Disadvantages of Being a Sedentary Woman

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According to SuperFoods HealthStyle, women feel the negative impacts of a sedentary lifestyle at last ten years before men. Women are already at a disadvantage physically because we have more body fat and less muscle mass as noted in a previous post. Now to find out that our musculoskeletal capacity age 10 years before men do?!! Or another way to look at it, we age normally, but men physically age slower. Wow!

This is the second time I came across this reference in my research of the physical differences between men and women, but it still boggles my mind. Is that the reason why most men get more distinguish with age?

In addition, we suffer from the decline in our physical strength before we even realize it is happening. Women in their 60s and 70s, who never exercised, lost 30-39 percent of their strength from their 20s. Most disturbing of all is that 2/3 of the women who die from cardiovascular disease had no previous symptoms. Even though we have some protection from being able to remove ingested fats from out bloodstream faster than men, the fact that we do less physical activities wipes out that advantage.

Exercise is the only way we can reverse the aging process! With regular cardio and strength training we do not have to look older than our husbands! Of course, if your husband is also a coach potato, then you probably do not have to work as hard. My husband works out regularly and does physical labor at work, so you see I am constantly climbing a hill on the race to the top with him.

Exercise does not mean vigorous activity in order to have health benefits. It just involve adding simple activities in our daily lives that have been replace with machines. For example:

1.  gardening

2.  housework such as vacuuming, dusting, making beds. Keep moving at a brisk pace to turn light housework into a moderate one.

3.  double shop – take a brisk walk around the mall before you begin shopping.

4.  take a dance class – star in your own version of Dancing with the Stars!

5.  Add movement at work. Since we all spend most of our waking hours at work, it only make sense to integrate that location into our healthy lifestyle change.

6.  Use an exercise dvd at home. You can check them out at the library or from Netflix. The Dummies series also make a dummies series of exercise videos geared towards the beginner. Two I recommend are 15 Minute Workout for Dummies (strength training, dumbbells required) and Fat Burning Workout for Dummies (simple aerobics exercises). This is my all time favorite way to exercise. No one to look at how you are doing. The only drawback is that you might have to deal with a gawking husband.

7.  Exercise during the commercials of your favorite show. Try jumping rope, lifting some dumbbells, or walking in place.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.

• Differences Between the Fat Cells in Women and Men
• The Female Brain at Infancy – What does Testosterone Have to do with It?
• Gender Matters when it comes to Sugar Addiction
• Men vs. Women – Different Approaches When Trying to Lose Weight
• Weight and Early Puberty in Girls
• How to Start Exercising in Your 50s and 60s?

Tagged as: health, women vs men