topic Re: Running= Living Longer? in Wellness

Running= Living Longer?

lolakimono — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 14:55:25 GMT

According to the NY Times...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/well/move/an-hour-of-running-may-add-seven-hours-to-your-life.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Some interesting tidbits from the article for those who aren't link clickers-

Running may be the single most effective exercise to increase life expectancy, according to a new review and analysis of past research about exercise and premature death. The new study found that, compared to nonrunners, runners tended to live about three additional years, even if they run slowly or sporadically and smoke, drink or are overweight. No other form of exercise that researchers looked at showed comparable impacts on life span.

...Cumulatively, the data indicated that running, whatever someone’s pace or mileage, dropped a person’s risk of premature death by almost 40 percent, a benefit that held true even when the researchers controlled for smoking, drinking and a history of health problems such as hypertension or obesity.

... the researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

2blonde — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:02:14 GMT

@lolakimono I did recently hear that on the morning news. I guess that's good news for me since I've been running 4 times a week for the last 32 years. I always tell people I do it because there's an old lady chasing me and I'm afraid she'll catch me (she's getting closer, though) I'll be doing my 3 mile lunch run today in about an hour!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

phoenixbrd — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:15:03 GMT

Interesting...I have read that intermittent running as fast as you are capable with slower pacing was more effective than consistent pacing. Perhaps this is the more current research. I think any movement is a step in the right direction and I'm biased that tai chi is the best! Kudos to anyone who incorporates any exercise on a regular basis!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

kelsey17 — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:22:51 GMT

I think walking is a better form of exercise....i have been told that by 2 docs over the years....running can be hard on the body, knees, etc.....even for people in good shape...my sister in law ran religiously years back and both knees got so damaged she had to have medical procedures on them and had to change to walking...............

Re: Running= Living Longer?

151949 — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:53:18 GMT

That would be 3 more years to live with the terrible joint pain that you have as a result of all the running you did damaging your joints.Seriously , studies like this are ridiculous. They can't possibly predict what you will die from. You may get hit by a car while your out running for Pete's sake! You may get any number of infectious diseases - will running prevent that? Will it prevent a stroke, cancer, any one of the hundreds of genetic diseases, pneumonia? I would not give this study the time it takes to read it.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

Barbara-QVC — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:00:50 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it is inappropriate.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

hckynut — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:27:05 GMT

Hi to you @lolakimono

This has been known, and proven, for decades now. Dr. Kenneth Cooper, of the Aerobics Center has written many books, which I bought way back when, breaking it down in many different factors, to prove its validity.

He didn't test or write only about running. It including swimming/cycling, and other high aerobic and anaerobic activities. He had/has age brackets/gender/genetics including longevity.

He believed in an individual's total lifestyle, not ever believing that running alone is going to influence your longevity. He included the Major Risk Factors, which he said everyone should work to eliminate as many of them as possible, some over which a person cannot change.

This man was decades ahead of his time and wrote books and gave Health Clinics around the country, 3 of which I attended in our city. For those wanting to do the necessary work and make changes in their lives, this was even easy for me to find, long before the advent of Google and other sources of information.

My running since the 1960's had little to nothing to do with how many years I will be living. Didn't then when I was in my mid 20's, and doesn't now. What it did was to allow to do, physically and mentally, things I would not have been able to do. In all aspects of my regular daily life things made much easier to do, and also allowed me to participate in the types of activities I loved/love doing.

Nothing comes with a guarantee of a longer life. My goal was, in still is over 50+ years later, to be able to be physically and mentally independent. While everyone needs help on occasions as they age, help and dependency are miles apart.

This is good reading for anyone wanting to get more out of their lives than just adding years to their age. The old adage: "More life in your years, not years in your life. Nice thread.

hckynut(john)

Re: Running= Living Longer?

hckynut — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 17:12:43 GMT

@phoenixbrd wrote:
Interesting...I have read that intermittent running as fast as you are capable with slower pacing was more effective than consistent pacing. Perhaps this is the more current research. I think any movement is a step in the right direction and I'm biased that tai chi is the best! Kudos to anyone who incorporates any exercise on a regular basis!

@phoenixbrd

Dr. David Costill wrote books in the 1970's about this and it is called Interval Training. I incorporated this into my running and my ice skating. It not only allows ones body to add more muscle fibers/increase leg speed(turnover)/improve their running and skating speeds(anything aerobic actually).

Best of all, decrease a person's recovery time from injury, or even heart attacks, which I used after each of them. Like Dr. Kenneth Cooper, he too went around our country giving day long Clinics on his findings as a World Renowned Exercise Physiologist.

