Showing posts with label doctor guarantee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctor guarantee. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Theobromine Benefits: Can Dark Chocolate Really Slow Aging?
Now I can add dark chocolate to my espresso and get full benefits from both.
Will your doctor guarantee this combo will recover your 5 lost years of brain cognition due to your stroke?
Theobromine Benefits: Can Dark Chocolate Really Slow Aging?
New research shows theobromine, a compound found in dark chocolate, may support longevity.
Reaching for a piece of dark chocolate can offer an afternoon pick-me-up, but chocolate lovers may also get longevity support from their favorite treat. A recent study published in the journal Aging found there may be a connection between a naturally occurring compound in chocolate and the speed of your biological aging — how your body ages on the cellular level.
Research associates dark chocolate (and coffee) consumption with heart-healthy benefits, and that’s often thanks to theobromine, a compound found in both of these — let’s face it — daily essentials. Theobromine benefits include reduced blood pressure and healthier cholesterol levels. But does the chocolate itself slow aging, or are dark-chocolate lovers just more likely to practice other habits that support longevity?
What You Should Know About Theobromine
You’ve probably heard about the heart-healthy benefits of dark chocolate. The antioxidants, such as flavanols, found in cocoa can help reduce inflammation, protect the health of your cells, and even support your cardiovascular system and healthy blood flow.
As it turns out, it may even help slow your body’s biological aging process, essentially the age your body is considered when factoring in health markers such as heart rate and blood pressure, which may be different than your chronological age, or the number of candles on your birthday cake each year.
This may be due to the presence of theobromine, another natural compound found in cocoa, coffee, and tea, with the highest concentrations in dark chocolate; it’s what gives it that bitter taste. Think of this lesser-known compound as a cousin of caffeine, since it’s a much milder stimulant and acts differently in the body. Theobromine is found primarily in cocoa, and moderate to high intake of the compound has been linked with heart health benefits.
More good news for chocolate lovers: The study referenced links higher theobromine levels, which may come from your favorite dark chocolate bar, to slower biological aging.
Going Deeper on Theobromine and Aging
Researchers at King’s College London analyzed data from roughly 1,700 adults across the U.K. and Germany to see if theobromine plays a part in healthy aging and longevity. The discovery group was made up of women, with the findings then replicated in a larger mixed-sex cohort.
Comparing both biological-age measures against theobromine levels in the blood, researchers found that people with more theobromine looked younger than their chronological age on DNA-methylation aging clocks, which help predict disease and mortality risk more accurately than birthdays alone. Higher theobromine also showed a more modest link to longer telomeres, the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten with age or chronic stress.
While the association appeared specific to theobromine, it’s important to note the study is observational, so it doesn’t necessarily prove the compound, or eating dark chocolate, actually slows aging or show exactly how it may support your biological age. And, it raises more questions, like if it’s a marker for other known markers of antioxidants in cacao, like flavanols, that weren’t measured in this study.
The Takeaway
While higher theobromine correlates with slower biological aging in this study, more research is needed to establish why exactly this is the case. Until it’s established exactly why the two are linked, it’s (unfortunately) not a prescription to eat more chocolate. To get health-boosting benefits we already know about, nutritionists suggest looking for dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cacao and less than 8 grams of sugar. A daily serving is about one to three squares, or 10 to 30 grams, of your favorite dark chocolate bar.
Bottom Line
Since this study was observational, the results can’t definitively establish that a higher intake of dark chocolate (and theobromine) is the reason study participants saw a younger biological age than their chronological age. Essentially, it’s not yet known if the compound truly is the secret ingredient to better aging or if it’s perhaps due to overall flavanols you consume when eating dark chocolate. While dark chocolate may not be the answer to keeping your body younger — yet — you can still consume it in moderation as part of an overall healthy diet. There’s just no need to load up on the sugary stuff in an effort to pause aging.
Experts Who contributed
- Lauren Keary, NASM-CNC, reviewed this article for accuracy.
- Jordan Smith, an ISSA certified running coach, wrote this article.
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
I'm a Longevity Researcher. These 5 Common Habits Are Hurting Your Long-Term Health
What is your competent? doctors EXACT PLAN to get you to be a super ager? Doesn't have one; PURE INCOMPETENCE! Fire them! These are just guidelines, you want EXACT PROTOCOLS that guarantee longevity!
