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Exercise & Fitness
Fitness with a function
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
Add these exercises to your workout routine to improve everyday movements.
Each day you bend, reach, twist, lift, walk, and squat. If you exercise regularly, you may think you address these basic abilities, commonly known as functional fitness.
"Yet, many conventional exercises focus on building individual muscles. While that’s important, it doesn’t always work on improving how well those muscles move in everyday life," says Dr. Amy Lo, an assistant scientist at Harvard-affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife’s Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. "If you don’t devote enough attention to supporting daily movements, you can have trouble staying active and engaging in even the simplest parts of life."
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Workout Workbook: 9 complete workouts to help you get fit and healthy
The numbers are shocking. Just two out of 10 American adults meet recommended levels of physical activity. Nearly three out of 10 Americans ages 6 and older admit they aren’t active at all, despite reams of research proving that exercise is a powerful preventive, and sometimes an antidote, for disability and illness. This Special Health Report, Workout Workbook: 10 complete workouts to help you get fit and healthy, features nine excellent workouts that will challenge your body and spirit in a variety of ways while warding off boredom.
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