I am still incorporating Interval Training in my present routines, and it still allowed me to recover much quicker from a couple 6 day hospital stays I have had in less than 2 years. One had me even unable to walk up our 17 basement stairs without rest stops and the assistance of the bannister.

I started my routines at "point zero fitness" with very slow walking on 1 of our treadmills/using our recumbent bike, and working out on our NuStep/Bowflex and Total Gym. I just yesterday had a followup visit with my GP for my fractured right rib and he was amazed at my recovery and present fitness levels.

I ran my fastest Road Races along with winning several Gold and Silver Medals at our State Winter Olympic Games in the over 50 age group in Speed Skating thev100/200 and 400 meter distances. All of this in my late 40's and early and late 50's and 60's.

Nothing new for athletes or anyone really into fitness and improvements in performance back in those earlier decades. Info was there for those "nut cases" like myself, that craved more information in physical fitness and performance as we aged

hckynut(john)

Re: Running= Living Longer?

SeaMaiden — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 17:24:49 GMT

I will pass on the three years and Not run

Re: Running= Living Longer?

hckynut — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 17:42:16 GMT

@kelsey17 wrote:
I think walking is a better form of exercise....i have been told that by 2 docs over the years....running can be hard on the body, knees, etc.....even for people in good shape...my sister in law ran religiously years back and both knees got so damaged she had to have medical procedures on them and had to change to walking...............

@kelsey17

Any and all aerobic or anaerobic exercise the increases one's heart rate is as beneficial as the other. For those that wish to compete in running Road Races, to increase your speed or decrease the amount of time it takes you to run a 5k or 10k, you need to run.

I've ran well over 100,000 miles in my life and my knees are just fine. While I did have an issue with my knee, it was not the Knee Joint. It was connecting Patella Tendon, which tabled me for almost 4 months. No way connected to a knee joint injury.

I attribute that to knowing the structure of my feet/buying the right shoes for my type of feet/doing every exercise known to strengthen all the muscles around, and supporting the knee joint, and using common sense and not over doing my training. No scope surgeries, no steriod shots, no anything done to my healthy, soon to be, 78 year old knees.

Right now my exercises consist of walking/riding recumbent bike and using a NuStep for my Aerobic Fitness? For strength and resistance training I am using a Bowflex and Total Gym. Stretching all muscle groups and connective tissues to maintain their flexibility. The longer I exercise, the longer I stretch.

For my spine I do many on the floor exercises to keep my "minus 3 lumbar disc back" from injury, and also more important is working all the Abdominal Muscle Groups on my Ab Lounge/Ab Roller just plain old crunches throughout the day.

Knee issues can and are usually more common in the ladies. Most Excercise Physiologists say this is because of wider hips of ladies in comparison to the male gender. I know men decades younger than myself, that have never ran for exercise, unless forced via a teacher or in the US Armed Forces, that have had their knees replaced.

There are things one can do to protect their knees, but gender, and some genetics, can be more the issue with knee problems, than from running. Those things are proven facts over decades of studies by many in that field of Exercise Physiology.

hckynut(john)

Re: Running= Living Longer?

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:19:27 GMT

There is nothing wrong with walking, of course, it is fine and dandy.

But it rarely raises the heart rate in fit people enough to illicit a training effect on the cardiovascular system.

It's a good exercise for some, and a less than adequate one for others.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

2blonde — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:35:11 GMT

@QueenDanceALot @hckynut Thanks for your input. As I mentioned earlier, I've been running 4 times/week for 32 years. I'm 68, and my knees are in better shape than many of my friends who do not run. Bad knees can be the result of many things, as you know, but a common factor is weight.

I have always paid lots of attention to my shoes. I have flat feet, but I have found I can run successfully by purchasing the right shoes and adding my own arch supports to them. Bicycling actually bothers my knees more than running. I've tried walking as fast as I possibly can, but I can't even break into a sweat or get my heart rate up to 100. I plan to continue my current lifestyle as long as the good Lord sees "fit"!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

SilleeMee — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:01:50 GMT

I would rather walk on a steep incline than run. It's my understanding that women's bodies are not made for running...something about the the way our pelvic structure puts stress on our leg and hip joints. I find that walking up hill really gets my heart going and I feel that there's little damage to my joints when I do it. No running for me.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:30:45 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
I would rather walk on a steep incline than run. It's my understanding that women's bodies are not made for running...something about the the way our pelvic structure puts stress on our leg and hip joints. I find that walking up hill really gets my heart going and I feel that there's little damage to my joints when I do it. No running for me.

