I have long been recommending that to get the most benefit from your aerobic exercise that you include some high intensity bursts to push you out of your comfort zone for short periods (intervals).  I have been suggesting that five intervals is a good number as it is fairly easy to push yourself for that many.  More than five and most people can’t sustain the intensity.

A recently reported study shows that you may need to do less than five intervals to get an improvement in fitness and better insulin sensitivity (which protects you from diabetes).

In the study, the researchers investigated the effects of a reduced-exertion high intensity interval (REHIT) exercise intervention on insulin sensitivity and aerobic capacity.

Twenty-nine healthy but sedentary young men and women were randomly assigned to the REHIT intervention (men, n = 7; women, n = 8) or a control group (men, n = 6; women, n = 8). Subjects assigned to the control groups maintained their normal sedentary lifestyle, whilst subjects in the training groups completed three exercise sessions per week for 6 weeks.

The 10-min exercise sessions consisted of low-intensity cycling (60 W) and one (first session) or two (all other sessions) brief ‘all-out’ sprints (10 s in week 1, 15 s in weeks 2–3 and 20 s in the final 3 weeks).

Aerobic capacity (the best measure of aerobic fitness) and the glucose and insulin response to a 75-g glucose load (OGTT) were determined before and 3 days after the exercise program.

Despite the subjects rating the exercise as fairly easy (ratings of perceived exertion (RPE 13 ± 1)), insulin sensitivity significantly increased by 28% in the male training group following the REHIT intervention .

Aerobic fitness (VO2max) increased in the male training (+15%) and female training (+12%) groups.

The researchers concluded that this novel approach to training may be a feasible exercise intervention to improve metabolic health and aerobic capacity.

Very short bursts of high intensity exercise (REHIT) may offer a genuinely time-efficient alternative to repeated intervals and conventional cardiorespiratory exercise training for improving risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes.

Imagine if you could maintain your fitness levels and guard against diabetes, and probably other metabolic conditions, by exercising for just 10 – 15 minutes a day, with only 2 minutes of hard effort.

No more excuses about not having enough time!

Have you ever wondered whether the effort of staying fit is worth it?

Getting up early to exercise before work? Or fitting in some exercise after work when you really don’t feel like it?

Perhaps the idea of holding off exercising until you retire and have more time is an appealing thought.

Especially given that the real impact of low levels of physical fitness and muscle strength occur in older populations and are associated with increased risk of health problems, loss of independence, and shorter survival times.

Researchers have just reported on a study in which they examined the associations of physical activity across adulthood with physical performance and strength in midlife in a group of British men and women that they followed since birth in March 1946.

The researchers stated that as the global population ages, there is a growing need to identify modifiable factors across life that influence physical performance and strength in later life.

The study found that there are cumulative benefits of physical activity across adulthood on physical performance in mid-life.

They suggested that increased activity should be promoted early in adulthood to ensure the maintenance of physical performance in later life and that promotion of leisure time activity is likely to become increasingly important in younger populations as people’s daily routines become more sedentary.”

In the study they analyzed self-reported leisure time physical activity (LTPA) levels at 36, 43 and 53 years of age. During the 53-year investigation, grip strength, standing balance, and chair rise times were measured as indicators of strength and physical performance.

Grip strength is a measure of upper-body muscle condition. Chair-rise times are associated with lower body strength and power, as well as cardiorespiratory fitness. Standing balance requires mental concentration and subtle motor control and measures a number of neurophysiological and sensory systems.

Participants who were more active at all three ages showed better performance on the chair-rise test. Persons more active at ages 43 and 53 had better performance on the standing balance test, even after adjusting for other variables. Physical activity and grip strength were not associated in women and, in men, only physical activity at age 53 was associated with grip strength.

The investigators state that the findings in relation to chair rising and standing balance performance suggest that promotion of physical activity across adulthood would have beneficial effects on physical performance later in life and hence the functional health and quality of life of the aging population.

While getting out of a chair, keeping your balance and gripping objects may not seem difficult activities for you now, being able to keep doing them for the rest of your life is very important. It is the inability to do these that puts you at risk of losing your independence and suffering injuries due to falls.

The key message from this study is that it is safer and more effective to maintain your strength and fitness throughout your life than wait until you get older and try to regain it.

From my experience, both personally and with clients, it is easier to stay fit than to get fit.

So next time that little voice says you are too busy to exercise and why don’t you wait until you have more time, remember that what you do now has a major effect on what you will be able to do in years to come.

Does the thought of going to a school or university re-union fill you with excitement or fear?

Would you go or would you politely decline (even though you really like to catch up with your old friends)?

The thought of seeing people you haven’t seen can be a bit scary, especially if you haven’t maintained your fitness.

I’m currently in San Diego for the wedding of a friend I was at University with over 25 years ago. I’ve been catching up with old friends I studied, lived and exercised with all those years ago. I also got to meet the Professor I studied under for my Masters Degree

As always at these events, there was a lot of laughter and reminiscing about the things we used to do. It was There were also some valuable lessons to be learned.

Here’s some of them -

Keep doing what you’ve always done

It was obvious who had kept up there fitness. Those that had, looked just the same (other than a bit less or lighter coloured hair). They hadn’t put on weight and still had the same physique they had, even though 25 years had passed.

Those who had kept exercising, had maintained their muscle tissue and more obviously hadn’t got fatter. Some were even leaner than they were all those years ago. The myth that it is normal to get fatter and heavier as you get older might be the norm, but it’s not what has to happen.

