14 DAY TRIAL // Many of us quickly approaching middle age have been looking for ways to stop our biological clocks, and maybe make them run backwards for a little bit, in order to come up with effective ways for fighting the "symptoms" of old age. Scientists say that one very simple and effective method of achieving just that is doing regular fitness routines, which are said to delay aging by as much as 12 years. Without regular training, our ability to exercise - known in more scientific terms as "the maximum aerobic power" - decreases by up to half between 20 and 60 for men. Women start to lose fitness capabilities around the age of 35 and by the time they turn 60, they will have lost the same amount of power.
The choice is simple enough: use your muscles, or lose them. As a result, studies have shown that the answer could lie in cardiovascular training (the type of physical fitness designed to strengthen the heart and lungs), which has been said to help push back the onset of middle age, that time when the body starts to lose its ability to use oxygen and generate energy. Another bonus of regular cardiovascular training is the fact that it helps us keep our mobility longer into our old age, thus extending our physical independence and helping our mental condition.
"A regular exercise program can slow or reverse the loss of aerobic fitness, reducing the individual's biological age and prolonging independence", says Dr Roy Shephard from the Faculty of Physical Education and Health within the University College London, who took part in a study aiming to analyze how far the benefits of training last into old age. The study showed that high-intensity aerobic exercise, undertaken over a relatively long interval, effectively boosts maximal aerobic power by 25 percent, thus turning back the biological clock by 12 years.