A new study released on Sunday by the Journal of Physiology concluded that the most excellent way to keep yourself healthy and youthful is by exercising at least four to five days a week for at least 30 minutes.
The study, called The Effect of Lifelong Exercise Frequency on Arterial Stiffness, examined 102 people over the age of 60 who identified themselves as being physically active throughout their lives.
Stressing that as people age, their arteries begin to stiffen, researchers measured the arterial stiffness of participants and divided them into four different groups based on the amount of time they devoted to working out.
The groups were defined as sedentary (people who worked out less than twice a week), casual exercisers (exercising two to three times a week), committed exerciser (four to five workouts a week) and master athletes (six to seven sweat sessions weekly).
This work showed exercise training over a long period of time can slow artery damage and the aging of the heart; the researchers say the next step is to study whether it can also reverse damage and aging of the cardiovascular system.
