By When it comes to looking more youthful than you are, it takes more than exercising regularly to achieve that goal. I believe there are a number of key strategies you can use to achieve this. It requires commitment and discipline, but those small factors can lead to big results.
Top 5 things you can do to increase youthfulness
- Intermittent fasting
- Weight training
- Eating a diet rich in phytonutrients
- Eating less animal protein
- HIIT training
- Being positive & happy with a winning mindset
Think of sports men and women who’s fitness regiment has kept them in top form, and at a high level, well into their 30s. Take Roger Federer (36) and Serina Williams (36) are paving the way in dispelling myths regarding ageing, sports performance and the importance of mindset.
The general consensus states that HIIT is a good option to tackle every week. Getting your heart rate up to 80% of it’s maximin for 10–30 minutes, a couple of times a week. You should get to a level where it’s unpleasant and that you need to stop because you wont’ be able to keep it up.
High intensity training benefits your body on a cellular level. Together with your weight training and incidental exercise, it improves your overall fitness levels as well as your metabolism.
Another component of exercise, which is very important (and my favourite of course) is strength training. It aids in preventing fractures and injuries later on in life, as well as cognitive function. Let’s not also forget that strength training builds muscle mass, which keeps our metabolism running high, and maintains a steady weight. When you decrease your muscle mass (mainly by becoming inn-active), it can leave you with insulin resistance, constant weight gain and chronic inflammation. It’s very important to keep up with your weight training for life, and make that an important part of your weekly workout routine.
As Bill Gilfford said “Ageing makes us fat, and then our fat makes us age.”
Most of the different health, joint and cognitive issues can be rectified and reversed through frequent vigorous exercise. This is why elite athletes continue to succeed well past their supposed used by date. It’s not that they train more, they train more efficiently, utilising different methods periodically to keep challenging their bodies. One key factor that’s essential for this to happen, is the quality of sleep and rest. This is crucial in repairing damaged tissue, cell regeneration and youthfulness.
Gone are the days of continuously slamming yourself to the wall at the gym. High intensity intervals, weight lifting and proper nutrition can be implemented into any working and or parental schedule.
Here are 5 exercise examples to get you started along the journey
- Exercise for at least 20–40 minutes per day. This can be walking, weight training, HIIT or a yoga class. Aim to be active on a daily basis, constantly challenging yourself physically and mentally.
- Build on your weight training goals. Start with lighter weights, and keep building upon that. Use compound movements such as squatting, deadlifting, bench pressing and pull ups. The better you get at these exercises, the stronger, muscular and leaner you will become. These movements generate the most hormonal changes in metabolism, torch body fat and reshape your physique faster.
- Be done with diets and just eat well. Eating a diet filled with high grade protein, veggies, fats and carbs is essential. If you want to lose more body fat, and keep your weight steady, opt for carb cycling. Protein is definitely required if you want to build and maintain muscle mass. As we age, this needs to be taken into consideration.
- To age well, intermittent fasting is a profound option. You can alternate your feeding and fasting window as you wish, to suit your lifestyle. Fasting regenerates our entire bodies on a cellular level. It also boosts our metabolism, and helps make our metabolism work even more effectively. When fasting, you activate your GH hormone, which is they key to longevity. Keep doing this on a long term basis to reap the results.
- Sleep. As stated above, sleep is essential for your wellbeing and health. Aim to get 7–8 hours a night, more if you feel it’s needed. If you strength train, you will need to make sleep your main priority. It’s what you do outside of the gym that will give you the best results when trying to gain muscle mass and lose body fat.