I'm a Longevity Researcher. These 5 Common Habits Are Hurting Your Long-Term Health
There's no "secret" to longevity, but there are lifestyle habits that can increase the odds you live a longer, healthier life. What we eat, how we move, and even the way we socialize can all impact our health as we age.
Longevity isn't just about staying alive for as long as possible. Experts are increasingly focused on "healthspan," or the number of years spent living in good health.
Research shows about 80% of adults over 65 in the U.S. are living with two or more chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.
So the real goal of interventions should be to increase how long we live healthfully, Emily Johnston, Ph.D., a research professor at NYU Langone specializing in healthy aging, tells TODAY.com.
Fortunately, there are everyday choices we can make to extend our healthspan well into the golden years.
And it's never too early or late to start building healthy aging habits, cardiologist and longevity scientist Dr. Eric Topol told TODAY.com previously. These include strength training, eating a nutritious diet and managing stress.
to avoid and what to do instead to promote healthy aging.
Sitting Still for Too Long
Daily movement is one of the most important habits to protect our physical and mental health as we age, according to Johnston.
As we get older, we tend to spend more time sitting around. If you already work a desk job or spend your free time "bed rotting," the hours add up.
A sedentary lifestyle has long been associated with health issues, from back pain and "dead butt" syndrome to obesity and inflammation. It can increase the risk of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer and premature death.
If you find yourself sitting for long periods, try to get up every hour or so to move your body. Work manageable bits of physical activity into your routine when you can, like taking the stairs, walking to work, cleaning dishes or doing laundry.
“In terms of physical activity, many people associate that with being in the gym or the treadmill. But it could be walking. It could be dancing,” Johnston says.
Most adults should aim to get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, strength train two to three times per week, and stretch for 5-10 minutes per day, TODAY.com reported previously.
Eating Ultraprocessed Meats Regularly
A diet rich in plant foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains (i.e. the Mediterranean diet) is one of the best eating patterns for healthy aging, research shows. What you don’t eat also matters.
If you want to extend your healthspan, eating less ultraprocessed food is a great start, says Johnston. Some ultraprocessed foods are worse for health than others.
“Try to have very limited, if ever, processed meats,” says Johnston.
This includes sausages, hot dogs, bacon and canned meats. These have been significantly modified using industrial ingredients and often contain high amounts of sodium, saturated fats and preservatives, Johnston says. Eating these regularly is linked with an increased risk of heart diabetes and heart disease.
The World Health Organization considers processed meats a group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they can cause cancer, namely colorectal cancer.
If you love processed meat products, consider healthier substitutes, like lean cuts of beef, chicken or seafood.
“I know some people really love hot dogs, for example. I’ll tell them (to) have one at a baseball game, one on your birthday, but try to limit it to that at the most,” says Johnston.
Isolating Yourself Too Much
As people age, they tend to spend more time alone — and sure, being alone isn’t always lonely. But humans are social animals.
Spending too much time alone can increase the risk of social isolation and loneliness, which are associated with depression, cognitive decline, heart disease, early death and more, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"The importance of keeping a social circle and being involved in your community, you really can’t overstate the benefits" for healthy aging, Johnston says. In addition to promoting mental fitness, staying connected can help reduce stress and foster a sense of purpose.
While connecting with people online is convenient, Johnston recommends spending face-to-face time with friends, family, colleagues or neighbors when possible.
Ignoring Sleep Problems
Our sleep patterns change as we age. Many people find it becomes harder to fall or stay asleep as they get older, per the NIH.
Sleep problems like snoring, restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea also become more common as we get older, and they often go untreated, which can seriously impact long-term health, says Johnston.
“Some people don’t either recognize that they have them, or they perhaps don’t bring it up to their physician because they don’t think that it’s a medical issue," Johnston adds.
But being a "bad sleeper" isn't a personality trait.
Over time, sleep disorders can significantly decrease sleep quality, increaing the risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia.
If you can't fall or stay asleep, snore excessively, wake up gasping for air or experience severe daytime sleepiness, don't ignore it.
“Prioritize speaking with your physician and trying to get those managed,” says Johnston. You may be eligible for a sleep study, which can help diagnose the underlying problem so you can work toward sleeping the recommended seven to nine hours.
Skipping Routine Doctors' Visits
Most age-related chronic conditions don't happen overnight. They slowly develop over many years — sometimes without obvious symptoms.
When caught early, they're often more treatable, and you can prevent a smoldering health issue from developing into a serious or deadly disease.