Stay strong

One of the biggest risks to your fitness and health as you get older is that you suffer an injury, can’t exercise for a while and fall out of the habit. Maintaining your strength is one of the safeguards against injury.

Do a variety of activities

Those who were the fittest were the ones who did a variety of exercise. By doing so they were able to keep active even if a minor injury or circumstances meant they couldn’t do their normal routine. Doing different activities also means your body isn’t doing the same thing every day; increasing the likelihood of injury or fatigue.

Keep flexible

There is no doubt that as you get older muscles and tendons lose their elasticity if you don’t keep using them in their full range of motion. Incorporating some stretching, whether it be Yoga, Pilates or some other form is essential.

Get your partner involved

Those who had maintained their fitness all had life partners who valued their own health and fitness and made it a priority in their life.

Find friends to exercise with

Although not essential, most of those who kept active did so with other people. The social aspect of exercise is one of the things that keeps people doing it, especially when life gets busy or stressful. Don’y under-estimate the power of those around you to keep you going when you don’t necessarily feel like it.

Don’t let time be your excuse

All of the people I talked to led busy lives. They worked in demanding jobs or had their own businesses and had family commitments that could easily have stopped them from exercising. But they put their own health as a priority and made the time to stay fit. Even those who still had younger children fitted in time for exercise.

There is probably nothing in that list that is new or surprising. Seeing friends from a quarter of a century ago just reinforced the importance of being active and staying fit.

It’s a lot easier to maintain your fitness than it is to lose it and try t get it back when you are older.

Staying fit also makes going to reunions a pleasure not something to avoid or fear.

Here’s a study every boss needs to read.

And if you’re self-employed or a busy executive, and struggling to get everything done, you really need to take note.  Devoting time to physical activity leads to higher productivity.

A recently reported study showed that it is possible to use work time for exercise or other health-promoting measures and still attain the same or even higher production levels.

Achieving the same production levels in less work hours means higher productivity. Not only is this better for an organisation but individual health benefits are significant.  Not to mention reduced healthcare costs for the community.  The study was reported in  the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

According to the researchers from from Stockholm University and Karolinska Institute the increased productivity came from people getting more done during the hours they are at work and from less absenteeism owing to sickness.

Two dental care workplaces devoted 2.5 hours per week to physical activity, distributed across two sessions.

Another group had the same decrease in work hours but without exercise, and a third group maintained their usual work hours, 40 a week.

Those who exercised reported improvements in self-assessed productivity — they perceived that they got more done at work, had a greater work capacity and were sick less often.

If you are self-employed, a busy executive or a work-at-home parent, being active and fit is the best way to get more done in less time with reduced stress.

All pretty good reasons to get and stay fit.

Don’t you hate it when you just can’t remember something? And for many people it makes them start to worry that it may be the first signs of memory loss and dementia.

It is probably the thing people fear the most about getting older.

But it turns out that it doesn’t take much effort to stave off the effects of aging on your memory and your mind.

An increasing amount of research is showing that you can slow the progression of memory loss and dementia by regular light exercise. And it doesn’t have to be that much; even walking or gardening can make a difference.

You don’t have to do high intensity exercise to get the oxygen flowing to your brain. So if you needed some added motivation to walk to work or exercise during your lunch break, here is some of the findings from research on exercise and memory.

Get walking

In one study, researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada measured the energy expenditure and cognitive functioning of elderly adults for two to five years. The “active” adults did not do vigorous exercise, but instead did things like walking around the block, gardening and cleaning. This moderate activity protected them from cognitive decline over several years compared to people who were more sedentary. About 90 percent of those with the highest levels of daily activity were able to think and remember almost as well over the two to five year study period.

Stop your brain shrinking

Another study found that exercise prevents the brain shrinkage that occurs with age. The hippocampus “shrinks” in late adulthood, and this reduced volume is associated with impaired memory and increased risk of dementia. This study found that hippocampal volume of exercisers increased by 2% compared with declines in the control groups.

It’s not just old people who benefit

A study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine looked at the effect of exercise on young adults ranging in age from 19 to 29 years. It found that those who did moderate exercise five times a week for 30 minutes had enhanced memory compared to those who didn’t exercise as much.

Strength training helps to

It isn’t just aerobic exercise that helps your memory. Strength training may be just as effective.

A study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging found that weight training improved how older women think and changed how blood flows within their brains. Women who lifted weights twice a week for 12 months performed significantly better on mental processing tests than a control group.

Even a little exercise helps

A recent University of Colorado Boulder study showed that a small amount of exercise could protect against long-term memory loss that can happen suddenly following infection, illnesses or injury in old age.

In the study, researchers found that aging rats that ran just over half a kilometer each week were protected against infection-induced memory loss.

They found that a small amount of physical exercise by late middle-aged rats protected them against inflammation in the brain and ongoing memory loss that can occur following a serious infection.

The researchers concluded that even a small amount of exercise was sufficient to provide significant benefits, and that this is an important finding because those of advanced age are more vulnerable to memory impairments following immune challenges such as infections or surgery.

Past research has shown that dementia is often preceded by bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, or other immune challenges so the more protection you have, the better your chances of memory loss.

What does it all mean?

Even relatively low intensity exercise offers protection against much-feared memory loss as you get older, and I’m sure research will confirm that the fitter you are, the more protection you have against memory loss.

So keeping active and being fit is the best defence you have against forgetting what this newsletter talked about.

As one of the researchers stated, exercise is probably as close as we can come to the long-sought fountain of youth.

Even if you stay fit and can’t do all the things you did when you were younger, at least you’ll be able to remember what you once did!