Exercise is key to healthy longevity

By now, both the medical world and the general public no longer want just to live long, but to do so actively and healthily: structured exercise plans are the key to healthy longevity.

Only part of our life expectancy is predefined and ‘written’ in our genes. One of the main ways that science points out to act on our ageing process, getting old healthy and fit (healthy longevity) is committing to a structured physical exercise plan.

Proper physical exercise is a sub-category of physical activity (any state of unrest) and it includes all activities that require the movement of the human body, carried out with a particular purpose and following specific criteria in terms of duration, intensity and frequency.

When we talk about physical exercise being extraordinarily effective in maintaining a healthy body and helping us to “age well”, we’re talking about both aerobic and anaerobic activities. If your exercise sessions aren’t just a one-off, but are continued over time in a systematic and structured way, the body will undergo positive changes in the long term.

In recent times, we have seen a huge reassessment of resistance training (or strength training), also for the senior demographic: it turns out to be a particularly useful and effective activity for counteracting the natural loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with age. Strength training also increases bone density, improves the metabolism, general posture, the condition of ligaments, tendons and joints and of the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Camillo Ricordi, one of the world’s leading experts on diabetes and Director of the Diabetes Research Institute (Miami), discusses in his book “The Healthspan Code” how physical exercise has a stimulating effect on sirtuins. Sirtuins are proteins that are essential for staying young and protecting the diversification of the body’s most specialized tissues, thus contributing to a healthy life expectancy.

In short, science itself testifies that healthy longevity and exercise are closely related:

Regular exercise prevents all chronic diseases that cause accelerated ageing and premature death.

Regular exercise activates a number of molecules, including sirtuins, which slow down cellular ageing. Exercise is effective even at a young age as sirtuins begin to decrease after the age of 35, and after the age of 60 the human body produces almost none.

Exercise, both aerobic and strength training, is a powerful medicine to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes (a major cause of unhealthy longevity). In pre-diabetic subjects, exercise reduces the incidence of diabetes by 58%, while metformin (the most widely used drug to improve insulin sensitivity) by 31%.

Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and consequently prevents all diseases (not only diabetes) related to insulin resistance.

Regular exercise reduces chronic low-grade inflammation, an underlying condition of most chronic diseases.

Regular exercise has an effect on brain receptors by reducing states of pain and anxiety and preventing depression.

Technogym solutions for staying effectively active
Technogym has made both physical and mental well-being its mission, and so it’s no surprise that it is a trailblazer in offering training options, both equipment and digital, to facilitate and encourage the maintenance of a training routine, at any age:

Technogym App is the ideal solution for achieving your fitness goals (losing weight, increasing muscle mass, improving sports performance, etc.): whether you’re at home, travelling, at the park or in the gym, the digital coach suggests the workout most suited to your profile, combining scientific research, artificial intelligence, and engaging and challenging video content.

The robust and highly customizable Biocircuit offer (both cardio and strength) has been chosen by numerous clubs and rehabilitation-medical centers around the world: by simply logging in, the stations automatically adapt to the individual user, the user’s profile and selected fitness goals. Biocircuit registers the user profile (age, physical details, fitness goal), and sets up all the stations in the circuit accordingly (weight, duration, pace, rest, etc.).

As far as strength training is concerned, Biostrength allows training with the right load, the right range of motion, the correct posture, the most suitable speed for the goal, and also indicates the number of sets, reps and optimum recovery time. The patented Biodrive system provides 6 different types of resistance (isotonic, no inertia, eccentric reduction, eccentric overload, viscous, elastic), improving the effectiveness of the exercise according to the goal the user wants to reach.

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