Beebleblog

A report on GMTV this week showed that running is an excellent way to stay young and fit. Research over a period of twenty years by the University of California at Stanford has shown that elderly runners stay more active and healthy than non-runners and are half as likely to die prematurely.

Runners v. non-runners

The research started in 1984 with 284 members of a nationwide running club and 156 healthy non- runners. All participants were 50 or over at the start of the study and the runners were running for about an average of four hours a week, which reduced to just over an hour after 21 years.

Running fights off disease…

This form of exercise helps to prevent age-related illnesses including heart disease and cancer. The researchers also believe it could boost the immune system and improve thinking, learning and memory.

Technorati Tags: arthritis, Exercise, Health, old age, osteoporosis

According to reports in several newspapers in the UK this weekend, research carried out by the University of Athens suggests there may be a link between inactive desk jobs and prostate cancer. Details of this were published on 4th July 2008 in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention.

The university compared a group of 320 men with prostate cancer with a similar group who did not have the disease. They discovered that those men whose jobs involved sitting for most of their working day were 30 per cent more likely to develop this particular cancer.

Dr Areti Lagiou, who led the research, stated that in 1997 physical activity was not even listed as a possible protective factor against prostate cancer. But he said that during the last decade there has been evidence that it may give protection.

Exercise helps prevent other cancers too…

Technorati Tags: cancer, Exercise, Health, prostate cancer, sedentary lifestyle, wellbeing

When you have a baby it is a life-changing experience that takes time to adapt to: getting to know your child and the new routines can be difficult, but it can also be a very rewarding time. A common mistake is that the mother will leave little time for herself, to look after herself and to sit back and relax. If she neglects her own well-being then she will begin to feel down about her appearance and start to feel the stress and strains of having a new born baby.

So today we are addressing the benefits of postnatal exercise.

For the first 2 weeks after giving birth

You should not carry anything heavier than your new baby, avoid all physical stress and you should not resume full daily activities for a minimum of 6 weeks (until after your postnatal check-up). If you delivered via caesarean section you should not exercise for 8 – 10 weeks allowing for proper healing time.

Technorati Tags: back in shape, exercising, fitness, post natal, post natal exercise, post pregnancy, pregnancy

High blood pressure is considered as anything above 140/90. There are an increasing number of people suffering from high blood pressure and the advice is often to take up gentle exercise and reduce the intake of saturated fats and generally improve one’s diet. All good stuff but did you know that there are a few exercises out there that could make your condition much worse?

Train within your limits

If you have high blood pressure then one of the most important purchases for your exercise regime is a heart rate monitor. There is a huge difference between exercise designed to improve your heart’s strength and function and just going all out to try and push yourself to achieve your fitness goals. As a general rule any training you do should be between 65% and 75% of your maximum heart rate.

Technorati Tags: BP, exercises, fitness, high blood pressure, high blood pressure risks, high BP, lower blood pressure, workouts

There is nothing I like better than to have research back up what fitness experts like myself have been saying for a long time. It seems to happen time and time again but in this instance they have found evidence backing up the theory that exercise can indeed make you younger and in the case of this research: by a whole 12 years!

A snippet from the article

“Exercising regularly can make you look 12 years younger, new research has revealed. And continuing to exercise when you are retired will allow you to live on your own for longer. The study, from the University of Toronto in Canada, revealed that people age far more slowly if they take regular aerobic exercise.”

The article has been taken from yahoo.co.uk and you can read it in it’s entirety here.

Technorati Tags: anti aging, exercise yourself younger, fitness to be younger, healthy life, look younger, slow down aging