"Can I live longer?"or "Can I slow down the aging process?"are questions often heard today, and there are things we can do that will help in answer to these questions.

Being designed to be used and moved the body doesn’t function as well with long periods of inactivity. Inactivity is a major contributor to things such as hypertension, heart disease, pulmonary problems, back pain and more. So we need to find ways to get enough of the right kind of exercise.

Walking as little as 30 minutes a day has been shown to increase your general health as well as help maintain and even reduce weight. Studies have also surprisingly shown that exercise can be broken down into short periods and does not necessarily have to be done all at one time.

If you have a lower level of fitness you can start with only walking for five minutes or a little longer depending on how you feel. Be encouraged by the fact that every day will get easier and like myself walking slowly around the block has led to a much larger block of around 60 minutes duration. Just give yourself time.

If you have joint problems, such as hip or knee pain, bicycling is another good source of regular exercise. Even though you must bike longer to achieve the same benefit as walking it can be done in much more comfort. You must also think about the benefits of walking in helping prevent osteoporosis.

Swimming is of course another good form of exercise and especially suited to more senior people as it has less impact on the joints in the body. An excellent calorie burner, swimming also increases your body’s flexibility. Of course it is also an exercise in which the bones are not weight bearing so you should still do something to help your bones keep their strength and remain strong and healthy.

Including weight training in your exercise schedule, and insuring it is done correctly, will give you the best overall benefit for your body. It has been shown in studies to very quickly increase muscle mass and flexibility even in seniors. It should also increase your cardiovascular fitness.

Take Action, and get checked out by your doctor, so you are sure, you are ok to take the first positive steps towards your better health today.

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