Anybody will know that any form of exercise or movement that gets you moving and sweating will keep you in good shape to live a better, fuller, healthier life. It really doesn’t matter whether you are doing 10km sprints or taking it easy with a slow walk every day. As long as you are constantly on the move, you should be in the best shape of your life.
But as time progresses, we find ourselves asking if there are ‘special’ exercises that we can do to keep us even healthier so that we can live longer lives. Are there such exercises and will they really help to extend our lives? Apparently, there are and yes, they do help in keeping us living longer and healthier.
#1 Climbing The Stairs
Photo Credits: Livestrongcdn
It may seem like such a small thing but deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator can do your body loads of good. According to a small Swiss study conducted in 2008, sedentary people who switched to taking the stairs cut their risk of dying prematurely by 15 percent. And of course, you can lose those excess pounds in the interim too!
#2 Exercising For Just 15 Minutes A Day
There’s really no need to work out for 30 minutes or more each day to get the full benefits, especially if you are a busy individual and are already struggling to set aside time for everything else in your life. In fact, it’s interesting to note that a study in 2011 showed that as compared to people who lead very inactive lifestyles, just 15 minutes of daily activity like brisk walking, added three years to life expectancy.
#3 Intensify Your Workout
Basically, this means that whatever exercise that you have been engaging in, all you need to do is increase the intensity of it to lengthen your lifespan. Imagine being able to live an additional 3.5 to 3.7 years just by sprinting for half an hour, five days a week. I would do that!
#4 Go For A Swim
Probably due to the nature of the sport where you don’t have to suffer the consequences of impact, it seems that swimmers have a lower mortality rate as compared to those who walk and run for their exercise. And if you didn’t already know this, swimming can also help you to relax by drowning out your thoughts, stresses and surrounding noise which adds to its longevity powers.
