Tag Archives: Workout Program

The Easy Way to Guard Against All Cancers

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Here’s an easy way to drop your risk of any type of cancer by 10 to 15 percent: Get a move on.

Research shows that an active lifestyle, one where you not only exercise but also keep your body busy through as much of the day as possible, can help reduce the risk of several different types of cancer.

Bodies in Motion
In a study involving close to 80,000 Japanese adults, researchers found that the women who were most active were 16 percent less likely to develop any type of cancer over a period of 5 to 10 years. The most active males dropped their risk by about 13 percent. But it wasn’t just exercise that they marked. Any day-to-day activities counted, including walking to the store, doing housework, and working on a physically demanding hobby. Find out how much longer gardeners live. Continue reading →

Your Walking Pace Can Make You Younger

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Blood pressure under control? Check. Cholesterol level okay? Check. Gait speed good? Umm . . . why does that matter, you ask?

Because gait speed may very well be another important “vital sign” — like heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol level — that helps predict how long you’ll live.

Ready, Set, Go
Your gait speed is the speed at which you walk when you’re really trying. Faster walkers may be more resilient and able to bounce back better from a health crisis. Which may explain why the zippy over-65 walkers in a recent study enjoyed lower mortality rates. The magic speed for staying young? At least 2.25 miles per hour for people 65 and older. So time yourself on a treadmill or around the track.

Contingency Plan for Slow Walkers
If you don’t hit the 2-mile-per-hour mark, don’t despair. Improving your gait speed boosts your longevity, too. Start by doing some interval training, where you intermittently pick up the pace for a short distance. Some strength training can help you walk better and stronger, too.

Exercising regularly can make your RealAge as much as 9 years younger.