That's why it's crucial get annual physicals and routine screenings, and to have honest conversations with your doctor, Johnston notes. However, millions Americans do not take advantage of preventive care services, research shows.
Getting a picture of your health status can allow you to take proactive measures, from monitoring your blood pressure to starting a cholesterol medication or drinking less alcohol.
Even if you're just struggling to make healthy lifestyle changes, a physician can help tailor your approach, Johnston explains.
"If you have any condition that limits your availability to do these things — sleep well, manage stress, move more, eat well — speak to your doctor," Johnston adds.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Peripheral Blood Cells Replenish Aging Human Microglia
How will your competent? doctor GUARANTEE THIS IS OCCURRING?
Your competent? doctor can explain all the functions and benefits of microglia in all this research! Oh NO, you don't have a functioning stroke doctor, do you?
- micro-glia
(77 posts to January 2012)
Peripheral Blood Cells Replenish Aging Human Microglia
Summary: Researchers revealed that aging leads to a massive, previously unrecognized migration of peripheral blood stem cell-derived immune cells into the human brain. The team dismantled the long-held dogma that the brain’s immune environment is an isolated system populated solely by resident microglia established before birth.
Key Facts
- Challenging Neuroimmunology Dogma: Replaces the longstanding model that brain microglia self-renew exclusively inside the brain without peripheral input, proving that the human brain receives continuous immune cell reinforcements from bone marrow during aging.
- DNA Mutation Lineage Tracing: The team mapped shared somatic mutations in aging blood stem cells and brain tissue, establishing definitive lineage proof that brain microglia share a common progenitor with circulating blood cells.
- Species-Specific Human Aging Phenomenon: The migration and functional transformation of peripheral blood cells into microglial phenotypes is observed in humans but does not occur in standard laboratory animal models like mice or non-human primates.
- Clonal Hematopoiesis Connection: Builds on prior findings that specific mutant blood stem cell clones (clonal hematopoiesis) reduce Alzheimer’s risk, showing that peripheral cells actively infiltrate the central nervous system to alter disease trajectory.
- Platform for Brain Immunotherapies: Demonstrates that engineered peripheral immune cells can naturally home to the brain, enabling therapeutic delivery mechanisms designed to clear amyloid-beta and tau aggregates prior to symptom onset.
Source: Stanford
The brain’s immune system has long been thought to exist independently from the rest of the body, complete with its own specialized immune cells and a blood-brain barrier that limits what can travel into the brain.
Now, Stanford researchers have found that aging brings with it a large influx of immune cells into the brain, a discovery that not only upends current thinking but could also open new avenues for treating neurological disease.
The researchers, whose out-of-the-box work was supported in part by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, described their results July 30, 2026 in the journal Nature.
“We usually think of the brain as a closed system,” said Julia Belk, a postdoctoral scholar in pathology at Stanford Medicine and first author on the new study. “What we found is that actually a lot of immune cells enter the human brain during aging.”
New to neuroscience
Belk first developed an interest in the brain as a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science at Stanford Humanities and Sciences. At the time, she was also a trainee with Sarafan ChEM-H’s Chemistry/Biology Interface Predoctoral Training Program, which she described as formative in helping her develop an approach merging basic science, computer science, and medicine.
That program turned out to be a stepping stone to a collaboration with Siddhartha Jaiswal, a senior author on the new study, an associate professor of pathology at Stanford Medicine, and a member of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. After analyzing genetic data on thousands of people, some tracked over the course of several decades, the team showed that people with specific clones of immune cells arising from mutated blood stem cells were much less likely than others to get Alzheimer’s – hinting that those cells might interact with the brain.
The team went on to show that some of these mutant cells could somehow make their way into the brain. Although the mutations involved – known as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential – only affect a minority of people, the finding got the researchers wondering whether this influx of immune cells was occurring in the broader aging population.
“Unlike most immune cells, which are continuously replenished by blood stem cells from the bone marrow, immune cells in the brain were presumed to renew themselves throughout the lifespan without contribution from outside the brain,” said Jaiswal. “Our first study showed that this might not always be the case.”
That idea ran counter to what many others believed – that the brain’s specialized immune cells, called microglia, are all present in the brain from birth, and that no other immune cells migrate in. Now, Belk and colleagues wondered whether such migration was not only possible, but perhaps even a common occurrence in aging.
A cell’s journey
The idea that immune cells in the blood might have something to do with Alzheimer’s was unusual – and controversial – so in 2022 Jaiswal and colleagues sought support from the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience, which backs research aimed at reshaping the study of brain resilience and neurodegenerative disease.
