5 ms·

"... Half of the mice were allowed to run on a wheel for 45 minutes three times a week, beginning at 3 months. These rodent runners were required to maintain a

"... Half of the mice were allowed to run on a wheel for 45 minutes three times a week, beginning at 3 months. These rodent runners were required to maintain a fairly brisk pace, Dr. Tarnopolsky said: “It was about like a person running a 50- or 55-minute 10K.” (A 10K race is 6.2 miles.) The mice continued this regimen for five months. ..." Do this every day for five months, year in year out? A 10km/hr pace might not seem fast but I'll bet you most people will not keep this up for long. The will power required, level of exertion and increased injury sees to this.

mhb 16y ago
Your other points are reasonable, but the risk of increased injury is easily addressed by choice of exercise - swimming, rowing, etc.
- bootload 16y ago
  "... the risk of increased injury is easily addressed by choice of exercise - swimming, rowing, etc. ..." what about your bones? "... The best exercise for your bones is the weight-bearing kind, which forces you to work against gravity. Some examples of weight-bearing exercises include weight training, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing. Examples of exercises that are not weight-bearing include swimming and bicycling. Although these activities help build and maintain strong muscles and have excellent cardiovascular benefits, they are not the best way to exercise your bones. ..." ~ http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Exercise/default.asp http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Exerci...
  - mhb 16y ago
    It wouldn't seem a great leap, then, to combine swimming/rowing/bicycling for its anti-aging benefits with weight lifting for your bones.
    - bootload 16y ago
      "... combine swimming/rowing/bicycling for its anti-aging benefits with weight lifting ..." The study was looking at how endurance exercise reduced mitochondrial damage. Rowing, riding and swimming are endurance sports, so most likely yes. "... The systemic mitochondrial rejuvenation through endurance exercise promises to be an effective therapeutic approach to mitigating mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and related comorbidities. ..." ~ http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/18/1019581108.abstract http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/18/1019581108.abst...
electromagnetic 16y ago
IIRC the Roman Army had hit its sweet spot at a 15-mile (~25km) march a day. They'd force march on occasion, but this was rarely before battle. They wanted their soldiers rested before battle. I'd guess that exercising much beyond 2 miles/hour is going to be detrimental to your body if done daily. Our bodies were built for endurance, which is why our locomotion is derived from gravity. Our ancestors hunted animals that survived by their endurance.
- quickpost 16y ago
  2 miles / hour seems very slow! Typo?
  - electromagnetic 16y ago
    Not really, if you're forcing yourself to go faster you're likely doing damage. You might be able to go faster for shorter periods or slower for a lot longer. However, I would think if the Roman Legion had been doing 25km in 3 hours I doubt they would have won any wars. Their forced marches were to make them march longer, not faster. I'm saying 2 miles/hour because the Romans only managed around 1.5 with weight.
    - rprospero 16y ago
      My office is three miles from my house. If I walk at a slow, I-don't-want-to-go-to-this-meeting pace, I get to work in forty minutes. Same time for getting home. I did this for five years and I wasn't even in shape. I'm not arguing that the Romans were slackers. Given the effort it takes to setup a Roman castra, the marching might be the least strenuous part of the soldier's day. Also, my daily walk is on paved sidewalk across mostly level ground, while the Romans often didn't have such advantages. For an able bodied person walking through a shopping mall, three miles an hour is perfectly healthy and reasonable.
  - zeteo 16y ago
    By no means. The average marching rate for foot-borne, pre-industrial armies has been a pretty consistent 10 miles a day. Only a few exceptionally well organized forces, like the Roman legions, could march more than that on a regular basis. http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/m/march2.asc http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/militar...
georgieporgie 16y ago
> > three times a week > Do this every day for five months Three times a week. Also, mice can't ride bicycles.
boredguy8 16y ago
Starting the Monday after Superbowl I started walking to and from work (1.5 miles) and going on a 50-60 minute walk/jog every other day. I also revamped my diet. This is going from almost no fitness to moderate levels. I've lost 16 lbs. since then, and I'm up to 7km in that 60 minute evening walk/jog. I really don't see a 9 minute mile (basically a 10k in 55 minutes) as incredibly out of reach. I've gone from a 17 minute mile to a 13:30 mile in less than a month, and that was with a week break from the evening exercise. A 9 minute mile is a decent jog for someone that's at a healthy point. By the way: evening walks are a great time to listen to podcasts or lectures!

