I want to optimize my physical and mental health
While activities like Pilates, yoga, stretching, tai chi, and swimming help maintain joint flexibility and overall mobility, cardio exercises improve cardiovascular health by boosting blood circulation, reducing blood pressure, and lowering cholesterol levels. Muscle building shouldn't be neglected, with resistance exercises that require dumbbells or ankle weights, for example. Indeed, with age, muscle mass decreases, with a fairly significant loss of firmness.
Have you noticed that after a physical activity like jogging or a tennis match, you feel an ultra-positive state of mind? A real boost! Burning calories means burning anxiety. When you raise your heart rate for at least 30 to 45 minutes, the brain secretes up to five times more endorphins than at rest. Like natural morphine, these hormones are analgesic to reduce sensations of pain, and anxiolytic. Regular athletes who practice endurance sports benefit from them for up to 6 hours after exercise.
As a bonus, achieving your goals boosts your self-confidence by projecting a positive image. The important thing is to start gradually and adapt the intensity of the exercise to your fitness level, your cycle, and your stressful moments.
Studies also show that regular exercise stimulates your brain, improving your memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills. Not bad!
I want to show off radiant skin
By activating the sweat and sebaceous glands and opening the pores, we promote the elimination of dead surface cells, limiting the accumulation of sebum in the pores that causes imperfections. However, excessive sweating can create the opposite effect, hence the importance of regularly wiping your face with a clean terry towel. After exercising, perfect your exfoliation with a cleansing foam based on fruit acids or azelaic acid, which is gentler, if you tend to redden. Rehydrate your skin well with a cream rich in hyaluronic acid.
Do you know where this "sporty glow" comes from? During exercise, the heart pumps blood harder, even to the smallest vessels that surface under the skin. Boosting skin microcirculation increases the famous pink in the cheeks that we try to reproduce with blush. With the dermis better irrigated, the tissues are better nourished and the skin better hydrated. It then appears plumper and more luminous. With regularity, the inflammation that causes acne or rosacea flare-ups can diminish and become less frequent over time. Don't forget to apply a skincare product with SPF to protect your skin from UV rays before your outdoor activity. For urbanites, "shield" skincare products with UV filters and antioxidants also block pollution to limit oxidative stress.
We're filling up on O2! Amplified inhalations and exhalations increase the oxygen level in the blood and therefore in the capillaries. This gives cells more strength to recover on the one hand, but also to absorb the nutrients necessary for their renewal. Good cellular oxygenation revives the complexion's radiance, improves skin hydration, reduces wrinkles and fine lines, and promotes healing. In the longer term, the production of collagen and elastin increases for greater suppleness and firmness.
In the arms of Morpheus... By inhibiting the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and boosting the pleasure hormones - endorphin, dopamine and serotonin -, sport promotes restful sleep. During a night of at least 7 hours, the first hours are devoted to the secretion of growth hormone essential for cell renewal which reaches its peak between midnight and 1 a.m.: activated microcirculation, stimulation of fibroblasts, desquamation of dead cells and reconstitution of the hydrolipidic film. Sleeping well is the promise of regenerated skin, a fresh complexion and rested features.
Which activities should you prioritize?
If we embark on a well-aging strategy, we must start as early as possible and focus on regularity.
The right program: a few minutes of daily exercises such as squats or planks, or simply a sequence of movements to good music, combined with two to three sports sessions per week combining a cardio sport (running, cycling, brisk walking, swimming) and a stretching session (stretching, yin yoga, Pilates). A nice outfit, suitable equipment and off you go. Fun is key!