Supported in part by that Knight Initiative Innovation Award, Belk, Jaiswal, and co-senior author Howard Chang, the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research and a professor of genetics at Stanford Medicine, set out to see why peripheral immune cells boost Alzheimer’s resilience – but first, they needed to establish whether microglia really do get reinforcements from immune cells in the blood.
To answer the question, they turned to human brain samples. They worked with samples from the Stanford Rapid Autopsy Center, led by co-author Jody Hooper, a professor of pathology at Stanford Medicine, and the University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project.
Those efforts gather both blood and post-mortem brain tissue samples from people with and without Alzheimer’s, giving the researchers a rare opportunity to compare blood samples directly to post-mortem brain tissue.
Still, the team needed a way to determine where immune cells in the brain came from. Since immune cells are constantly dividing, this means tracing cells’ lineage back to learn whether their ancestors came from the original population of microglia – present in the brain from birth – or from blood stem cells in the bone marrow later in life.
The team’s key insight was to study DNA from immune cells in both blood and brain samples, then use shared mutations to trace their lineages – not unlike a consumer ancestry testing service. Mutations build up randomly in our blood stem cells as we age, and the immune cell progeny of those stem cells inherit those mutations.
This means that two immune cell populations with the same mutations almost certainly share a common origin, Belk explained. “If we see the same mutations in the blood and in the brain’s microglia, then we can be very confident that immune cells in the brain are descendants of those immune cells in the blood,” she said.
Building on that idea and drawing on tools from their 2023 study, Belk and colleagues compared immune cells from blood and brain samples and showed there was a match: immune cells had indeed moved from the body into the brain as early as middle age. Additional studies showed that these peripheral immune cells transformed into specialized microglia in the brain. That’s something that doesn’t appear to happen in other species like mice or non-human primates.
Hints of a new approach
In addition to upending previous expectations, the discovery could also be an exciting new avenue for the development of brain-focused immunotherapies, Belk said. “Now that we know that these immune cells actually can get into the brain, we can think about all kinds of new engineering strategies to have those peripheral immune cells do useful things.”
For example, researchers could imagine engineering immune cells that can chew up amyloid and tau aggregates associated with neurodegenerative disease, then deliver these to people as a preventative measure before the aggregates start to build up.
Since many of the microglia in aging humans seem to be derived from blood stem cells, the discovery also opens up a new line of investigation into how factors that influence blood or bone marrow cells could impact the brain. “Our findings suggest that the life history of blood stem cells could influence the risk of brain diseases by altering the microglia,” Jaiswal said.
Beyond that, Belk highlighted the excitement of identifying a new aspect of human neuroscience. “I think this is exciting because this is also a uniquely human feature of aging that we had no idea about.”
Key Questions Answered:
Q: How did researchers prove that microglial cells in post-mortem brains originated from blood stem cells?
A: As human blood stem cells age, they naturally accumulate unique, harmless somatic mutations in their DNA. By sequencing DNA from both peripheral blood and brain tissue, the researchers identified identical somatic mutations in both blood cells and brain microglia, providing genetic proof of a shared lineage.
Q: Why was this peripheral immune infiltration not discovered previously in laboratory animal research?
A: This phenomenon appears to be a uniquely human feature of aging. Detailed comparative analyses showed that peripheral blood cells do not infiltrate the brain and convert into microglia in standard model organisms such as mice or non-human primates.
Q: What are the therapeutic implications of peripheral immune cells entering the aging brain?
A: Because peripheral blood cells naturally migrate into the aging brain, scientists can potentially engineer a patient’s peripheral immune cells to cross the blood-brain barrier and perform specific protective functions, such as clearing toxic amyloid-beta and tau protein aggregates before neurodegeneration progresses.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this aging and neuroscience research news
Author: Nathan Collins
Source: Stanford University
Contact: Nathan Collins – Stanford University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Somatic mutations reveal the ontogeny of microglia in human aging”
by Julia A. Belk, Yaowen Zhang, Emily E. Reilly, Quanming Shi, Daniel
Dan Liu, Nicole Womack-Gambrel, Maarten van der Linde, Lisa Ma,
Debasmita Paul, Alejandro Medina Enciso, Raja Kalluru, Jacob Weiss, Rui
Li, Anna E. Eastman, Chunfang Zhu, Arnav Chakravarthy, Syed Bukhari,
Dipabarna Bhattacharya, Suyash Raj, Daniel Richard, Simone Brioschi,
Matthew R. Chrostek, Daniel C. Nachun, Christopher M. Arends,
Jayakrishnan Gopakumar, Isak W. Tengesdal, Ademar Bynum, Shaneice
Mitchell, Katalin Sandor, Wenxi Zhang, Badri N. Vardarajan, Inma Cobos,
Donald E. Born, Robert B. West, Anne Brunet, Marco Colonna, Krishna L.
