A little exercise halves the rate of premature death for men

[jim stone]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080124/hl ... smenslives

The study was done on men only, but there is no reason to
think it doesn't apply to women.

So what do you do for exercise?

[chrisoff]

Walk (very fast) 20 mins to work and 20 mins back. Take the stairs (almost) every time. During the summer I jog and cycle in the evenings and weekends.

It just about balances out the amount of chocolate I eat.

Still could do with joining a gym though (mainly for non summer exercise). Need to sort that out at some point.

[jim stone]

There is a huge park nearbye and every day, more or
less I walk in it. I used to run long distances but
I'm not sure my body will do this now without
breaking. The chief form of exercise
in the study was walking.

I'm at the top of a six story house and I do try
to avoid the elevator.

I think for aerobic stuff, which is the main life saver,
the outdoors is very good. And if you do run,
you can go in very cold weather and be
quite comfortable. In fact, running in the
winter is more comfortable than any other
time of year. In five minutes you are
warm but not overheated. You can run in
shorts down to 32 farenheit.

I used to run along trails in Colorado....
Saw deer. Wonderful!

I've long used a walking stick, which gets my
upper body into walking. Have a sort of ski pole
with a strap and a rubber bottom.

Actually would like to know more about what
you'all do. Pick your brains....

[I.D.10-t]

Original paper's abstract, etc.

[buddhu]

When I was younger I did karate and tae kwon do for many years. Bloody hard work which kept me very fit.

In recent years, since I've become a middle-aged git, walking has been my main exercise. In the last two or three years I have let that slip as I've been more and more shackled to my desk. Any time when I am not working I am tempted to spend with my mandolin, so the exercise has definitely slipped.

What is more, I can feel the difference.

I really must get off my arse.

[anniemcu]

Yoga, Tai Chi, walking and a recumbent exercycle. When I can keep my schedule straight (cough) I do yoga three days a week, walking three days a week (though not in the coldest weather as it is bad for my rosacea) and alternate the Tai chi and exercycle the other four days. In actual practice I manage to get about 4 days of decent level exercise in a week right now.

[susnfx]

Fortunately, I have a dog who requires walking, so I walk--a lot. The only problem for me is in the winter when there's a foot of snow outside or the roads/sidewalks are icy. I have extremely bad knees (one of them replaced two years ago), so lots of types of exercise are out for me. I do the best I can.

Susan

[Denny]

been reduced to just horsing around anymore....

[chas]

I mostly run, do a little cycling in the warmer weather, and quite a bit of yard work. There's nothing like spreading a few yards or mulch, splitting wood, or moving compost around to make me feel my age.

I believe similar studies have been done on women. My sister is an epidemiologist who keeps up on this sort of thing, and she's talked about walking a few blocks and taking the stairs stairs as a way for her to stave off premature death.

[Sandy McLeod]

As a lifelong overachieving asthmatic athlete I try to do something every day. Lately I've been swiming a mile a day outdoors (takes me forever) and I feel great. When weather precludes that I try the gym or yoga, taiji and the like at home. At my age being able just to move is an affirmation I'm doing something right.

Sandy

[Jack]

I do little or nothing in terms of physical movement other than walking to class and work, which takes about 30 combined minutes per day. I need to do more. I'm afraid to join the gym because I feel like I'm too fat and people will stare at me. Most of the men in the gym are super hot and I'm just kind of average.

[anniemcu]

... There's nothing like spreading a few yards or mulch, splitting wood, or moving compost around to make me feel my age.
....

I do those as a regular thing. I also got a new bike last year, just in time for the weather to make it an inconvenient choice. Come Spring, I hope to give it more of a workout going to and from the three days a week of yoga. I just wish all the moving and sweating actually resulted in a decreased girth.

[sbfluter]

I ride my bike 12 miles each way to work a few times a week, go hiking (strenuous uphill) once or twice a week (3 to 6 hour hikes), and sometimes I go on 30 to 50 mile bike rides on the weekend.

Still pudgy though.

[jsluder]

So what do you do for exercise?

Year-round:
After-work strength & flexibility exercise class, 1 hour, 3 days per week.
2 mile walk around the neighborhood a couple of times per week. (Was daily when we had a dog.)

Winter:
Occasional weekend hikes or snowshoe outings in the Cascade mountains.

Spring/Summer/Fall:
6 to 12 mile hike in the mountains, every Thursday evening.
Bicycling about 5 to 10 miles, once or twice per week.
Occasional weekend dayhikes of 15 to 20 miles.
Occasional weekend overnight backpacking trips.
Occasional sea kayak day-trips.


Other than that, I sit on my butt and watch TV or read a book.

[jkwest]

Since my father passed away at the ripe old age of 46, 13 years ago, I have really made it a pact for my wife and kids to exercise on a fairly regular basis..I take my dogs down the crazy trails by the Yuba river about once a month...use the treadmill in the winter...snowboard about twice a month...and drink a glass of red wine every night to exercise my heart!!