Fitness

A study of 1275 people found that those who had very weak hand grip strength had signs of accelerated aging, as measured by deterioration of the DNA in their cells. The authors of this study cited earlier studies showing that grip strength appears to be a better predictor of life expectancy than blood pressure.

It is established that a regular exercise program is associated with reduced incidence of heart attacks and some types of cancers. Several recent studies show that you don’t have to have a formal exercise program to gain these benefits. Just being active is also associated with reduced likelihood for certain cancers. You can stay active by climbing stairs, mowing your own lawn, washing your dishes and so forth, Just keep on moving -- don’t sit in a chair or lie in bed all day long.

Researchers have known for a long time that regular aerobic exercises like walking, jogging or cycling help to lower high blood pressure and also help to prevent strokes and heart attacks. However, there is data to show that a person can suffer a stroke or heart attack while lifting heavy weights because during heavy lifting, high blood pressure rises even higher. Many doctors recommend resistance exercises to help treat high blood pressure, but people with high blood pressure need to be very careful if they try to lift heavy weights.

About 22 percent of North Americans ages 85-89 and 33 percent of those over 90 suffer some degree of dementia (JAMA Neurol, 2022;79(12):1242-1249). The risk for dementia can be reduced significantly by exercising and lowering high blood sugar levels, maintaining a healthful weight, and avoiding smoking. Two recent studies show that exercise may be even more important in reducing Alzheimer’s disease risk.

A study that followed 170,000 Swedish men (average age 62) for 9.6 years found that high levels of physical fitness were associated with a markedly reduced risk for lung cancer or colon cancer, and reduced risk for death from cancers of the colon, lung or prostate. Physical fitness was measured by having the subjects exercise vigorously on a stationary bicycle to determine the maximal amount of oxygen they could use (VO2max).

A review of 31 published studies found that the COVID-19 epidemic has forced many people to stop exercising, which will increase their risk for several diseases that can shorten their lives. COVID-19 is caught mainly by breathing indoor air where people congregate, so the epidemic stopped many people from going to gyms or practicing sports indoors.

Scientists reviewed studies on elastic resistance bands, and concluded that strength training with elastic bands could cause the same gain in strength as lifting heavy weights for both the upper and the lower body. Training in the studies ranged from 2-5 times a week for 4-12 weeks.

Start your introduction to resistance band training by first reading a prior article on this site about resistance training. The same principles apply but now the implement is resistance bands and not free weights or machines. And, resistance bands can be an effective implement with the added benefits of low cost, convenience, and the ability to resistance train virtually anywhere at any time.

Scientific studies firmly establish that a regular exercise program can help to prolong your life. Recent studies show that older adults who lift weights are up to 22 percent less likely to die from any cause, heart attacks or cancer than people who do not lift weights. Those who both lift weights and participate in an aerobic exercise program had the lowest death risk of all.

People who walked at least 8,000 steps per day just one or two days a week had a 15 percent lower death rate over the next 10 years, when compared to people who walked less than that. People who had 3-7 days with 8,000 steps or more had an additional reduction in death rate. This suggests that moving around helps to prolong your life, even if you don’t have an organized exercise program.

Several recent research papers have found that time-restricted eating can help to prevent diabetes and heart attacks and prolong life. However, some people express concern that athletes and regular exercisers may develop low blood sugar and lose muscle if they go on a schedule of not eating for intermittent periods such as 6PM to 6AM. An exciting study now shows that time-restricted eating can improve health in serious athletes and may even help them to improve running performance by helping them to lose excess body fat.

Three recent studies show that being active and moving about helps to prolong life and to prevent disease, hospitalization, and dementia. A study of 81,717 men and women, 42-78 years of age, measured their physical activity by having them wear an accelerometer for a week at a time over an average of 6.8 years. Those who increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity by 20 minutes per day were at reduced incidence of hospitalization for nine of the 25 most common reasons for hospitalization.

Regular exercise can potentially help to protect you from infections such as COVID-19, as long as you don’t exercise too much. In one study, compared to people who did not exercise regularly, those who exercised had a reduced risk of becoming infected by COVID-19. They had a 36 percent reduced risk of hospitalization from severe COVID-19 and a 43 percent reduced risk of death from COVID-19. Those who followed guidelines recommending at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week gained the most protection against COVID-19, but exercising regularly at less than that appeared also to help protect against infection.

A study of 1,275 men and women found that those who had very weak handgrip strength had signs of accelerated aging, as measured by deterioration of the DNA in their cells. The authors of this study cited earlier studies showing that grip strength appears to be a better predictor of life expectancy than blood pressure. Many other studies show that having weak muscles is associated with a host of diseases and premature death.

