10 Oct Turn back the clock on aging with regular cardio exercise

Research published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine indicates that regular cardiovascular exercise can delay biological aging by 10-15 or more years in many cases.
Translation: When a person turns 50 years old, it’s possible for them to still feel like they’re in their 30s.
The ability to turn back the clock on how you feel is certainly something worth exercising for.
As a person gets older a natural decline in aerobic capacity starts to take place at an approximate rate of five ml/(kg*min) per decade.
An example of what this means is if a person was in excellent shape in their 20s, with an aerobic capacity of 50 ml/(kg*min), by the time they reach their 60s their aerobic capacity would have dipped to 30 ml/(kg*min).
If a person was only in average shape in their 20s, say with an aerobic capacity of 40 ml/(kg*min), by their 60s they’d be reduced to 20 ml/(kg*min).
When aerobic capacity dips to about 18 in men and 15 in women, normal everyday chores become extremely difficult to perform without experiencing a good deal of fatigue.
However, relatively high-intensity aerobic exercise performed over time can boost aerobic power by 25 percent.
In order to boost your aerobic capacity, one must challenge their heart and lungs. This isn’t as hard as it may seem.
You don’t have to go all out for a 20- to 30-minute treadmill or bike workout.
If you do interval training, go hard for 3-5 minutes then back off for the next 3-5 minutes, etc., that will challenge you enough.
Regular cardio exercise three times a week for 20-30 minutes can help boost your aerobic power and it’s really never too late to start.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com