Everything You Need to Know About Exercising and Aging

Posted by Panissa Williams on

Woman jogging with a hat

Many people begin to notice the effects of aging as early as their mid-thirties. For example, people often see a rise in their blood pressure, extra weight gain each year, and other health-related issues resulting from the body’s natural aging process. 

We often search for ways to prevent or repair damage caused by aging. Exercise is one effective way to improve your body and prevent unnecessary aging-related damage. Today we’ll review what you need to know about exercise and how it can prevent aging. 

Related: Aging: 5 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Exercise Helps Fight Aging

Man biking on the road with mountains in the background

Studies have shown that you can effectively slow down the damage caused by aging and prevent premature aging through a regular exercise routine. So let’s look at some ways exercising can help against aging. 

  • Improves Brain Cognition: Regular exercise improves your cognitive abilities and helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In addition, it enhances the quality of your sleep each night. 
  • Lengthens Telomeres: You have these caps on the end of your DNA strands. As you age, these caps become shorter. As a result, they can contribute to health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, and strokes.
  • Improves Bone Density: After your thirties, your body’s production of bone mass decreases until you lose more than your body makes in your forties and fifties. You can help prevent this as exercising pushes your bones to stay strong and lessens bone mass loss as you age.
  • Exercise Can Ease Discomfort

    Countless studies have shown that as you get older, maintaining a regular exercise routine will help ease aches and pains and help your body retain flexibility—for example, people who suffer from arthritis benefit greatly from exercising regularly. Exercising and aging go hand-in-hand; this is just one more way that exercising can change your quality of life. 

    Regular exercise can help ease discomfort in your body by maintaining joint movement, increasing muscle flexibility, and improving cardiovascular endurance. These are a few ways that exercising can help relieve and prevent joint and muscle aches as you age. 

    You can also look for other items to supplement as you exercise to ease aches and lessen discomfort. For example, massage gels, like those available at Blue Stop Max, are an excellent way to reduce other aches and help you exercise more. Another way to alleviate discomfort is to include stretching daily or yoga exercises before you begin your regular workout.

    Related: Common Causes of Back Pain & Aches

    You Need More Than You Think

    When we start exercising and including this in our weekly routine, we often underestimate the time we should spend working out. The CDC recommends that adults need 150 minutes of physical activity each week

    And while you might think that working out twice a week for 75 minutes is a quick way to hit your physical activity quota, it’s more beneficial to work out in smaller increments several times a week. For example, you can complete your workouts in 30 minutes sessions five times each week.

    You could easily accomplish the recommended time by taking a brisk walk or a slow jog each day. There are many other moderate-intensity activities and aerobics that you can do to ensure you get the right amount of exercise. 

    One hundred fifty minutes is simply the recommended amount. However, if you want to go above and beyond, you can strive to spend even more time working out each week. 

    Too many aches making it difficult to exercise? Blue Stop Max’s massage gel will have your body feeling better and ready to go.

    Exercise Is Fun

    Person swimming in a pool

    Exercise might seem like a chore for some, but there are many ways any physical activity can become fun. For example, working out can help you socialize more. You can look for groups in your area that work out together. 

    Not only can you make friends this way, but it’s easier to hold yourself accountable and maintain a consistent workout routine when you have your exercise buddy with you. Working out with a friend or with a group is also a great way to ease your stress.

    As you begin working out, you’ll want to find an activity you enjoy. Try gyms and fitness groups. You could even go to your city's activity center and see if they offer classes for pilates, yoga, and other types of exercise. 

    If you aren’t sure where to start, trying out various exercises, especially with a group, is a great way to find an activity you love.

    Exercise Can Help Prevent Serious Illnesses

    Exercise can not only help you with chronic health conditions, but it can prevent or reduce the risk of severe illnesses from occurring in your body. Let’s look at just a handful of illnesses exercise can reduce the risk of or prevent entirely. 

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Dementia
  • Many types of cancer
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Obesity
  • These are all illnesses commonly associated with aging, but consistently exercising each week reduces the risk of these illnesses occurring in your life. And in some cases, you may even prevent them from occurring.

    You’re also able to ease the aches and discomfort in your joints. For example, exercising can prevent injuries from occurring as you get older. If you exercise and want to combat the aches further, you can use aloe vera or emu oil gels like those available at Blue Stop Max. So if you’re sore, you can use gels like this to give your body a little boost to tackle any workout activity. 

    Related: Self-Care: 5 Tips to Take Care of Your Joints

    Final Thoughts

    All in all, exercise is an excellent remedy and prevention method for the damage caused by aging. This age-old remedy helps you not only physically but also mentally as well. As a result, your quality of life will improve, and you’ll thank yourself in ten years for the work you put into exercising consistently now. 

    You can find new activities and friends to do these with, so your workouts are fun and keep you coming back for more. No matter how you get those active minutes each week, moving your body more will always benefit you in the long run. Stay safe!

    Want to ease aches and discomfort so you’re ready for your next workout? Blue Stop Max has you covered with a wide array of massage gels!

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