The famous German physician made a sensational discovery: fitness and sports are only shortening our century
What kind of nonsense is a gray mare, an advanced reader will probably say. These professors are completely crazy! It is well known to everyone: in order to maintain health and prolong youth, to be successful in society and in the work collective, you need to run several kilometers in the morning, and even better - a marathon on weekends! Stubbornly pump muscles with iron, exercise machines in the fitness center. And you will have a long, happy life!
With this attitude, I began leafing through the book by Peter Axt "Lazy Live Longer", written together with his doctor daughter Michaela Axt-Gadermann (the other day the book was published in Russian by the publishing house "Alpina Publisher").
I read and can't believe my eyes: "Laziness and indolence are a guarantee of health." Pure quackery. Well, professor, wait! I will bring you to clean water …
BABY AGE LONGER THAN MEN'S
However, this Akst was not easy. He summed up the scientific basis for his application. They say, back in 1908, physiologist Rubner (also a nemchura!) Established that a limited amount of vital energy seems to be released to each creature. Heresy, of course! Like the forgotten notorious theory that every man is supposedly given a certain number of sexual acts by nature. No wonder their Rubner was quickly forgotten. Recently, however, the idea has gained popularity again. Another German scientist, Prinzinger, re-examined the theory of vital energy, which is officially called the theory of metabolism. And he established: all living beings, depending on their body weight, have the same supply of vitality. The professor gives specific calculations, thousands of kilojoules per gram of body weight. A person, it seems, is released by nature twice as much energy per unit of weight than most animals. Therefore, in principle, he can live up to 130 years.
Peter Akst.
Promotional video:
Photo: kp.ru
In short, each of us comes into this world with a supply of calories and energy, from where we draw strength throughout life, says Akst. Sooner or later - depending on the lifestyle - reserves are depleted. And on this account, unfortunately, there is no overdraft. It depends on ourselves whether our life will be an economical journey or a wasteful race.
Can you guess where the educated professor is heading? No need to strain on the treadmill or fitness center, spilling seven sweats there! Save your life energy.
I took this theory as another scientific delusion, claiming perhaps for the Shnobel Prize of Idiotic Discoveries. Although, I must admit, the motto about laziness - the guarantee of health warmed the soul. Yes, I am a longtime supporter of a healthy lifestyle (HLS), but more in theory. A lazy soul at heart. I started running many times, from my youth, but I quickly gave up. Boring. I looked into the fitness center ten times in my life (when it was across the street from Komsomolskaya Pravda and the editorial staff paid for it in full.) I ignored exercise equipment, barbells, went straight to the sauna …
And then Axt threw the first bait to me, Thomas the unbeliever. All over the world, the weaker sex lives longer than us men. On average, five to eight years. Regardless, a civilized country or a developing country, democratic or authoritarian … The fact is medical, no proof is required. In Russia, for example, the average life expectancy for men is now 65.6 years. Women have 77.2. In Japan, the world leader in life expectancy, men - 80, women - 87. The question is why? With Russia it is clear, the relatives of the officials explain: the men drink a lot. And in the blessed West? The answers are very different: hormones, constitution (bodily!), Better nutrition … Up to the point that a man, they say, has done his job (children!) And can die boldly. And the woman still needs to raise this offspring to her feet. In short, some emotions. Akst explained this phenomenon from the point of view of science. With equal height and the same weight, the basic metabolism (metabolism) in women turns out to be 10% less. That is, for the same period of time, ladies spend 10% less vital energy than men. And they live longer by the same 10%.
Convincingly, of course, but what does fitness, marathon, prolong youth and life have to do with it?
And then the professor cut me off with an example from the life of the king of beasts. Leo is a pile of pumped-up muscles, a great runner. Lives at large for 8-10 years. At the zoo - attention! - lives up to 20. Polar bears in their native Arctic do not live longer than 20 years. In the zoo, they reach 40.
I combed my bald head, puzzled. In theory, in a cage, these muscular runners, swimmers should quickly throw back their legs. And they live in captivity twice as long, without water, steppe marathons. How so?
“Of course, unlike in the wild, the zoo has medical care,” the professor explains patiently. - However, the main difference is in the way of life. In the wild, animals travel many kilometers every day in search of food and are exposed to constant stress. And the inhabitants of the zoo live calmly and relaxed. The range of motion is limited to the required minimum, which is often negatively perceived by conservationists. But the result is a long life. After all, the same lions do not waste extra energy, and there are simply no natural enemies and competitors that could cause stress.
Akst in the book gives other brutal examples of prolonging life by saving vital energy. But lions and polar bears were enough for me.
Then the professor switched from animals to people.
RUNNING FROM INFARCTION … OR TO HIM?
- Do you think that you have to subject your body to daily physical activity in order to maintain youth and health longer? - Akst asks questions head-on. - Do you hope that the marathon will save you from a heart attack?
Remember: the Greek walker Phidippides in 490 BC. e. ran 42.1 km from Marathon to Athens and … immediately died in the market square.
The impetus for the development of the modern fitness movement was given in 1978 by the American physician Pfaffenberger. Having established, after a survey of 17,000 Harvard graduates, that the risk of heart disease is significantly reduced if you burn about 2,000 calories per week through physical activity.
From that moment on, millions of people are struggling on treadmills, courts and fitness centers to spend the cherished 2000 kcal. Unfortunately, when citing the results of this study, it was not mentioned that Harvard students burned calories not so much by sports as by climbing stairs, walking their dogs, doing homework and other daily activities. It was also forgotten that Pfaffenberger established a health-improving effect already by burning an additional 500 kcal per week through physical activity.
