Hey Ponce – We’ve Discovered the Fountain of Youth!

“If you’re not fit in your 50s, your projected life span is eight years shorter than if you are fit. If you are fit in mid-life, you double your chance of surviving to 85.” -Dr. Jarett Berry, cardiologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Wow! Some powerful words…

And Dr. Berry is not just talking about surviving to 85, but living a healthy lifestyle when you reach that age. His comments are based on a long term study that started in the 1970s and has continued to the present. Click here to read the full story.

The study highlights the fact that despite an array of effective drugs and other medical advances, the front line for most of us in the battle to prevent heart disease and survive into old age lies in adopting healthy living habits. The report also underscores the importance of physical activity in maintaining overall health: Fitness even trumped smoking cessation in the magnitude of benefit among participants in the study-though not by much. The combination of being physically fit, not smoking and having low blood pressure was a powerful predictor of longevity.

As has been pointed out here several times, national guidelines recommended Americans get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week or 20 minutes of intense physical activity three times a week to maintain fitness. Twice-weekly weight-training sessions to strengthen muscles are also advised.

At Fitness Together, we can help you meet these guidelines in the privacy of your own training studio in a program customized to your specific goals and needs.

And if the above comments aren’t enough to get you moving and lifting, here’s a final comment from Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist at Northwestern University, “If you make it to middle age with optimal risk numbers and healthy behavior, you’ve essentially abolished your risk of cardiovascular disease. It becomes a fountain of youth for your heart.”

To your health and happiness,