Scientists Reveal Indispensable Exercises That Make Us Live Longer

Aug 09, 2018

Unfortunately, your body isn’t like a car that you can just trade in when it starts to age and become less reliable. We only get one body. It’s up to us to care for its health so that it’ll thrive and we can live a happy and active life. Age-wise, how’s your body’s flexibility holding up? Find out with this body age test, and, if you’re not happy with your flexibility age, try out two easy tuneup exercises.

Before beginning the test, do make sure you do a full body stretch to warm up your muscles. Once you’ve stretched, you’ll want to stand with your feet slightly apart and bend over. Try to reach for the floor directly in front of your toes and place your palms against it. Be sure to keep your back and legs straight. How far you can reach will give you a body flexibility age:

Your hands can’t reach past your shins or knees without bending your back and/or knees, and even this position may be very difficult and uncomfortable. You feel an urgency to straighten back up.

The tips of your fingers can reach the top of your foot, but the position isn’t comfortable and you want to get up as soon as possible. Your muscles feel taunt and tensed. Your knees may be bend immediately in response to achieving the position or have to bend to accomplish the reach.

Your fingertips can reach the floor. The movement doesn’t bring much discomfort, but your knees may slightly bend to help you reach or maintain the position.

Your knees and back remain straight as your hands are placed flat on the floor. You feel perfectly at home here without discomfort, tensed muscles, or an urgency to rise.

Perhaps, you didn’t make that coveted 20-25 year-old age mark when it comes to the health of your body. While this doesn’t mean your body is doomed for the junkyard, it does mean that you need to make some changes. The problem is that flexibility has a snowball reaction. The less flexible you are, the less active your lifestyle becomes as it becomes physically difficult or painful to do the things you once enjoyed. The less active your lifestyle becomes, the even less flexible you become as muscles, joints, bones, ligaments, tendons, and even organs suffer the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. This is why it’s important to give your body a tuneup if you’re facing flexibility issues. Science is showing that the same bending movement can be done as a simple exercise to improve flexibility. Stretch and then bend at least 30 times per day. Within 30 days, you’ll see your body going down the flexibility age chart. As with any exercise, it’s important to consult your physician before beginning and if you experience pain upon exercise.

If you’re experiencing muscular spasms with flexibility issues, static gymnastics is an excellent addition to the above bending routine. It releases tension and bathes the muscles in oxygen. Plus, you’ll have improved digestion. Sit down in a chair with your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Spine and head should be straight and looking forward. Keep your shoulders back and down, which will automatically draw your chest out. Hold your breath until you can take a full, deep inhale that rounds off your stomach. Hold the inhale. Exhale completely and suck in your stomach.

Have you tried the bending and static gymnastics exercises? Know any tips to improve flexibility? We always love to hear thoughts and questions from our readers.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!