At times, we can be so focused on our financial health – maintaining a healthy cash flow, monitoring a budget, building a retirement plan – that we can forget about the importance of our physical health and how it may impact our financial future. It’s much easier to talk the talk about staying young than it is to walk the walk. Starting in our 20s and 30s, we commence a long, seemingly inevitable physical deterioration. Our maximum heart rate declines, and with it the amount of oxygen-bearing blood the heart can pump. Muscle is gradually replaced with fat and weight edges upward. And decade by decade, as oxygen intake drops, it becomes a little harder to just get around. Eventually, in our 70s, 80s or 90s, most of us lose our “functional independence,” the ability to live on our own. We move to assisted-living or nursing homes because, literally, our living needs to be assisted.
What if there was a simple way to turn back the clock? What if there were things we could do today that would have a positive effect on our physical health in the future and possibly help us avoid or delay those financial burdens in our later years? In an article from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Roy Shephard, a physician at the University of Toronto, reports that for people 64 and older, a vigorous, hour-long walk five days a week cuts a dozen years from their biological age. In a review of other published work on the subject, Shephard found that such an exercise program could also extend a person’s functional independence, which tends to be lost when maximal oxygen intake falls below 18 milliliters per kilogram per minute in men and 15 ml/kg/min in women.
Idea: If you’re just getting started, many gyms offer low-impact or even seated group classes. Check locally to see what’s offered in your area and check with your health insurance provider. Some providers or plans offer gym discounts or other “get healthy” benefits.
Without this kind of exercise program, about 10 years of physical aging normally corresponds with a loss of about five ml/kg/min. But Shephard found that beginning a program of vigorous aerobic exercise could restore about 25% of maximal oxygen intake within three months, raising that essential level by an average of six ml/kg/mix and decreasing biological age by 12 years.
Shephard also found that regular exercise provides other benefits, helping prevent conditions that may hasten aging including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and even some kinds of cancer. And the improved muscle tone that comes with brisk walking, swimming or other aerobic activities may help older people avoid falls.
Idea: Make it social! Start a walking plan with a friend or join swim aerobics for your age group.
Another study, from Texas, further highlights what exercise can do. In 1966, five healthy 20-year-olds were kept in bed around the clock for three weeks and suffered many of the ills normally associated with aging. They gained weight, their heart rates and blood pressure rose, and their hearts lost pumping capacity. Then, an eight-week exercise program more than reversed the effects of inactivity.
In a follow-up with the men 30 years later, actual aging had imitated the effects of the forced bed rest. But here, too, an endurance exercise regimen undid most of the damage, restoring all of their lost aerobic capacity.
Idea: If you’d rather stay indoors, there are many great exercise video options available on YouTube. Find one, or several you like, and you can have a nice routine in your own home. Many will offer a description and class level so you’re prepared for what’s in the video. Examples: 30 Minute Power Yoga Class, Total Body Pilates Workout, and FitnessBlender.
The moral? Exercise almost always helps, and it’s never too late to start pushing back the hands of time. Our health can be one of our greatest assets or one of our greatest burdens, so taking care of your health should be a priority.
Before beginning any exercise program, consult with your physician to make sure it’s right for your needs.
Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to directly or indirectly in this content, will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), or be suitable for you or your portfolio. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this newsletter (article) serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Searcy Financial Services, Inc.
The content of this letter does not constitute a tax or legal opinion. Always consult with a competent professional service provider for advice on tax or legal matters specific to your situation. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed in this content, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing.
Originally published on March 1, 2017 by Searcy Financial Services, your Overland Park, Kansas Fee-Only Financial Planner and Investment Manager.
