build muscle.
9. Exercise increases bone Density:
Bones lose strength with age in the “average adult”, when this goes too far it becomes the disease osteoporosis. We don’t like this. Push some weights. When legs have to bear weight, they become stronger and denser. Studies have shown that running has the same effect to leg bones. The surprise here is that the same study showed that runners forearm bones were also denser even though no weight bearing exercises were being done… a message given to the whole body at the quantum level through (probably) hormonal chemical signals.
10. Exercise assists with body temperature regulation.
The “body’s ability to regulate a steady internal temperature of 98.6 degrees declines with age in the “average adult”. Our bodies like to be comfortable and everything functions better at 98.6. So exercise and wear that cashmere sweater just because it looks good on you.
If exercise is about getting healthy, the side-effect is looking good. So when one of my favorite clients says that the only reason he exercises is to look good, I just smile.
Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medial professional. You should never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your physician.