Bharani, Hannes Vogel, Thomas J. Montine, Caitlin S. Latimer, Irving L.
Weissman, Magdalena Matusiak, Jody E. Hooper, C. Dirk Keene, Howard Y.
Chang & Siddhartha Jaiswal. Nature
DOI:10.1038/s41586-026-10939-0
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
I asked a Gymshark athlete which 3 ab exercises she actually swears by — here's what she said by
I can't do the plank because my doctor completely failed at curing my spasticity to be able to flatten my hand. Didn't even mention anything about it except it was incurable. Will your DOCTOR GUARANTEE you can do these at discharge from hospital? WHY NOT?
I asked a Gymshark athlete which 3 ab exercises she actually swears by — here's what she said
When a Gymshark athlete tells you there are three exercises you should try if you want to build a strong, stable core, you take note. Well, I do at least. That hybrid athlete is none other than Abbie Dennison, and we asked her a little bit about the reason she chose the moves below, plus some tips you can take on board for building strength and muscle in the gym.
Read on to find out more, plus which strength exercises she believes move the needle most in her own training regimen.
If you are currently working with pain, an injury, or any health condition, I advise speaking with a qualified medical professional before starting any new exercises or workout programs.
3 ab exercises recommended by a Gymshark athlete
The moves:
- Alternating v-sits: Lie on your back with arms and legs extended. Engage your core and draw your navel in. Lift your shoulders away from the mat and bring opposite hand and foot to touch in the air. Drive up, reach and pause at the top, then lower onto the mat again and switch arm and leg.
- Ankle taps: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet planted. Peel your shoulder blades away from the mat and engage your core. Keep your neck neutral and maintain tension in your stomach. Tap your left hand to your left foot, then your right hand to your right foot.
- Plank pull-throughs: Position a weight to your left side and start in a high plank position with your shoulders stacked directly over your wrists, core engaged and butt aligned with your shoulders. Use your right hand to pull the weight under your body to your right side. Repeat with your left hand over to the left.
Why did you choose these ab exercises, and what benefits do they offer?
Denison says, "I like a mixture of movements that challenge my abs in slightly different ways rather than doing three variations of essentially the same exercise. These three give a combination of trunk flexion, oblique work and control and stability."
What is the importance of training your core versus training your abs?
"Your abs are only one part of your core," says Denison. "Your core includes all the muscles around your trunk that help stabilize your spine and pelvis and transfer force between your upper and lower body.
So while I do train my abs directly, having a strong core is more important to me from a performance perspective. And a lot of my core training also happens indirectly through heavy lifting and compound movements."
What exercises have moved the needle the most in your training?
"Heavy compound lifts! Things like squats, RDLs, barbell rows and pull-ups because you can load these up heavy and progressively overload them over time."
Do you prefer gym machines or free weights? Why?
"I prefer free weights, although both definitely have their place," Denison tells us. "I prefer free weights because they give you more freedom to move in a way that suits your body, rather than being fixed into the movement path of a machine."
This makes training with free weights slightly more functional than gym machine workouts, which can translate over to daily activities and sports.
As Denison mentions, these three moves tick the boxes for trunk flexion (v-sits), oblique work (ankle taps) and control and stability (pull-throughs), which means you work your core in multiple planes of motion, rather than repeating exercises like sit-ups and crunches that target the abs in similar patterns. This means you're able to build all-round core strength and target more muscle groups, which will improve how you move.
Your core as a whole (but namely the diaphragm, transverse abdominis and internal obliques) works hard during plank isometric muscle contraction. This means you're also improving control and stability during the pull-throughs and teaching your body to maintain tension.
Building a strong core will also help protect your lower back. As Denison mentions, various core muscles support your spine and pelvis and help you transfer force through your upper and lower body. A strong back is crucial for proper posture and alignment.
Finally, these exercises translate. You might not tap your ankles regularly or pull heavy weights under your body, but building deep core strength and stability (rather than just sculpting your abs and external obliques) translates as you need your core to safely drive movement like lifting heavy, climbing, or running.
