Healthy Habits For A Long, Healthy & Fit Life
Health Habits To Keep You Young , Healthy & Fit For Life
The Saturday Times in Feb ‘23 quoted, amongst others Professor Thomas Yates from Leicester University . He studies the impact of lifestyle on aging . Suggestions included …
1. Fast Walking
Brisk walking ( 100 steps per minute or walking at 20 minute miles . Research has backed this up showing that fast walkers live longer than a dawdlers! So if you normally stroll for 20 mins , go for a brisk 10 minutes instead!
2. Cut Calories By Up To 25% & Less Ultra Processed Foods .
Not always easy , but eating less slows aging . Remember if your Grandmother wouldn’t have recognised it then try not to eat it !
3. Do Yoga, Stretching or T’ai Chi to Lower Blood Pressure
14 million people in the UK have raised BP. Exercise is recommended because it helps lower systolic BP ( the pressure in arteries when the heart beats - or the top number of your BP). The NHS recommends at least 30mins moderate exercise 5-7 x per week .
Flexibility training helps reduce stiffness in the blood vessels which can help to reduce hyper tension .
4. Stay Hydrated
1.5-2 litres of fluids per day ( more if you exercise more).
5. Midlife & Onward ? Combat the effects of declining hormones .
Include Strength training, swimming , cycling, fast walking or running to help enhance hormones and keep fat stores at bay .
6. Boost Bone Density with Dancing , Skipping , or other High Impact Exercise
Low bone density is a risk factor for osteoporosis, which means that 50% of all women & 1/5 of all men over 50 will break a bone .
As well as good diet exercise is key to preserving the strength of our skeletons. Ideally we need high impact exercise like tennis, skipping, jogging, dancing, Nordic walking, and if not then low impact is better than nothing. Strength training is also perfect for this.
Finally
How best do I get fit & stay fit ?
Find a way that fits your lifestyle & personality ? Whether that’s in a group , online or one to one training .
Try & address all the elements of fitness each week …
Muscular Strength - that’s muscles & bones
Cardio / Aerobic - improves overall health & wellbeing
Flexibility - allows your body to move freely
Stability & Balance
Body Compostion Be aware, that your weight alone is not always useful to indicate health . Understanding your ratios or body fat and muscle is key to getting fitter & stronger
