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Cellular inflammation causes serious diseases. Solutions: nutrition, exercise.
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100 minutes of aerobic exercise per week + free-body muscle strength session.
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6 golden rules: moderate exercise every day, interval training, training on an empty stomach, muscle strength, hydration, right intensity.
100 minutes
Movement is one of the 4 pillars of Sears’ theory along with calorie restriction, positive foods and anti-stress techniques In fact, the body is also nourished and ‘fuelled’ by physical activity because movement trains cells to deactivate pro-inflammatory genes and activate longevity genes.
How much movement? As much as possible but, if you want a number, one hundred minutes of aerobic training per week plus a free-body strength session, broken down as follows:
– 40 in one session over the weekend
– 60 in two mini-blocks of 30 minutes each per week.
– Plus a muscle strength and joint mobility session to be inserted whenever you want within the week.
In short, you have to do 3 aerobic sessions per week for 100 minutes total (can be 2 small 30-minute sessions and one on the weekend of 40 minutes) + one free-body muscle strength session.
The six golden rules
Internalize these rules as much as possible-they are always valid because they are inspired by common sense.
Rule 1 – The right dose of movement
Do it all the time, do it often, says Elena Casiraghi, a world-class triathlete and sports nutrition and supplementation specialist at Equipe Enervit: “You need to exercise in a planned manner and in moderation, every day, establishing what is the ideal time of day. One hour is not worth the other. One session of strength training a week is not enough to maintain muscle tone and mass. You have to do it every other day“.
Rule 2. High Intensity Interval Training
High-intensity interval training (HIIT – find some exercises here) is strenuous but has several positives: it lasts a short time and is very good for you. It involves, for example, 4-5 sets of aerobic exercises lasting 4 minutes at 80-90% of VO2max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen the muscles consume per minute, followed by 3-4 minutes of recovery.
Rule 3. Training on an empty stomach
As soon as you wake up you have in your body a low concentration of glycogen, the reserve sugar stored in the liver and muscles. Training performed under these conditions activates AMP kinase, the longevity molecule. In other words? It improves insulin sensitivity by decreasing cholesterol synthesis in the liver and increasing fat oxidation (lipolysis) in adipocytes, which are the cells of adipose tissue. That is, it teaches your body to consume fat more efficiently. It is no accident that this type of training is used by athletes who participate in endurance sports such as running, marching, cycling or triathlon to teach their bodies to better metabolize fat. Always remember to practice such training always under the supervision of a nutritionist and not to overdo it (but this is a rule that always applies).
Rule 4. The Concurrent Training
The body also needs to exert muscle strength, so aerobic training (such as running) is not enough. Combining aerobic and anaerobic training is called Concurrent training and means combining aerobic and anaerobic (i.e., strength) training. Strengthening muscles in fact is crucial, also because the older we get the more their mass decreases: as Dr. Elena Casiraghi notes “Beginning around age 40 in men and women there is a significant reduction in both muscle mass and the ability of muscles to express strength. Around 50, the loss of muscle mass is around 3-5% and 1-2% each year. Around seventy-five the muscle stock is basically halved. And those who lose out the most seem to be the men. That’s why you need an aerobic-type workout alternating with a session of muscle strength exercises“.
Rule 5. The importance of hydration
You need to drink all the time and in the right doses, even when you are not thirsty and especially if you are exercising because the body consumes water and minerals such as sodium, chlorine, potassium and magnesium that need to be replenished so as not to jeopardize your health, especially your heart. And do you know how to tell if you’re hydrating enough? Look at the color of your urine: if it is very yellow, it means you are not drinking enough. However, when the color is not accentuated, then OK!
How much to drink then? The rule of two liters of water per day applies to everyone, but if you exercise, the requirement is higher.
Rule 6. The right intensity
To what extent to train? Breath is a good measure of the intensity of a workout. In the first warm-up phase, breathing should never be labored. In the next phase, the pace accelerates: breathe rapidly to increase oxygen supply on inhalation and throw out the carbon dioxide produced on exhalation.
Remember: 100 minutes of free-body workout per week (if you can even in the morning as soon as you wake up), a high-intensity workout, drink. And eat well!
(Photo credits Christopher Campbell)