6 Great Reasons To Stay Fit As You Age by Jennifer O’Neill

The World Health Organization has predicted a significant decline in worldwide numbers of premature death by at least a half by the year 2025. Unfortunately, empirical data does not support this prediction. There was a decline in the life expectancy from the 20th century to the 21st.

Although there have been a lot of medical discoveries that have added years to a person’s lifespan, there are also a lot of innovations that seem innocuous but do have a great impact on the quality of life. We now live almost a sedentary lifestyle brought on by getting everything and anything at an instant whenever we want, wherever we want. We no longer need to exert as much effort as we do for strenuous activity and just stay where we are comfortable.

With bad habits and unhealthy living, people feel older than they are. Here are some benefits of exercising and getting fit as the years pile on:

1. Enhances Flexibility

As we age, our range of motion starts to become limited due to the decreasing amount of collagen in our body. The loss and stiffening of collagen, paired with inactivity, further affect our posture and flexibility. Exercising, stretching and any kind of physical activity will avoid the stiffening of our muscles and ligaments and maintain the full range of motion.

2. Helps You Control Your Weight

A person’s metabolism slows down as they get older, which contributes greatly to weight gain. Adapting a healthy and active lifestyle helps keep your metabolism up by building muscle mass to battle and continuously keep unwanted body fat away.

3. Helps Reduce Impact of Aging Diseases and Problems

The older a person gets the more susceptible they become to diseases and chronic illness. Exercising keeps your body healthy and your immune system strong. Even a few minutes of low-impact indoor cycling will do wonders to your blood pressure and overall wellness.

4. Increases Bone Density

Strength and resistance training increases bone strength and helps the body fight signs of aging (like the most dreaded aging disease that makes bones brittle and prone to easy breakage.) Osteoporosis can easily be avoided best with exercises, vitamin D, and calcium.

Resistance training increases bone strength and helps the body fight signs of aging. (tweet this)

5. Helps You Stay Mobile and Independent

Getting old is often associated with disability and immobility, but strength training and activity will surely help with balance and coordination, and reduce the risk of falling that might cause disability.

6. Improves Sleep and Mood

Our energy level throughout the day and how we feel is greatly impacted by the quality of our sleep the night before. The quality of our sleep is also impacted by our health and overall body wellness. So, both wellness and sleep are responsible for one another. With exercise, our brain produces the right hormones that will help battle stress, anxiety, depression, that also impedes a good night’s sleep.

Author Bio 

Jennifer O’Neal is a lifelong cyclist, enjoying the thrill of an outdoor ride as much as the one on her indoor cycling bike. She regularly contributes to allexercisebikes.net, a leading provider of exercise bike reviews and education.