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Excerpt from article:
So how can you be really active and not damage yourself?
Do regular, low-intensity physical exercise. You get 90 or 95 percent of the benefit of running from walking briskly. We put an excessive emphasis on maximum cardiovascular exertion.
So running eight miles a day . . .
Is a mistake. It’s short-term benefit for long-term trouble. If you start running eight miles a day when you’re 20, by the time you’re 45 your knees and hips will probably wear out. The damage to your cartilage can’t be undone. Really hard exercise also contributes to chronic inflammation. And almost every age-related disease is associated with inflammation. Is it a bad idea to get a good workout? No. But I’d rather see people walking every day than running.
That doesn’t sound like much fun.
Keep in mind that this isn’t just Dan Buettner pontificating. This is Dan Buettner having spent seven years with four—and soon five—populations of people who live the longest, and you don’t see marathoners and triathletes among them. You see shepherds and gardeners and people who take simple walks. The life expectancy through most of recorded history was 28, and our bodies aren’t designed for eight decades of pounding. If you want a body that’s usable after 70 or 80, you need to think about that now. Maybe don’t do marathons or triathlons. I was a fanatic athlete. I’ve backed way down. My addiction was biking. Now I do yoga. I walk.
Excerpt from article:
So how can you be really active and not damage yourself?
Do regular, low-intensity physical exercise. You get 90 or 95 percent of the benefit of running from walking briskly. We put an excessive emphasis on maximum cardiovascular exertion.
So running eight miles a day . . .
Is a mistake. It’s short-term benefit for long-term trouble. If you start running eight miles a day when you’re 20, by the time you’re 45 your knees and hips will probably wear out. The damage to your cartilage can’t be undone. Really hard exercise also contributes to chronic inflammation. And almost every age-related disease is associated with inflammation. Is it a bad idea to get a good workout? No. But I’d rather see people walking every day than running.
That doesn’t sound like much fun.
Keep in mind that this isn’t just Dan Buettner pontificating. This is Dan Buettner having spent seven years with four—and soon five—populations of people who live the longest, and you don’t see marathoners and triathletes among them. You see shepherds and gardeners and people who take simple walks. The life expectancy through most of recorded history was 28, and our bodies aren’t designed for eight decades of pounding. If you want a body that’s usable after 70 or 80, you need to think about that now. Maybe don’t do marathons or triathlons. I was a fanatic athlete. I’ve backed way down. My addiction was biking. Now I do yoga. I walk.
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