Better late than never_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Better late than never

Sure, the baby boomers made The Complete Book of Running a bestseller, were the first to use the Nautilus machines at the gym, and sweated in front of their VCRs to Jane Fonda. Yet not everyone was part of the revolution; after all, only about 30 percent of American adults report getting regular exercise. But forming a workout habit in middle age-or beyond-still has a host of benefits. "We were designed to be mobile-aging in a sedentary way is new to us," says Vonda Wright, director of the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Here's what you need to know about starting up a routine.

Realize that it's not too late. "The human body is very responsive," says Edward Coyle, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Texas-Austin. He studied a group of male heart-attack survivors who were about 55, on average. The first six months of training were spent getting the men walking again. They progressed over the next year until they were running or biking 40 to 60 minutes a day, five days a week. The last six months were spent raising the intensity through interval training. Not only did their heart function improve; the men completed a 5-mile run and did just as well as 55-year-olds who didn't have a history of heart attack. "They ran faster than when they were 30," says Coyle….