You don't see many elite women runners with wide hips comparative to their stance. The motion puts a lot of stress on the joints unevenly with this skeletal set up. And then if you put muscle weakness/imbalance on top of that you're really asking for trouble. It is a lot of repetitive motion in a singular plane, increasing the uneven force place on the joints. Lots of runners don't spend time working on muscle imbalances that would take much of the stress off of their knee and ankle joints.

But there are many women whose hips are not wide comparative to their stance and have a more even distribution of force. These women can, and do, run happily and pain free for many years.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

hckynut — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:27:53 GMT

@2blonde wrote:
@QueenDanceALot @hckynut Thanks for your input. As I mentioned earlier, I've been running 4 times/week for 32 years. I'm 68, and my knees are in better shape than many of my friends who do not run. Bad knees can be the result of many things, as you know, but a common factor is weight.

I have always paid lots of attention to my shoes. I have flat feet, but I have found I can run successfully by purchasing the right shoes and adding my own arch supports to them. Bicycling actually bothers my knees more than running. I've tried walking as fast as I possibly can, but I can't even break into a sweat or get my heart rate up to 100. I plan to continue my current lifestyle as long as the good Lord sees "fit"!

Hi @2blonde,

While I understand fitness well, I also have had studies done, on a treadmill that were done primarily to check my heart, but secondarily done to measure my fitness levels, and over many years.

It included all the Cardio and Pulmonary devices attached to me to record my Max Vo2 levels/BP/Bpm, and in 1 test to biopsy my muscle fibers, slow to fast twitch percentages.

In none of these many(at least 15) tests did I run. It was all done with belt speed and most importantly, higher and higher elevation levels. Their treadmills, as does 1 of mine, goes up to 25% elevation. I was 45 years old for my very first test like this, and not once did I do more than walk.

Don't get me wrong, I was still a very avid runner. Never real high milage primarily because of my back surgery and 3 crushed Cervical Vertebrae in my neck. My highest weekly mileage was 50 miles, when training for the 2 full Marathons that I ran.

My norm, which had me reducing all of my race distances times, was a max of 30 miles per week. Plus I was skating as a Ref, at times doing 25 or more hour hockey games a week.

My tests when in my 50's had me in the top 4% of male runners at my particular age, never lower than than than the top 6%, and I never RAN a single step in any of these Maximal Tests. They had the Balke Protocol and the Bruce Protocol, along with modified versions of both. They never used the same Protocol in my tests in any 2 consecutive Maximal Vo2 tests.

Wanted to let you and others know that regardless of how fit a person might be, over a certain age, it is not necessary to Run to reach ones Maximum Heart Rate Level. If on a treadmill? Hike it up. If outside? Find some real steep and long inclines. Make sure to wear an accurate heart rate monitor to keep it safe.

Hopefully some know their HR when it goes over and into their Anaerobic Threshold. If not, it is always wise to know these numbers, as they can be different in every person, male/female even of the exact same age.

Think I have over written my time on this forum. And @2blonde! Keep doing what is working best for you. My only reason for this post is to let people know that running is not necessary to reach ones Max Heart Rate Level, after a certain age.

Happy running to ya,

hckynut(john)

Re: Running= Living Longer?

2blonde — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:50:51 GMT

@hckynut I hear ya. Yes, I can get my heart rate up by briskly walking uphill. I do have a treadmill and have tried it. Honestly though, I hate the treadmill........too boring. I prefer to run outdoors, and I'm in a very flat city suburb!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

SilleeMee — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:54:13 GMT

This is my way of living longer...twice a week for nearly twenty years.

The Manitou Incline, Colorado. .88 miles with an incline of 2,000 feet.

I walk up but many run. 2,744 steps takes me about 45 minutes.

Re: Running= Living Longer?

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 20:23:28 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
This is my way of living longer...twice a week for nearly twenty years.

The Manitou Incline, Colorado. .88 miles with an incline of 2,000 feet.

I walk up but many run. 2,744 steps takes me about 45 minutes.

How beautiful! Not just good for your body but your soul as well!!!!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 20:29:51 GMT

And, @SilleeMee, that trek of yours beats the hell out of the treadmill!!

Re: Running= Living Longer?

SilleeMee — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 20:37:38 GMT

@QueenDanceALot wrote:
And, @SilleeMee, that trek of yours beats the hell out of the treadmill!!

Yes, it does @QueenDanceALot. But I still use my tread on incline mode just to stay fit enough to do the real thing and when the weather is bad but it sucks in comparison. The last time I was up on the Manitou Incline there was an old man who RAN past me so fast! I was shocked to say the least. He looked to be at least in his seventies if not older....wow, inspirational for sure.