Exercise is a vital part of every human's lifestyle, or at least it should be. Even before birth, one's mother is encouraged to participate in light physical activity up to three times a week for her unborn child's benefit. As one grows older, he is in charge of his own health and exercise is continually strongly encouraged. However, with older age comes broken bones, arthritis, and difficulty doing activities one previously did flawlessly. But at this age, is exercise really that important?
Art Kramer strongly believes that old age is no excuse. He uses the example of Olga Kotelko to make this point. This 93 year old woman holds 23 track world records since she turned the ripe age of 75. Every day she participates in five hours of light activity and one hour of vigorous exercise. Of course, it is ridiculous to expect every senior citizen to have such a flexible schedule or the energy to endure it.
However, some exercise is encouraged for senior citizens, whether it be walking or weights. This does more than help the body, it helps the mind. Aerobic fitness has been linked to better functional connectivity and better cognition in general. In fact, more exercise increases one's brain volume incredibly, even at an old age. There was also an increase in activity in the hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and thalamus.
This just proves that it's never too late to care for your body. This increase in brain activity can be accomplished whether one is 35 or 75. You don't need to become Olga Kotelko to accomplish this either. Just a little bit of exercise every couple days will do the trick... Do it for your brain!
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