Baby Boomers: Turn Your Heart Clock Back 20 Years With Exercise

I love this latest report. According to a new study, even if you’ve been addicted to television for most of your life, it’s not too late. You can still get in shape now in late middle age and help your heart function like you’re 20 years younger.

The study, published in the journal Circulation of the American Heart Association, looked at healthy but sedentary people between the ages of 45 and 64.

The individuals were divided into two different groups. The first group participated in a non-aerobic exercise program such as yoga, balance training, and weight training three times a week. The second group did moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise for four or more days a week.

After two years, the group that participated in the higher intensity exercise saw a dramatic improvement in their heart function.

“We took these 50-year-old hearts and turned the clock back to 30- or 35-year-old hearts,” said Dr. Ben Levine, a sports cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and director of the Institute for Exercise. and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. “Their hearts processed oxygen more efficiently and were noticeably less stiff.”

Sorry, but walking the dog around the block a couple days a week doesn’t seem to work. Of course, any type of exercise is better than nothing, but if you want to turn back your heart clock, you need a little more. A key part of the effective exercise regimen was interval training – short bursts of high intensity exercise followed by a few minutes of recovery.

The researchers facilitated the exercise group in their routine with three 30-minute sessions of moderate exercise per week for the first three months and developed a regular series of workouts that peaked at 10 months and included:

* Two days of high-intensity intervals: four minutes at 95 percent of a person’s maximum capacity (for example, running briskly or pedaling fast against resistance), followed by three minutes of active recovery (jogging slower, walking fast or pedaling slower), repeated four times.

* One hour-long day of moderate intensity exercise that raised the heart rate and the participant enjoyed dancing, tennis, swimming, biking, or brisk walking.

* One or two days of 30-minute sessions of moderate intensity exercise, which means the participant would break out in a sweat, get a little short of breath, but still be able to carry on a conversation.

* One or two weekly strength training sessions with weights or exercise machines, either on a separate day or after an exercise session.

Participants were encouraged to use diversification with many different exercise equipment (stationary bikes, treadmills, elliptical trainers) and to engage in outdoor exercise (jogging and cycling) to stay motivated and interested, Levine said.

Intense training was important, Levine emphasized, even if it was only once a week. Pushing as hard as you can for four minutes puts stress on the heart, he explained, and forces it to work more efficiently. The repetition of the intervals helps to strengthen both the heart and the circulatory system.

Another benefit? “It breaks the monotony of just walking,” he said. “Most people really enjoy high intensity work. You’d think they wouldn’t, but they like the fact that it’s short and they like the fact that they feel stronger afterward.”

The participants recorded their heart rate, which is ideal. But as an alternative, use the simple conversation test. During high intensity intervals, you must work hard enough and breathe hard enough that you cannot speak comfortably in long sentences.

Don’t wait too long, Levine cautioned. “The sweet spot in life to get off the couch and start exercising is in late middle age, when the heart still has plasticity,” Levine said. You may not be able to reverse the aging of your heart if you wait until after 70 to start.

But you will still see the benefits of exercise. A research team from Tufts University found that frail people up to 89 years old could tolerate an exercise regimen that included walking, leg lifting, and stretching. The participants may not have turned back their heart clock, but they improved in a way that could make a big difference. Exercise helped them maintain their mobility and decreased their chances of suffering a physical disability.

“You are never too old, not too weak, not too handicapped [to benefit from a physical activity program]”said Roger Fielding of Tufts, who led the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Of course, before starting any strenuous exercise program, be sure to check with your doctor. Then get up off the couch and start moving!