"You: The Owners Manual" Part II

I'm finally reading "You: The Owner's Manual". It contains some interesting concepts indeed. Here's one interesting tidbit.

The good doctors speak in terms of Real Age and Calendar Age. They contend that our lifestyles make our bodies younger or older than our true calendar age. For example, the body of a 55 year old smoker is more like the body of a 65 year old non-smoker.

Regarding exercise, they contend that you receive the optimal age benefit from 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day and 1 hour (or 3 - 20 minute sessions) per week of vigorous exercise at 80% of your max heart rate (which is 80% of 220 - your calendar age).

They also contend that any more than one hour of vigorous exercise actually reduces the benefit of exercise on your Real Age. They said that a 55 year old man that followed their exercise routine would have a real age of 45. But, a 55 year old man that exercises more would have a real age of 52.

Interesting! Perhaps there is a such thing as too much exercise.

Over the years I've settled into an exercise routine that involves copious amounts of rest and moderate exercise. On average, I probably only get about 1 hour of high intensity exercise each week. I do take 2 days off a week. Perhaps I'll consider adding a short walk on those days to get in the 30 minutes of physical activity.