Denison doesn't give sets, reps, or timings on this, but here's where I take over as a trainer. I recommend performing each for 45-50 seconds, taking a 10-15 second rest, then repeating for 5 rounds. These moves work well as a mini circuit, but try to keep the reps you achieve similar per round.
If you prefer to build them into an existing ab workout, try 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per side. This workout can be repeated several times a week or built into a wider strength program.
But remember, while targeted ab workouts are great for strengthening your core, resistance training, lifting, sleep quality, plenty of daily movement and a high-protein diet will move the needle most, so try to take a holistic approach to your core training.
Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.
More from Tom's Guide
- Not sit-ups, planks, or crunches: I do this simple Pilates exercise every single day to build a strong and stable core and work on my hip flexor mobility
- I'm a weightlifting coach — 3 exercises I prefer over lunges for building strong, stable legs and knees over 40
- I tried a 7-day standing core routine. Here are the differences I noticed in my strength and posture
Like this article? For more stories like this, follow us on MSN by clicking the +Follow button at the top of this page.
Monday, July 27, 2026
Exercise Might Reverse Muscle Aging, New Research Suggests. 3 Exercises to Try by Super Age
Will your competent? doctor GUARANTEE you can do these post stroke? NO? Then complete INCOMPETENCE!
Exercise Might Reverse Muscle Aging, New Research Suggests. 3 Exercises to Try
3 best exercises for building muscle and supporting longevity
Will your competent? doctor GUARANTEE you can do these post stroke? NO? Then complete INCOMPETENCE!
3 best exercises for building muscle and supporting longevity
Fact checked by Nick Blackmer
- Strength training supports long-term health by preserving mobility, balance, and independence as you age.
- Experts recommend focusing on compound moves that work multiple muscle groups at once.
- Try these three exercises to help protect posture, reduce fall risk, and make daily movement easier.
Choosing the right exercises matters if your goal is to build muscle while boosting longevity. Strength training and bodyweight exercises are some of the best places to start.
Countless workouts promise results, but some movements are better than others for improved strength, muscle mass, and long-term health. That’s why Health asked fitness experts to share their top recommendations.
1. Lunges
“Strength training preserves function, mobility, resilience and recovery, mental wellbeing, and overall independence,” Kelyssa Hall, ACSM-EP, CSCS, exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, told Health.
Leg strength is an important area to focus on when it comes to longevity, according to Grayson Wickham, DPT, CSCS, personal trainer and founder of Stretch Mode. Lunges target your quads and glutes, which are some of the biggest muscle groups.
“Of all the leg exercises to choose from, lunges are a top choice as they work on single-leg strength, which can help improve balance, joint mobility, and stability,” Wickham told Health.
How to do a lunge:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands clasped in front of your chest or on your hips.
- Keeping your torso upright, step your right foot forward 1-2 feet.
- Bend your right knee to a 90-degree angle with your right thigh parallel to the floor.
- Push through the bottom of your right foot and shift your weight to your left foot to step your right foot back to the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
2. Push-Ups
Health0
Absolutely impossible; Left hand can't get flat, wrist and elbow collapse!
Because push-ups work multiple muscle groups at once—including the upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, biceps, and core—they’re especially effective at preserving strength and healthy movement as you age, according to Hall.
“This exercise can help maintain the ability and strength to support our overall postural alignment and to be able to get up off the ground, such as when playing with grandkids or gardening,” said Hall. “Building muscle in these areas will improve longevity and preserve functional ability while empowering us to stay active throughout the lifespan, no matter what we want to do.”
How to do a push-up:
- Start in a high plank position. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels, and your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, palms on the floor.
- Bracing your core and glutes, bend your elbows and lower yourself to the floor until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.
- Extend your elbows and push back up through your palms to the starting position.
3. Bent-Over Rows
Health0
This exercise—which involves pulling a weight toward your torso—targets the muscles in the upper back, shoulders, arms, and core, helping to open the chest and support the spine, Hall explained.
“Strengthening these muscles helps improve posture, which can lead to reduced risk of falling or injury to the spine,” she said.
Bent-over rows may be especially helpful for counteracting the forward head and rounded shoulder positioning that can result from frequent cell phone use.
How to do a bent-over row:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in.
- Bend your knees slightly and lean forward by hinging at your hips until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor.
- Keeping your back straight, lift the dumbbells up to your sides, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades and back muscles at the top of the movement.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
Read the original article on Health
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