Oh, those little aches and pains. Like many of us, you may already get them in the morning. And as we age, they only get worse and worse – UNLESS…
You stay active and keep moving!
People who are committed to regular aerobic exercise have much less muscle and joint pain as they age. How much less, you may ask? Well, a 14-year study that followed a group of healthy adults 60 and over found that those who engaged in regular aerobic exercise had as much as 25% less musculoskeletal pain as they aged – even those whose primary aerobic activity was high-impact running. Researchers suspect that the natural endorphin release that follows a cardio workout may play a role in the effect.
Having less pain when you’re older contributes greatly to leading a more active and independent life into advanced age. Here are a few more suggestions for reducing your risk for future chronic aches and pains:
- Hit the mat and stretch – Yoga boosts endorphins, improves flexibility and builds joint-supporting strength.
- Cross- training – Mixing up your routine helps to keep your back strong and limber. It even contributes to healthier cholesterol levels, which is just a nice bonus.
- Build your quads – Weak quadriceps muscles are linked to knee arthritis, so work them out (as well as your hamstrings and other leg muscles) regularly.
- Go Green – With tea, that is. Potent compounds in green tea – EGCG and ECG – are said to battle cartilage and collagen destruction in arthritic joints.
So, this is just more incentive for you to stick with your program and keep on bringing it! The cross-training, muscle confusion, and variety built into your program is not only going to help keep you from getting bored with your workouts, get and keep you fit as a fiddle - it’ll keep your bone mass up, reduce back and other pain, and improve your cholesterol profile. As a side note, knee injury will triple your risk of knee osteoarthritis. So, when you exercise, take proper precautions and watch your form. Okay, enough reading for you. Go Push Play!
Posts
12 comments:
Hey Ton,
Sometimes I must admit that I get out of bed feeling a bit achy in the knees or back, but thanks to years of your professional fitness instruction, I know what to do to counter those minor aches and pains.
With this tropical storm drenching the city all day today, I thought that Yoga X would be a great choice to lift my mental and physical mood. And that it did! You know, for the first time I just lived for the moment while doing that DVD, and I've got to tell you that my performance and flexibility were both in sync and strong. Any little aches I may have had from my weekly desk job were long gone. And another first was that I finally was able to hold that ohm as long as you, man. Yeah, now we're cooking with gas!
Thanks again, Tony, and I think I'll warm me up a pot of that Sencha Green now. I deserve it!:-)
Nick
Hey Tony-
My issue is my wrists and forearms. During motorcycle track days my arms get tired too quick. What would you recommend to help build up my arm endurance?
--Matt
mmcnelley@comcast.net
Great advice. I think one of the great things about your programs is the emphasis on warmup, cooldown and even yes the dreaded Y word - Yoga! I used to absolutely hate it but something about YogaX - I think it was your deliberate but persistent pacing - made it not only bearable but actually worked for me for the first time. At my age of 43 (yeah I'm a mature guy too - hate that word old) one of the good things is, I know where I may break down, I know where to watch it. I've had a history of problems with my left shoulder, from a variety of reasons including an old weight lifting injury. But with P90x although I had stiffness, I never had a serious problem even though I brought a lot of intensity to pullups, pushups etc. I think it was because of the stretching, emphasizing form and also the Yoga. To me it's almost like self-massage while working out, getting that nasty lactic acid outta there! It seems to find where I am sore and stiff and helps with it. I used to work out and if I really brought it I'd be a cramped up mess for days. It was I think because of not enough stretching and now that I have the Yoga it seems to have made a big difference in my recovery!
Thanks for the advice .Tony! My issues are with my knees.... Ill do what you suggested and hopefully that issue will be a thing of the past !
CATHY FROM COLORADO
Hey Tony,
One of the magazines that I've read for years is Scientific American and some time ago, I think a few years back, I read an article about the kind of stress that we put on the human body and that our bodies can only take so many years of walking, sitting, crawling, living, etc. So what they did was, they "designed" the human body in a way that would let us last longer.
Sort of interesting because it showed that the human body would need to be more bent over than is now. The legs would have to be designed almost like the hind legs of other animals, like a horse. The ears had to be more pointed. Look straight out of something from a fairy tale.
Of course, I think it's alot of bunk because just like you said above, by doing things to take care of your joints, quads, etc., you extend the durability of the body.
Nick is right on above in doing Yoga, certainly something that helps with stretching, strength etc. I also do Tai Chi, along with Yoga in order to build up the internal organs through proper breathing.
Great article and great chat last night.
Christopher Ortega (menelaus)
chris@chrisortega.com
Hi Tony! Last night in the chat room there were a few people asking questions regarding their young teens lifting weights and doing P90X. I thought maybe it's something that you could address here on a future blog. Thanks!
I'm loving TMT and the new One on Ones! Road Warrior is a blast, intense and so much fun! Variety really is the spice of fitness! :)
Tony! Awesome post! I am loving the tips and will be implementing them in one way or another very soon. Keep rocking on!
any chance you can enable the rss feed feature on the blog. i would love to be able to add to my feed so i can keep track of when there is an update. thanks
+1 for "please enable the rss feed feature"
I really enjoy your insights here, and would love to keep up on it thru my feed reader (A LOT easier).
by the way, Tony, you changed my life. What can I say but thank you.
HI Tony
I never am off monday nights for the soapbox, so I will make a point of checking your blog.Good info on the aerobic activity and stretching, I will be sure and try the sweetpotatoe soup recipe.
You Keep me moving and thats a good thing. I like what you say in camp, do what you love most of the time, and then do what you have to.
I appreciate all you have done for me
Earl Broughfman
HI Tony
I never am off monday nights for the soapbox, so I will make a point of checking your blog.Good info on the aerobic activity and stretching, I will be sure and try the sweetpotatoe soup recipe.
You Keep me moving and thats a good thing. I like what you say in camp, do what you love most of the time, and then do what you have to.
I appreciate all you have done for me
Earl Broughfman
disclaimer--i LOVE p90x, and i am LOVING my results-I am hot!
But I don't like YogaX. Sorry! It pisses me off as soon as the standing splits start. That whole series can kiss it. I dread that CD but still do the damn thing. I almost feel like I'm getting worse at it, and I'm in my 7th week! Well, my body looks good and I feel good so that's all that matters!
Post a Comment