1 Minute of Exercise Could Add 5 Minutes to Your Life
Translating Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) Results into Action
Plenty of people dislike carving out regular time for exercise. You may be one of them. I am one of them. You may have already found a joy for exercise, and this post will become further support should you ever waver from that mindset.
Recently there was this consortium (acronym MoTrPAC, full name in subtitle of this post) which put out a few scholarly articles where they studied rats and humans and found some very interesting scientific findings.
The Consortium keeps a site up with these publications - https://motrpac-data.org/publications.
What this group has found is pretty interesting and there good coverage of it on Dr. Eric Topol’s podcast last week - going into more detail that we will go into on this post.
Some of the key findings include:
Exercise changes your whole body in good ways:
Muscles become stronger and more efficient
Heart gets stronger and pumps blood better
Lowers risk of heart disease by about 50%
Improves blood pressure, maintains healthier cholesterol levels
Lungs improve their capacity to take in oxygen
Brain function improves, including memory and thinking skills
Even organs you don't think about, like your liver and intestines, work better
Exercise is awesome for mental health:
Can be as effective as medication for some people with depression
Reduces symptoms of anxiety
Improves mood and overall mental well-being
Releases "feel-good" chemicals in the brain like endorphins
Exercise helps you handle stress better:
Your body learns to recover from stress more quickly
Activates "heat shock" proteins that help repair and protect cells
Improves your body's ability to deal with future stressors
May help you feel calmer and more relaxed in daily life
These are three key findings so far, lending credibility to the statement that exercise is a super-medicine for your body and mind. The area to watch here are more publications that will deeper detail the effects on the immune system. At a high level exercise increases production of more immune cells. There’s basic links that suggest exercise helps to fight off infections or cancers.
If there is one thing you remember from this post,
1 minute of exercise could add 5 minutes to your life.
Which makes a bit of sense when you think about how being more fit could help to improve your quality of life as you get older - allowing you to maintain independence in later years.
Where to Start?
You likely need motivation to start, as exercise has a delayed reward, making it a bit harder to create as a habit. Pulling together some common suggestions
Think of exercise as a superpower. Each time you work out, you're making your body stronger and healthier.
Start small. Even a little bit of exercise can make a big difference. You don't have to do hours of intense workouts to get benefits. And if you do, you’ll likely end up with painful joints and muscles that are counterproductive toward making this a habit.
Find something you like doing. Dancing, walking with friends, or playing sports all count as exercise. Pick something you enjoy!
Remember the mental boost. Exercise can make you feel happier and less stressed. Use this as motivation on tough days.
Set goals and track your progress. This can help you see how much you're improving over time.
Make it social. Exercising with friends or family can make it more fun and help you stick with it.
#3 and #6, particularly #6, are at the core of Toward Wellth’s movement programming. There will be a variety of options to help encourage regular movement - in a social environment where you can make new friends or bring existing friends. That support system will improve your odds of making it stick!
If you are a movement instructor of any type in the Mt. Lebanon area who I have not spoken with yet, please contact me to discuss how you might lead certain programming. If you have a friend who is a movement instructor in the Mt. Lebanon area, please share this post with them!
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