Most people will tell me that aging sucks, and hurts. But science contradicts that. I have also observed somewhat the opposite of that as well. I have personally viewed videos of individuals like 93 year old bodybuilder, Charles Eugster; or 70 year old cyclist, Tony Linturn. How is the quality of life of some individuals drastically different than others? Is it dedication? Maybe the mindset they have? Does it have to do with their persistence? It might be a little bit of both but I want to tell you how you can change your health for the better. Your health could drastically change by an all-out effort of 10-12 minutes of exercise per day. Say what? Yes it is true. How about we break down the science and I tell you how?
Did you know your body is made up of some 10 trillion cells? You actually age because your cells age. Therefore, the fountain of youth is found in the process of controlling the aging process of your cells.
Each of your cells has a nucleus, which contains the chromosomes that in turn contain your genes. The chromosome is made up of two "arms," and each arm contains a single molecule DNA, which is essentially a string of beads made up of units called bases. A typical DNA molecule is about 100 million bases long, and at the very tip of each arm of the chromosome is where you'll find the telomere.
Your telomeres shorten every time your cell divides, starting at the moment of conception. If you were to unravel the tip of the chromosome, a telomere is about 15,000 bases long at the moment of conception, and once your telomeres have been reduced to about 5,000 bases, you will essentially die of old age. That is why even with a perfect diet and exercise program no one lives past 120 years old. Exposure to environmental toxins like trans fats, smoking, free radicals, and obesity can actually accelerate the shortening of telomeres and lead to feeling “old” and possibly dying before the age of 70.
It was previously believed that this telomere shortening process could not be affected or stopped by healthy eating habits or exercise. Now, researchers have discovered that both diet and specific training may indeed be able to do just that! In an exciting study published in 2010 showed that there's a direct association between reduced telomere shortening in your later years and high-intensity-type exercises.
Human Growth Hormone is considered to be the ‘fitness hormone’. In 2003 researchers found that exercise intensity above lactate threshold for a minimum of 10 minutes appears to elicit the greatest stimulus to the secretion of HGH. HGH is a hormone that promotes the gain of muscle and effectively burns excessive fat. It also plays an important part in promoting overall health and longevity. If you're over the age of 30, especially if you lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, you've likely entered a phase known as somatopause (age-related growth hormone deficiency).
Here is an example of a high intensity exercise routine that you can perform on a recumbent bike that will help promote the stimulus required to the secretion of HGH.
- Warm up for three minutes at a low speed with no resistance.
- Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds by increasing your speed and the resistance. You should be gasping for breath and feel like you couldn't possibly go on another few seconds.
- Recover for 90 seconds, while still pedaling, but at slower pace and decreased resistance.
- Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times.