mhb 16y ago

Your other points are reasonable, but the risk of increased injury is easily addressed by choice of exercise - swimming, rowing, etc.

bootload 16y ago
"... the risk of increased injury is easily addressed by choice of exercise - swimming, rowing, etc. ..." what about your bones? "... The best exercise for your bones is the weight-bearing kind, which forces you to work against gravity. Some examples of weight-bearing exercises include weight training, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing. Examples of exercises that are not weight-bearing include swimming and bicycling. Although these activities help build and maintain strong muscles and have excellent cardiovascular benefits, they are not the best way to exercise your bones. ..." ~ http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Exercise/default.asp http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Exerci...
- mhb 16y ago
  It wouldn't seem a great leap, then, to combine swimming/rowing/bicycling for its anti-aging benefits with weight lifting for your bones.
  - bootload 16y ago
    "... combine swimming/rowing/bicycling for its anti-aging benefits with weight lifting ..." The study was looking at how endurance exercise reduced mitochondrial damage. Rowing, riding and swimming are endurance sports, so most likely yes. "... The systemic mitochondrial rejuvenation through endurance exercise promises to be an effective therapeutic approach to mitigating mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and related comorbidities. ..." ~ http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/18/1019581108.abstract http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/02/18/1019581108.abst...

electromagnetic 16y ago

IIRC the Roman Army had hit its sweet spot at a 15-mile (~25km) march a day. They'd force march on occasion, but this was rarely before battle. They wanted their soldiers rested before battle. I'd guess that exercising much beyond 2 miles/hour is going to be detrimental to your body if done daily. Our bodies were built for endurance, which is why our locomotion is derived from gravity. Our ancestors hunted animals that survived by their endurance.

quickpost 16y ago
2 miles / hour seems very slow! Typo?
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  Not really, if you're forcing yourself to go faster you're likely doing damage. You might be able to go faster for shorter periods or slower for a lot longer. However, I would think if the Roman Legion had been doing 25km in 3 hours I doubt they would have won any wars. Their forced marches were to make them march longer, not faster. I'm saying 2 miles/hour because the Romans only managed around 1.5 with weight.
  - rprospero 16y ago
    My office is three miles from my house. If I walk at a slow, I-don't-want-to-go-to-this-meeting pace, I get to work in forty minutes. Same time for getting home. I did this for five years and I wasn't even in shape. I'm not arguing that the Romans were slackers. Given the effort it takes to setup a Roman castra, the marching might be the least strenuous part of the soldier's day. Also, my daily walk is on paved sidewalk across mostly level ground, while the Romans often didn't have such advantages. For an able bodied person walking through a shopping mall, three miles an hour is perfectly healthy and reasonable.
- zeteo 16y ago
  By no means. The average marching rate for foot-borne, pre-industrial armies has been a pretty consistent 10 miles a day. Only a few exceptionally well organized forces, like the Roman legions, could march more than that on a regular basis. http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/m/march2.asc http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/militar...

georgieporgie 16y ago

> > three times a week > Do this every day for five months Three times a week. Also, mice can't ride bicycles.

boredguy8 16y ago

Starting the Monday after Superbowl I started walking to and from work (1.5 miles) and going on a 50-60 minute walk/jog every other day. I also revamped my diet. This is going from almost no fitness to moderate levels. I've lost 16 lbs. since then, and I'm up to 7km in that 60 minute evening walk/jog. I really don't see a 9 minute mile (basically a 10k in 55 minutes) as incredibly out of reach. I've gone from a 17 minute mile to a 13:30 mile in less than a month, and that was with a week break from the evening exercise. A 9 minute mile is a decent jog for someone that's at a healthy point. By the way: evening walks are a great time to listen to podcasts or lectures!