Fitness
Exercise Slows Aging — Here’s How
Exercise — especially high-intensity interval training — helps your cellular mitochondria fight off aging.
“Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that.”
John Donne (1572–1631) wrote those lines in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII. The words’ meaning is debated but reminds me that the clock ticks for all of us, and we change as it does.
Aging: Heart weakening, blood vessel thickening, and more
Many changes associated with aging begin in our 20s. For example, the maximum heart rate for a man in his late 20s declines by approximately one beat per minute, per year. The heart’s ability to pump blood diminishes too, with a drop of 5 to 10 percent each decade. I am not surprised that our aerobic capacity declines; we may become more tired and out of breath with even modest physical activity.
Part of our decline is because our blood vessels stiffen with time, with associated blood pressure increases. Worse yet, the blood thickens, rendering it more challenging…
