"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Strong body, healthy heart?

This is great if you happen to are within the habit of doing 20 to half-hour of brisk walking or other moderate exercise most days of the week. But many individuals ignore the suggestion within the federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to do muscle-strengthening exercises at the very least two days per week. Although the rules don't recommend a certain quantity of time to spend on this effort, evidence from a brand new study suggests that 30 to 60 minutes per week is a great goal.

Published on February 28, 2022. British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study pooled data from 16 preliminary studies to find out how several types of exercise may affect longevity and the danger of dying from heart disease or other health conditions. Researchers found that in comparison with individuals who didn't strength train, those that did half an hour to an hour of muscle-building exercises per week had a ten percent to 17 percent lower risk of early death. There was a decrease.

Benefits of strength training

Don't think it is advisable join a gym or buy weights to construct your strength. Bodyweight exercises, by which you utilize your body as a weight, could be an especially easy option to construct muscle strength. These include difficult exercises resembling pull-ups and planks, but less intense exercises, resembling lunges and modified push-ups (see images below for examples).

Exercises you possibly can do anywhere.

“You can do bodyweight exercises virtually anywhere—waiting for the water to boil in the kitchen, watching your favorite show in your living room, or at your park,” says Dr. Frates. watching the grandchildren play,” says Dr. Frates. Ideally, you must attempt to hit all the foremost muscle groups in your legs, hips, back, stomach, chest, shoulders and arms.

If you're latest to the sort of exercise, it's best to seek out a supervised program through a senior center, health club, or physical therapist—to learn proper form, which is essential to injury prevention. Is. If you’ve got heart disease, check along with your doctor first.

Stationary lunge

Image of the stationary lunge exercise showing the starting position as described in the text.

Starting position: Stand straight along with your right foot one to 2 feet in front of your left foot, hands in your hips. Shift your weight forward and lift your left heel off the ground

Image of the stationary lunge exercise showing the movement as described in the text.

Motion: Bend your knees and lower your torso straight down until your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Hold for one second, then return to the starting position. Try eight to 12 on all sides, then step forward along with your left foot. This completes a set. As you possibly can, aim for 2 to 3 sets, with 30 to 90 seconds of rest in between.

Bench push-up

The image of the bench push-up exercise shows the starting position as described in the text.

Starting position: Place your hands shoulder-width apart on a bench (or table, chair, or step). Walk your feet back in order that your body is at a forty five° angle to the ground and forms a straight line from head to heels. Your heels must be off the ground.


Image of a bench push-up exercise showing the movement as described in the text.

Motion: Bend your elbows out to the edges and slowly lower your upper body toward the bench until your elbows are bent at about 90°. Pause for a second, then press against the bench and straighten your arms to return to the starting position. Try to do eight to 12, which counts as one set. As you possibly can, aim for 2 to 3 sets, with 30 to 90 seconds of rest in between.


Photo: © xaviernau/Getty Images; Exercise photos by Michael Carroll