“Here’s
why walking is such an anti-aging elixir”
During your 20s, it seems that you can eat
what you please and be as sedentary as Mount Rushmore with nary an ill effect.
Once you hit you hit your 30s though, the use-it-or-lose-it rules become
urgent. If you continue your 20-something merrymaking, you turn into a blob.
Keep at it until 40 0r 50, and you’ll be a grumpy blob at high risk for a
smorgasbord of nasty disease.
Luckily, there’s a way to stay in shape after
30: walking. It’s practical, and you can fit it into your everyday routine.
Although walking is beneficial at any age, it’s particularly sensible for women
in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. One reason: it’s easy to start and stick to a
walking program. Moreover, it’s easy on the joints. The impact is reduced by at
least a third compared to running. Walking also protects women from nearly all
the chronic diseases that can come along during those years and beyond.
Here’s how walking can keep you fit as
decades go by.
The 30s
Many women begin their 30s in complete
control of their lives. Then come the babies, the responsibilities, the extra
pounds. Generally, women become a lot less active during their 30s. That when
they tend to gain weight. Thus, 30 is an excellent time to start walking, if
you haven’t begun. When you’re sedentary, your metabolism slows and you burn
fewer calories. Walking briskly not only burns calories while you’re hitting
the pavement but also after you finish. By building muscle mass, regular
exercise will you help you maintain a high metabolism, particularly if you are
trying to lose weight by cutting your calorie intake.
The 40s
During their 40s, most women face constant
stress as they care for their family and make important decisions about their
own lives. To top it off, this is the time for women to think seriously about
preventing disease and loss of muscle mass.
Walking helps with all three:
Stress
Relief. When
you are stressed, your blood pressure rises, your heart rate increases, and a
host of stress hormones and dumped into your blood. Chronic stress can weaken you
immune system, making you more susceptible to anything from the common cold to
cancer.
Disease
Prevention. Exercise
reduces the risk of dying prematurely from all causes. Study shows that women
who do moderate exercise such as walking are less likely to die from cancer
than sedentary women.
Muscle
Loss. We
lose muscle mass as we age. Exercise can help diminish the effect of aging on
muscle loss. Add strength training a few times a week, and not only can you
manage muscle loss, but you can build it as well.
The 50s
Around age 50, women face menopause and an
entirely new spectrum of health issues, since their bodies begin producing less
estrogen. The aging process begins to accelerate at 50, but women who walk to
tend to less affected by it than are their sedentary sisters. If you’re looking
for anti-aging elixir exercise is it.
Menopause. Walking helps the
menopause woman in countless ways. Here are few:
·
A
loss of heart protecting estrogen causes cardiovascular risk to rise, but
walking which raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) as
well blood pressure.
·
Beta
that our brain releases during exercise can take some of the sting out of
menopause’s mood swings.
·
Estrogen
loss can bring on insomnia, but exercise can improve both quality and amount of
sleep.
Osteoarthritis. Common among the 50
and overset, it attends to affect the hands, feet, knees and hips. Study
suggest that people with moderately
severe osteoarthritis of the knee who exercise in moderation have less pain
than sedentary sufferers.
Osteoporosis.
loss
of bone that can lead to fractures. Our bones are protected before menopause by
estrogen (the glue that keeps calcium and other minerals in the bones), but
after menopause those minerals leak out, leaving bones porous and brittle.
Study shows that weight bearing exercise such as walking can increase bone
density. Beyond all of these health concerns, walking can add quality to your
life.
Posts