You may be able to prolong your life just by moving more vigorously a few times a day. Australian researchers found that non-exercisers who had 3-4 short bouts of vigorous activity each day had a 40 percent reduction in all-cause death rate, a 40 percent reduction in cancer-related deaths, and up to a 49 percent reduction in heart attack deaths.

Cold weather is associated with an increased incidence of heart attacks. The majority of cold weather deaths are associated with elevated blood pressure and increased clotting to cause heart attacks and strokes. If you have heart or lung disease, you are far more likely to die in cold weather than in the heat. Even a short-term drop in air temperature in the tropics is associated with increased heart attack risk

A recent study followed 105,677 participants from 21 countries for an average of 11 years, and found that those who sat for 6-8 hours a day had a 13 percent increased risk for early death and heart disease, while those who sat for more than eight hours a day had a 20 percent increased risk. Furthermore, those who sat the most and exercised the least had a 50 percent increased risk, while those who sat the most and exercised the most had only a 17 per cent increased risk.

It is well known that taking carbohydrates before and during endurance exercise helps to increase both speed and endurance. It is not as well known that taking carbohydrates before and during resistance training for strength can increase intensity and duration of workouts. A review of 21 randomized controlled studies that included 226 young adults found that taking carbohydrates before or during lifting weights increased training volume, and caused higher peak blood lactic acid and sugar levels

Second wind means that when you run very fast, you reach a point where you gasp for breath and your muscles burn so much that you feel like you have to slow down, but you try to keep on pushing. After several seconds, you feel recovered and pick up the pace.

A review of 16 major studies found that just thirty minutes a week of strength training is associated with up to a 20 percent reduced risk for dying from any cause, or from cancer, heart disease or diabetes. Adding aerobic exercise reduced risk for dying by 40 percent. The World Health Organization recommends at least two days a week of muscle-strengthening activities for adults because having larger and stronger muscles appears to help prevent many diseases and prolong lives.

A prospective study of 78,500 men and women, ages 40-79, used wrist accelerometers to see whether daily step counts and measurements of intensity would predict future heart attacks or cancers. They were followed for an average of seven years, and during that period, there were 10,245 heart attacks, 664 deaths from heart attacks, 2813 cancers and 1325 deaths from cancer.

A study from Japan found that exercising in the late afternoon (4-6 PM) helps to control blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels better than exercising in the morning (9-11 AM).

Four interesting studies supporting the benefits of physical activity have appeared in recent medical journals.

Always try to keep at least a slight bend in your knee when you run or ride a bicycle. When you run, you are supposed to land on each foot with a partially-bent knee. Otherwise you transmit the shock of your foot hitting the ground directly onto your knees, hips and back. Straightening your knees when you pedal markedly increases risk for knee pain by increasing the force on your joints.

A recent study found no significant difference in death rates between adults who exercised once or twice a week versus three or more times a week, as long as they exercised moderately for a total of 150 minutes or vigorously for 75 minutes per week. This study followed 350,978 U.S. adults for more than 10 years. The participants reported their activity levels and were divided into an active group and an inactive group.

An analysis of more than 36,861 deaths in a study of 403,681 participants found that the greater proportion of vigorous exercise to total exercise, the less likely a person was to die, die from a heart attack, or die from cancer during the 10 study years. The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend trying to exercise for 150 minutes a week for optimal health, and  this study showed that compared to people who do not exercise that much, people who exercise 150 minutes or more each week are 15 percent less likely to die, 23 percent less likely to suffer heart disease and 12 percent less likely to develop a cancer.

Top endurance athletes use hydration, nutrition, and sleep to help them recover from intense exercise. When you exercise for endurance, you use up glycogen, the sugar that is stored for energy in your muscles, and you damage muscle fibers.

Women and men who exercise regularly have larger and stronger hearts, and greater endurance and strength, than those who do not exercise regularly. Their muscles are stronger and more coordinated.  We can all expect to become weaker as we age, but you can markedly delay this inevitable loss of muscle strength by having a regular exercise program and following the same anti-inflammatory lifestyle rules that are recommended to help prevent heart attacks, arthritis and many other diseases. 

Recent studies suggest that lifting weights can help to prolong your life. An analysis of 16 studies including almost 480,000 people, 18 to 98 years of age, found that those who spent 30 to 60 minutes per week in strength training had a 40 percent lower risk of premature death, 46 percent lower risk of heart disease, and 28 percent lower risk of dying from cancer.

You will gain the most benefits from your exercise program if you follow the “stress and recover” training principles that competitive athletes use. A study using accelerometers to measure the physical activity of more than 90,000 healthy people over six years found that the more and harder they exercised, the less likely they were to suffer heart disease.