Why Everyone Over 50 Should
Train for the Senior Games

 

LAKE MILLS, Wis. - January 7th, 2005
"New research shows that we can unleash the most powerful body-fat-cutting, muscle-toning, anti-aging substance known to science, naturally, with anaerobic exercise,” says Phil Campbell, Senior Games participant and the 52-year-old author of Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness. “Training for athletic events, such as the Senior Games, makes the body release significant amounts of exercise-induced growth hormone, the substance shown to reduce fat, tone muscle, tighten skin and boost energy in adults.”

The American Heart Association has cited research showing anaerobic (high-intensity) exercise can significantly lower the risk of heart disease. Put simply, as exercise intensity goes up, the risk of heart disease goes down. The researchers compared the impact of different levels of exercise intensity on a group of men with an average age of 66. The subjects in the high-intensity exercise group produced a 31% risk reduction for heart disease, which was 14% better than those who performed less intense exercise.

"The harder one exercises...the lower the risk of heart disease," says lead researcher, Dr. I-Min Lee, associate professor, Harvard Medical School.

Reuters Health has also recently cited research that confirms that seniors need at least a medium-low intensity or more to keep their brains fit. This type of physical activity protects the brain by keeping the heart and blood vessels healthy, boosting blood flow to the brain and reducing the risk of stroke.

Anti-aging Exercise

Anaerobic exercise (as compared to aerobic exercise) involves short, high-intensity sprint training, rather than endurance training. “Researchers show that high-intensity anaerobic workouts that include sprinting types of exercise make your body release significant amounts of human growth hormone (HGH),” Campbell says (Impact of acute exercise intensity on pulsatile growth hormone release in men, 2000, Pritzlaff).

“As children, HGH makes us grow taller,” Campbell explains,” but when we reach our full height, this hormone changes roles. When we’re adults, HGH reduces body fat and trims inches, and it actually becomes the ‘fitness hormone’ for middle-aged and older adults.” New studies show that HGH can be increased by as much as 530% with sprinting.

Anaerobic sprint workouts can involve many sports—running, swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing—and all of these are Senior Games events. But you do not have to try out for the Senior Games or work out for long periods of time to release HGH. Vision Fitness, a top fitness equipment company in North America, has added an anaerobic SPRINT 8 program to their new 200 and 600 Series fitness bikes and elliptical trainers. They are the only fitness equipment company to incorporate anaerobic programming into their products.

Start Slow

Ease into anaerobic exercise. Everyone, especially those with heart conditions or medical problems, should get physician clearance before performing this form of exercise. Even young athletes should progressively ease into high-intensity anaerobic workouts.

The SPRINT 8 program is so great for seniors because it is an easy way for them to get beyond low intensity exercise into the higher intensities that make their hearts strong and keep their brains fit. With the simple touch of a button, they are launched into a program that will help them live longer, look younger, and feel better. SPRINT 8 is an effective, easy-to-follow, 20-minute program that is great for everyone from beginners to elite athletes. Since the user controls the intensity (there are 16 levels to choose from), it’s never more than they can handle.

Older Adults Get Results with Less Effort

“The American Heart Association study also proves another important point concerning fitness training during aging,” Campbell states. “Exercise intensity is relative to a person’s age and fitness level. ”This study confirms the need for higher intensities, but it also shows that beginners and older adults can reach the more productive levels of exercise intensity with less effort than a triathlete, for example.”

In other words, seniors do not have to do full-out sprints to get the benefits of SPRINT 8. They only have to get winded and feel some muscle burn (Phil Campbell’s book, “Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness,” provides more details). They may do that by only increasing their speed slightly, depending on their condition.

Newcomers to high-intensity exercise may get great results initially by simply power walking or by choosing Level 1 of the SPRINT 8 program on a Vision Fitness bike or elliptical trainer. The SPRINT 8 program keeps track of the number of sprints, so the user doesn’t have to. It also tells you when to increase your speed and when to rest and automatically adjusts resistance for you during the workout.

If you’re older than 50, get physician clearance first, then get started with a gradual build-up training program. For more information on Vision Fitness and their award-winning products, visit their website at www.visionfitness.com. For a free newsletter from Phil Campbell on this topic, go to www.readysetgofitness.com. You can also contact Phil for links to the studies and articles that were cited in this release (all of his data is based on extensive medical research).