The Best Anti Aging Exercise Programs

When it comes to anti aging exercise, not all programs are created equal. Many of the exercises most favored by Americans are actually quite punishing to the body and can cause as many problems as they solve when done incorrectly.

Weight training, running, circuit training, aerobics, and other routines popularized at gyms and fitness clubs are good for the body if done correctly with expert coaching and supervision, but all can cause wear and tear on tendons and joints and can shorten and tighten muscles in a way that invites future injury when done too intensively or with inadequate training and preparation.

That isn’t to say that older people shouldn’t run, jog, or work out, but it does suggest that shopping around for a holistic exercise regimen that addresses both body and spirit is a good idea.

The following forms of holistic exercise, if practiced daily under the supervision of an expert teacher, have been shown to increase flexibility, create feelings of calm and well being, maintain healthy body weight, and actually slow the aging process:

• Yoga. Yoga is possibly the oldest form of exercise on the planet. Originating in India at least 6,000 years ago (the true age of yoga is not known, but it can be traced back at least 6,000 years), yoga is not just an exercise program, but a spiritual and emotional program as well. Yoga teaches a form of deep breathing and meditation combined with gentle stretching that increases lung capacity, removes stress, places the bones and muscles of the body into optimal alignment, and triggers deep lifestyle changes. Many forms of yoga are available; each of which emphasizes different aspects of human health.
• Tai Chi. Tai chi is actually an ancient martial art, but today it is not used for fighting so much as to increase awareness, slow down breathing, and foster a relationship with a set of gentle muscle movements that resemble very slow, graceful dancing. Tai chi can actually slow the aging process by cutting through stress, preventing injury, increasing levels of oxygen in the blood, and creating an awareness of the body and spirit that alerts the Tai Chi practitioner to subtle bodily changes before they become problems.
• Swimming and water exercise. As most people age, their joints become less flexible and more prone to damage during weight bearing exercise, especially running and jogging, both of which can cause injury quickly when undertaken at a too-strenuous pace. By contrast, swimming and water exercise combines the aerobic benefits of a vigorous workout with the muscle building benefits of weight training without putting strain on muscles, tendons and joints. Swimming and water exercise is often recommended for people with arthritis and other chronic conditions and can actually reverse joint damage in some cases.

Balance is really the key to designing an effective antiaging exercise program. When most people decide to start exercising, they usually start out too fast and too hard and quickly injure themselves. The result is a negative view of exercise itself: Too often they decide that exercise is not for them and whenever it comes up in the future, they point back to the fact that they were injured the last time they tried it.

“No pain, no gain,” is a popular expression used in sports training, but it is very, very bad advice for anyone who wants to start an anti aging exercise regimen that can be maintained for life.

Yoga, tai chi, swimming, and other holistic practices that take the whole person into consideration and take exercise slow and steady actually have a much more dramatic effect on aging that punishing gym routines. When it comes to anti aging exercise, a much better motto is, “Slow and steady wins the race.”

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