I’ve been thinking a lot about this question, especially with what I’ve personally been through recently. As fitness, and healthcare professionals we hear a lot of common answers to this title question, such as, “I hope so” or “I really don’t know”. With this article I want to shed some light on this topic.
If you look up the definition of fitness or physical fitness you find several explanations which seem to be closely related.
For example:
“Fitness – the condition of being physically fit and healthy; the quality or state of being fit; the quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task; an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment; the general state of health and well-being with the ability to perform aspects of life, sports or occupations.”
I believe exercise or your level of fitness, is the number one method to obtain and even progress health, wellness and the ability to function the way we want to as we age. We know that one of the greatest predictors of a long healthy life is exercise. Exercise is specifically categorized into four different necessary components.
* Cardiovascular exercise
* Muscular strength and endurance
* Mobility and flexibility
* Neuromotor exercise, which includes stability, balance, coordination, agility,
posture and quality function-based movements.
Health Benefits of Regular Exercise
As you know the health benefits of exercise have been proven and are many. The most important being the fact that both cardiovascular fitness and strength are the number one predictors of a healthy lifespan, including the prevention of the top four causes of death. That would be; cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic disorders.
From a cardiovascular standpoint (heart, lungs & blood vessels), as stated by the American College of Sports medicine, you need a minimum of 2 ½ hrs. of cardiovascular exercise at a moderate intensity per week to even begin to receive health benefits…Are you getting your 2 ½ hrs.?
Cardiovascular fitness is defined and measured by VO2 max. Research shows that V02 max is one of the greatest predictors of longevity as wells as a quality healthspan. VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise, and research consistently shows that it correlates with all-cause and disease-specific mortality. I will go into more depth regarding this topic in a future article.
You also need to perform strength training 2-3 times per week to maintain or gain health benefits. Did you know that we lose 30% of our muscle mass and strength between the age of 30 and 70? After 70 yrs. of age that loss accelerates. Additionally, poor strength is a major contributor to falls as we age. Strength training can be implemented no matter what level of fitness you are starting at.
Another important factor in strength training is you need to work your way up to lifting heavy weight. Strength training with light to moderate resistance is fine, especially when starting out or having an injury, but to get the true longevity benefits you need to progress to heavier strength training, especially for women.
Mobility and flexibility are important for quality movement, which most definitely contributes to our ability to function the way we would like. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking”. Our bodies are design to move, therefore, being sedentary is detrimental to our health. And when you work on mobility and flexibility, make sure you address all three planes of motion. More on that later. Are you getting in quality movement every day?
Neuromotor exercises are important at any age, especially for sports performance and daily function. As you would guess, having neuromotor control of your body is much more important as we start to get older. I know many of you don’t think about it much, but losing coordinated movement, balance, posture, stability and function as we age, are key factors in falling. Injuries from falling or just lack of function can be devastating to our daily function and quality of life as we age. Are you working on functional balance and stability?
Health, Function and Longevity
When the word “Longevity” is used it is more important to think of it as Lifespan and Healthspan. That is, how long you live, and the quality of your life as you age. That means… being functional and utilizing all of the above items I described.
Have you ever thought about what you want to be able to do in the last decade of your life? I personally recommend you perform this mental exercise and compile a list today. As you take on this mental task be specific and honest, because this is what will determine your current exercise program. Ask yourself what level of fitness do I need to be at, in order to do those things on my list. This mental exercise comes from Dr. Peter Attia who is focused on Lifespan and Healthspan for his patients. I recommend you look him up and read his work. The bottom line here, is that your current exercise program should be designed to benefit your healthspan, and function.
I often describe exercise as medicine and its importance to the prevention of injuries, pain and medical issues. I understand people are motivated to exercise for many reasons, which is great. For example; I hear “I want to look better”, “I want to tone up”. Both of these are legitimate reasons in people’s minds but is their motivation really for healthspan, wellness or improved function? I hope so. For many there’s a misconception that if you look better or tone-up you are healthier. Don’t get me wrong, we all like to look better, and any exercise is better than nothing, but what many don’t understand is, if you choose to focus on health, wellness & function first, you will achieve your goal of looking better anyway.
I want to finish up here by inviting anyone to meet with me to discuss these things in greater detail, including your list of what you want to do in the last decade of your life. I hope this brought value to the way you perform your exercise programs. For more clarity look for future articles detailing each of these topics, as well as my take on injury prevention and recovery.
Good Luck with Your Exercising!
Mark Tolle, MS, ATC, CSCS
Fitness Manager
Sky Fitness
847-229-0292