If one is planning for long term health, let's say after 20-30 years, what is the needed amount of exercise that should be done on a regular basis?
Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#2[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#3Strength training.
Make sure you squat so that you can get up from couches in your old age.
Make sure you can run at least a mile without getting winded.
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#4The best longevity exercises are low impact and long duration. Look at health and wellness studies based on the amish. They work all day, but they pace themselves.
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#5I'd say 45mins-1hr of cardio per day, and 3 days minimum of some sort of strength training.
I do cycling nearly every day and bench/squat/deads Mon-Wed-Fri.
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#6Try to find an activity you enjoy. You will never keep up a sports regime if you don't enjoy doin it. There are so many different effects in long term health, that the specific sports/exercise won't matter.
Also, consider this: Imagine you look back at your life, having spent countless hours on running, and never enjoying yourself.
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#7Potpourri of answers. Smörgåsbord of suggestions. Myriad ....
But would love to see something evidence based ;-)
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#8Potpourri of answers. Smörgåsbord of suggestions. Myriad .... But would love to see something evidence based ;-)
Plenty of research out there to show evidence that muscle wasting is a problem with the elderly and that weight lifting is the solution.
(Although definition of “weight lifting” might vary)
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#9Imo you need to become awesomely fit and maintain that level for at least a year before your late 30's. I believe this gives your body an ability that it simply never develops otherwise.
I was a serious athlete (and I smoked too) into my early 30's. In fact my fitness level at age 29 was on par with elite Olympic athletes proven by laboratory testing. Fast forward to my early 50's--I had some injuries and truth be told I hadn't worked out for about 10 years.
Two things changed that: a dream in which I couldn't do even 1 pushup, and a bad reaction to an antibiotic which caused nerve damage in my dominant arm. So five years ago, at 55, I started working out again (I also had quit smoking the year before). Today I'm 60 years old, and I can plank for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I recently did 70 consecutive pushps, and I can do over 60 consecutive situps. I recently (about 6 weeks ago) started running stairs where I work and I can run up over 6 stories at a time--this has increased my core strength by leaps and bounds in a really short time: again a 4:30 second plank time.
As a side note; in the past 5 years I have lost about 33 pounds and I now weigh what I did at 18. I continue to make gains fitness-wise and I feel in some areas I am the strongest I have ever been in my life. I credit this largely to the fact that I was so fit 30 years ago.. and genes I'm assuming play a part in this.
Re: Ask HN: What's the minimum exercise one should do in 30s to stay healthy by 70s?
#10Imo you need to become awesomely fit and maintain that level for at least a year before your late 30's. I believe this gives your body an ability that it simply never develops otherwise. I was a serious athlete (and I smoked too) into my early 30's. In fact my fitness level at age 29 was on par with elite Olympic athletes proven by laboratory testing. Fast forward to my early 50's--I had some injuries and truth be to…
I think there is a lot of truth in this but this shouldn’t stop anybody else from seeking fitness.
I know quite a few people who started their fitness awareness journey “too late” in life and now they are studs/studettes.
That said, definitely start off easy. It should seem too easy yet moderately effective. Don’t start by joining up at the local CrossFit box. That sort of activity is not sustainable by normal people.
Gentle calisthenics are fine, as well as walking and stretching. Add more as it feels comfortable and most importantly SUSTAINABLE.