The Effects of Exercise on (Older) Humans

Ever wonder what exercise does to your body?  Clearly you can see some effects like weight loss and muscle tone, but what happens to the INSIDE?  

Of course we've all seen these statements: 
"Exercise strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, and heart attack. Regularexercise can also lower your blood pressure and triglyceride levels" 

But what does that mean? How does this all happen? 

Here is a nice article outlining the physical effects that discusses details of the changes. 
I like to think of the changes due to exercise this way:

When you exercise you move your muscles pumping your lymph nodes and exhausting built up toxins and waste products.  When you exercise, you increase your breathing, increasing the amount of Oxygen you take into your body and circulate.  This extra Oxygen gives your body the ability to rebuild cells more rapidly because it's a critical molecule for replacement cells.  The ability to process the oxygen requires that the body respond by creating new capillaries and blood volume to carry the extra oxygen better.  When you exercise, you sweat, exhausting your pores and cells of toxins and waste products more rapidly than when you are sedentary. 

Thus you are getting rid of wastes and building new cells when you move. 

This article says that the TYPE of movement you make has an impact on these changes.  It's very interesting that the changes to the heart and the body are affected by the type of activity.  This article compares swimmers to runners and posits that the effects of gravity may be the factor making the difference. 

Isn't it great that we, as triathletes, get a double benefit? 

Now you can also add that you brain is affected by exercise in many ways.  More activity is proven to help reduce the effects of aging such as; forgetfulness, shrinkage, loss of cognitive ability and other effects. 

Finally you can add impacts on your mood.  Exercise is shown to elevate your moods and is credited with helping people feel happier. 

In fact many of these effects happen with small amounts of exercise and do not require you to exercise like an ironman your whole life to gain these benefits. 

Living in the endurance world, it can feel as though nothing counts unless you do an ironman.  This is not true.  Ironman endurance activities can be fascinating but also require a great deal of conditioning.  Don't think that if you are doing shorter races, that you aren't doing "much" which is what I hear a lot of athletes saying.  You are doing a lot if you exercise regularly and making progress. 

Particularly if you are an older athlete, exercise can be a great way to stave off aches and pains and keep yourself thinking younger.