Find out what sports are the best to do to stay healthy and prolong your life. For a long time, no one doubts the ability of sport to extend a person's life. However, there are exceptions to this rule, because not every sport is suitable for all people. Now we are talking only about training at an amateur level, since professional sports do not contribute to health.
This issue has been studied by scientists from many countries. Sports veterans took part in these experiments. Professional athletes have to endure enormous physical and emotional stress throughout their careers. All this negatively affects their health. Do not discount the various types of sports pharmacology used by athletes in large quantities.
After all the studies carried out, the scientists stated that the main factor that negatively affects the longevity is the intensity of the training. It is quite obvious that in professional sports it is extremely high, because otherwise one cannot count on high results. A completely different situation is observed if training is carried out with moderate intensity.
Such exercises help to improve the functioning of all body systems, and also accelerate the processes of utilization of toxins. Thus, the answer to the question of what kinds of sports prolong life can be done like this - that's it. But for this you need to train properly. Perhaps the most difficult thing here is choosing the optimal training intensity, and we will talk about this even below. In the meantime, I want to say that scientists have identified four sports that can maximize the life of a person.
What Sports Extend Life?
We have already said that scientists have studied the impact of sports on human health for a long time. The largest study was carried out by a group of Australian and European scientists. It lasted 14 years in the period 1994-2008, and the number of participants exceeded eighty thousand people. Among the subjects were representatives of different classes and social status over the age of 30. All of them were involved in certain sports disciplines. As a result, scientists were able to answer the question, what kinds of sports prolong life?
All racket sports
Scientists are confident that squash, badminton and tennis can bring maximum benefits to the body. These sports involve active movement, which, as a result, has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the respiratory system and heart muscle. It has been proven that playing sports with a racket can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular ailments by more than 50 percent.
From this point of view, they have no equal. Also, the project manager, British scientists, Dr. Charlie Foster, emphasized that the above sports disciplines improve not only the physical health of people, but also normalize the psycho-emotional state.
Aerobics
This type of fitness is very popular with women who want to lose weight and maintain a beautiful figure. However, in the course of the study, scientists ranked as aerobics everything that is associated with constant low-intensity physical activity - jogging, gymnastics, dancing, etc. As a result, it was found that aerobics reduces the risk of developing heart ailments by an average of 35 percent.
It's important to note that aerobics is great for people of different age groups, making it a versatile tool for promoting health. If you do not have the opportunity to actively go jogging or cycling, then you can take regular walks.
Swimming
Workouts in the pool are good because they force the muscles to work actively while relieving the joints with the spinal column. Scientists are confident that this is a great way to fight obesity and strengthen the cardiovascular system. Swimming is also good for those people who are recovering from previous injuries or surgery. According to available information. The risks of developing heart muscle disease with regular swimming are reduced by an average of 40 percent.
Cycling
During cycling, not only the muscles of the legs are actively involved in the work, but also the press, shoulder girdle and arms. In addition, cycling has a significant advantage over running - there is no shock load on the knee joints. Moreover, while cycling, the flexibility and mobility of the articular-ligamentous apparatus increases.
Scientists have found that cycling can increase life expectancy by an average of 15 percent. They also note a positive effect on the work of the cardiovascular system and a slowdown in the development of oncological diseases. However, we repeat once again that the question of what kinds of sports prolong life is not quite correct. If you choose the right physical activity, then you will definitely improve your health.
What kind of load is good for the body and prolongs life?
When talking about what kinds of sports prolong life, we have already noted that the most important indicator is the degree of intensity of physical activity. This is a rather difficult question, because a lot depends on your initial level of training, as well as the characteristics of the body.
Scientists are inclined to believe that for people over 30 years old, it is necessary to perform about ten thousand steps throughout the day. However, this does not mean just training, but all physical activity. Scientists recommend doing sports two or three times during the week. However, I would like to remind you once again that the optimal load is a purely individual indicator. First of all, you need to focus on your well-being. When after the training you feel a surge of strength and slight fatigue, then everything is fine.
How is sport good for the body?
In everyday life, each person is faced with two types of activity - physical and psychological. The first type involves the performance of mechanical work, and psychological activity should be understood as intellectual work, communication and our emotions.
Psychological activity makes a limited number of systems in our body work. First of all, we are talking about the higher levels of the nervous system. In turn, physical activity affects the entire body as a whole. Psychological activity appeared in the course of evolution and now controls physical activity. The opposite influence also takes place, but it is more limited.
During sports, a large number of adaptation processes are activated in our body, thanks to which it can adapt to new living conditions. However, as mentioned above, the indicator of physical activity should be within acceptable limits. Not only a lack of physical activity, but also its excess can be dangerous for the body. Let's talk about why moderate exercise improves health.
- The cardiovascular system. The main task of this system is to provide all body tissues with oxygen and nutrients. With moderate exercise on a regular basis, the heart muscle becomes more resilient. As a result, he can pump more blood in one contraction. In addition, the vessel walls acquire additional elasticity and become more elastic. It's no secret that today varicose veins are a very common ailment. Regular sports activities can dramatically reduce the risks of its development. The situation is similar with thrombosis.
- Respiratory system. The lungs of a trained person have a number of differences from the lungs of people who are not involved in sports. First of all, we are talking about the expansion of the bronchi, which leads to the formation of additional alveoli. In addition, in athletes, the network of blood vessels entangling the lungs is more extensive. As a result, the body is almost never oxygen deficient.
- The musculoskeletal system. Whatever sport you do, it is the musculoskeletal system that has the main load. Recall that this concept includes the system of bone tissue, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Since the muscles in our body are the only motor mechanism, any work you do causes them to contract. Moreover, this process must be considered in the context of the system of interaction between muscles and the nervous system.
The complexity of the movements you perform does not matter, none of them is possible without the participation of the central nervous system. In fact, this is where human physical activity originates. Nerve impulses from cells in the brain and spinal cord are transmitted to the muscles, and this causes them to contract. You must remember that during training, the muscles are not the first to get tired. And nerve cells. Moreover, their recovery takes much longer than muscle fibers.
Muscle training aims to increase the size of tissue fibers. It is quite obvious that at the same time the nerve centers are "pumped". However, let us return to the muscle fibers, which not only increase the cross-sectional dimensions, but also new myofibrils are synthesized in them.
The performance of these organelles directly depends on the energy storage of the cells and the amount of nutrients at their disposal. It should be remembered that muscles need all micro- and macronutrients for growth, not just amines. Regular exercise leads to significant changes in the skeletal system. As a result, bones become stronger, which will definitely be useful in everyday life.
Physical activity has a positive effect on the articular-ligamentous apparatus. First of all, the ligaments and tendons are strengthened, and the mobility of all elements of the joint also increases. However, the ligaments do not adapt to physical activity as quickly as the muscles. If you use excessive loads, then this contributes to the development of degenerative changes in the joints. Many professional athletes develop osteochondrosis or osteoarthritis. Let us remind you once again that it is extremely important to correctly select the loads.
In conclusion, I would also like to say about metabolic processes, which are accelerated with regular exercise. The constitution of the body largely depends on this. The higher the metabolism, the faster energy is burned, and you will not gain fat mass. We have now examined the positive effects of moderate exercise on only a few body systems. You can rest assured that regular exercise will help you improve your health and extend your life.
For more on the scientists' perspective on which sports extend life, see the following video:
