The Best Kinds of Exercise to Look and Feel Younger
If you’re really about seriously looking younger (and feeling your best), regularly getting the right type of exercise is vital. You’ve got to get your body moving in order to not only feel younger, but visibly reduce the signs of aging as well. Want that vibrant glow? Want to look and feel younger? Anti-aging and exercise go hand in hand!
Getting gorgeous skin naturally is easy when you know how to take care of yourself in a way that really works. And making sure you’re getting regular exercise is a HUGE part of taking care of yourself. Let me assure you, looking younger has A LOT to do with how you move your body.
Eating the right foods and taking the right supplements will absolutely help, but when combined with exercise, rest and decompress (we’ll get to that later) your skin health will seriously astonish you.
I’m often mistaken for much younger than I really am….Humbly (and gratefully) I do admit that people are astonished as to how old I really am. Who would have thought… right? Here is yet, another one of my ‘secrets’:
So what exactly should YOU be doing to look younger and feel more alive? Well for one, you don’t have to spend countless hours at the gym or feel pressured to run a marathon. Pushing our limits like that actually makes us crave more fuel…namely sugar. I bet you didn’t realize that one, right?
All it takes is a little bit of doing some super low impact exercises each week. I personally love strength training combined with HIIT a couple days a week. I add this with some mind-body movement 2-3 days a week (think yoga, barre, and Pilates) and I feel amazing. And as I mention earlier, I am often mistaken for being 20 years younger than I really am. Crazy!
Yoga
Yoga has helped me personally in so many different ways it’s seriously unbelievable. I started yoga in my early 40s and by the time I was 55 I had received my 500 hour master trainer yoga certification with emphasis in yoga therapy. Yoga helped me reduce stress and get centered in a major way. But I also noticed it did something else. It made me look and feel a lot younger.
You can seriously think of yoga as a “natural face-lift.” Because it’s so amazing at improving circulation, flexibility, balance and concentration it acts as this fabulous pick me up that can helps you not only look younger, but can actually help you embrace the aging process as it helps you to better accept who you are. That whole inner beauty thing…yoga’s amazing for helping you find it.
This video breaks down a few super easy poses that are awesome for anti-aging. Other great poses are legs-up-the-wall and fish pose. Are you a yoga newbie? Don’t be afraid to start! All and any yoga is seriously effective to help you feel and look a whole lot younger. Give it a try if you are new. OR if you haven’t practiced for a while… time to get back to the mat and commit to practicing for the next 30 days.
Pilates
I have been a Pilates Practitioner since 2002. Pilates combines a variety of different exercises that help to increase core strength and strengthen and stretch muscles while concentrating on various breathing techniques. If you’ve reached a point in life where your body is more stiff than it should be (and let’s face it, A LOT of us aren’t stretching as much as we should), Pilates might become one of your new favorite go-to’s for anti-aging exercises.
In fact, Pilates is recommended as one of the safest exercises there is! And it doesn’t require you to be in good shape to start. It’s gentle, easy on the body, and will benefit total mind and body health. But, before start, invest in at least 3-5 sessions with a qualified Pilates instructor. Quality movement is critical for best results. Once you understand the basic principles, you can always go online and find routines to practice in the comfort of your home!
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Many of us thing we’ve got to exert the heck out of our bodies in order to get the exercise results we’re looking for. That’s what we’ve been told for years, right? Well here’s some good news: forget what you’ve been told, because as it turns out overexertion is awful for the body and can actually reduce life expectancy. (I told you it was good news).
Here’s where high intensity interval training (HIIT) steps in. Don’t let the “high intensity” scare you. This method of training that combines short, high intensity bursts of exercises, with slow recovery phases for one 15-20 minute session is ahhhhmazing. And how exactly does it help you look younger?
We all know there’s a direct relationship between exercise and living longer. When it comes to exercise helping us look younger, there’s an anti-aging enzyme known as telomerase that’s activated when we get our exercise on. All it takes in one workout to stimulate telomerase in the cells of the body. When we partake in HIIT, telomerase is increased. HIIT also reduces a protein known as p53 expression (something responsible for premature aging).
I suggest to all my clients to incorporate HIIT into thier workout 2-3 times a week. So what are you waiting for? Start now and you’ll be looking and feeling pretty darn amazing. And the best thing is you only have to commit to 20 minutes each workout. Try it for a week. I promise your body (and your skin) will thank you.
If you don’t know where to begin I can help. I’ve developed a HIIT video series that will not only explain the basics, but break down my five favorite moves for you to practice on your own. Click here for the intro. And follow up with these videos of all my favorite moves:
– Bird Dog
And when you’re done mastering these, click here for the full workout that puts it all together. It only takes 15 minutes, and you’re going to look and feel awesome!
Don’t get shrink wrapped in your skin. Get your body moving!
I can’t stress enough how important it is to get your body moving if you want to look younger. I’m not talking about those workouts that make you feel like you’re going to drop dead by the time you’re finished either. I’m talking about gentle exercises that you can do every day that will help you take years off your appearance.
While you’re at it, you might want to check out my book All Natural Sugar Detox. Exercise is one thing, but I say it all the time, if we’re still giving into sugar cravings we’re never going to get that glow we desire. Not only can I show you the right exercises that will make you look (and feel) your best, but I can show you how cutting sugar out of your diet will dramatically improve your skin’s health…and make you feel younger with more energy and vitality than you can even begin to imagine.
C’mon the Clock is Ticking!
Find the best kind of exercise for you to look and feel younger. If you are a newbie, take baby steps. If you have injuries, get clearance from your doctor and find a qualified trainer to get you back on track. You’ve just got to get your body moving in order to feel younger, get that vibrant glow! Don’t take my word for it! Start today! You too will see, like I do, all the wonderful anti-aging benefits of exercise.
As a certified fitness coach and master yoga instructor, I would love to answer any questions you might have about doing the right kinds of exercise to look and feel your youngest, most radiant self. Send me an email at roseann@roseannzaft.com, and I’ll personally get back to you right away.