It’s no secret, exercise has many health benefits. Starting from maintaining fitness, preventing excess weight , to preventing various diseases. Well, recently the latest research has proven that certain types of exercise can make you stay young. Wow, what kind of sport, huh? This is the answer.
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Sports that can keep you young
According to a study in the journal Cell Metabolism, interval training can delay the aging process in humans. Interval training itself is a type of exercise that combines intense physical exercise with moderate to light physical exercise. For example, you exercise brisk walking but also interspersed with running ( jogging ) which is quite intense.
In the study, experts divided study participants aged 18-80 years into three large groups. The first group was asked to do interval training. Meanwhile, the second group did resistance training. The latter group did a combination of interval and resistance training.
After undergoing regular exercise for twelve weeks, the three groups showed an increase in body fitness. However, the first group to do interval training seemed to benefit the most.
According to dr. Sreekumaran Nair, who led this research, said there is a special reason why interval training can keep you young. Apparently the most effective interval training encourages cells in the body to produce more protein, especially in study participants aged 65-80 years. This protein is responsible for replacing damage to cells caused by aging. With this exercise, the damage done to the cells can be “repaired” more quickly so that the cells will be “younger” in the longer term.
Benefits of interval training
Besides being able to make you stay young, interval training also offers various benefits for the body. Compared to resistance training (such as push-ups or squats ), this study published in March 2017 showed that interval training was more effective at increasing insulin action. Insulin itself is needed by the body to process sugar in the blood into an energy source. This means that people who regularly exercise intervals can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes or diabetes.
Interval training has also proven to be very good for the elderly (elderly). Based on the observations of dr. Sreekumaran, this exercise was able to increase the body’s ability to produce 69 percent more energy in elderly study participants. While in young people, the body’s ability to produce energy increased by 49 percent.
Where to start?
Don’t wait until you’re old enough to start interval training. In fact, the younger your interval training routine, the better the results. You can start with the following tips.
- Set up a timer to mark intervals for intense, moderate, and light exercise.
- The ideal time interval for alternating exercise intensity is 20-60 seconds.
- If you choose to run on the treadmill, start with 40 seconds of slow running. Then increase the speed within 20 seconds. Slowly reduce your running speed again for 40 to 60 seconds.
- If you choose to run outdoors, start by running on a level road. Then slowly, choose a running track with an incline or descent. Then end your running session on level ground again.