"Everyone ran and I ran!" Remember the famous phrase "gentleman of fortune" Vasily Alibabaevich? We will return to this film later.
America ran after sports journalist James Fix's bestselling novel All About Running. Fix became the supreme god of fitness. Following the Yankees for health, youth, millions of Europeans rushed. Fix himself set a brilliant example - at the age of 50, he covered 100 km weekly, participated in 20 marathons! In 1984, the guru of the wellness running guru died suddenly. Heart stopped after a 4 mile (about 6.5 km) race. He was only 52 years old! Fix's fate was shared by Jack Kelly, brother of actress Grace Kelly, who won bronze at the Olympic rowing competition. He died of a heart attack. World sports legend Emil Zatopek, world champion in track and field athletics and multiple winner of the Olympic long-distance running, nicknamed "the Czech locomotive", died at 78. Heart attack. Herbert Schade, his German competitor in the 10 thousand meters,lived to 72. Heart attack. Our legendary Vladimir Kuts, the world record holder in 5 and 10 thousand meters, also died at the age of 48 from a heart attack. And similar examples of runners-heart attacks can go on.
All these athletes, Akst writes, were extremely energetic and hardy in our eyes. It is terrifying that increased training has obviously not brought them any benefits in longevity. The fact that everyone was taken to the grave by a disease from which running was supposed to save them makes you think. After all, it is he who, as a rule, is recommended as a protection against heart attack and heart attack. No wonder the slogan "Running from a heart attack" appeared.
Such deaths are constantly reported in the media. The public takes this information into account without comment, unlike the tragedies in road accidents. So, at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics, after passing the Olympic torch in the relay, a 74-year-old torch bearer, athlete Ron King, died of a heart attack. Ten days after the Berlin marathon, a 58-year-old Dane and a 38-year-old runner from Panama have passed away. An ambulance doctor who attended the marathon commented: "From a dry statistics point of view, we inevitably have one fatality for every 5-6 races."
And here are the latest Russian facts. After the September 2015 Moscow Marathon, a 64-year-old runner died in the hospital. A heart. In mid-October, during a friendly match between veterans, Sergei Filippenkov, head coach of the Zenit football club in Penza, a former player of CSKA Moscow, died on the field. He was 44.
However, intensive training in "health-improving" jogging and fitness hits not only the heart, Akst writes. In modern literature, sport is referred to as an advocate against oncology. However, this opinion, perhaps, is true only for moderate physical activity. Intense loads do not have any healing effect. They may even increase the risk of cancer. In a study of 84,000 Harvard graduates, the Polednak scientist found that athletic people were more likely to die from various tumors than non-athletic people. Another study of 50,000 Harvard graduates who played sports more or less than five hours a week showed that active athletes were significantly more likely to suffer from prostate cancer.
Akst suggests thinking about the incidence of cancer in relatively young athletes in competitions where endurance is critical. He gives the example of an American runner who had 524 marathons! The world record holder for the most completed marathon races died of cancer. At 60. More and more doctors see a link between excessive exercise and the occurrence of cancer and other diseases, warns Akst.
Of course, the deaths of Kuts, Zatopek, and other great record runners can be viewed as a statistical error. And the tragedy of the king of fitness Fix can be attributed to his aching heart, as other healthy lifestyle fans do. They say, thousands, millions are running and nothing … But we do not know the fate of ordinary marathon runners. Are they really all right with their health …
THE TRAGEDY OF THE ACADEMIC RUNNER
After Aksta's book, I seem to have finally understood the reasons for the tragedy of Nikolai Amosov and a number of other domestic healthy lifestyle gurus. Amosov thundered in the USSR for several decades. But rather not as a great cardiac surgeon, cyberneticist, medical scientist, academician, director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, People's Deputy of the USSR, etc. These titles were just an appendix to the legendary man, who was a personal example of calling people to flee from old age and disease. All the central newspapers of the USSR considered it an honor and good fortune to publish extensive interviews with the great Kievite about his "Regime of Restrictions and Loads". The book "Thoughts on Health" with a description of the method was published during Amosov's lifetime in 15 languages with a total circulation of 7 million. And still there was a deficit.
The method was born back in 1954. When the 40-year-old surgeon started having back problems. He created a set of 10 exercises. I performed each one at a fast pace 100 times. The result is the famous "Thousand Movements" by Amosov. I limited my diet, later added jogging, dumbbells, mental control exercises. And everything seemed to be fine. And most importantly, it is scientifically grounded. Amosov, among other things, was an excellent writer. At 80, having completed his surgical practice, the academician decided to run away from old age. Literally. Started a famous experiment to live 100-120 years.
The complex has complicated: daily morning run 4-6 km. Gymnastics with 5 kg dumbbells (2500 movements!) Plus the old exercise - 1000 movements. It took about three hours a day. A strict diet, tempering … And everything seemed to be going brilliantly. But at 89 years old, Amosov died unexpectedly. Heart attack! Fans, followers were shocked. A discussion flared up in the press, how could such an "iron man" die ?! They agreed that his father died early (bad heredity!), A difficult peasant childhood in the northern Vologda region, a difficult service as a surgeon in a front-line hospital during the Great Patriotic War …
Only from the thin little book-diary of Amosov about the experiment, published posthumously, I learned that not everything, it turns out, went smoothly.
He did calm his back pain, though not forever. But it seems that the great cardiac surgeon set the "motor" by daily jogging and intense gymnastics. At the age of 70, at the zenith of Zozev's fame, he developed a heart block. I had to sew in a pacemaker. Seven years later, he refused, they sewed in a new, more modern one. Then - the third … Without them, Amosov admits in his suicide notes, he could not have conducted the experiment. But after all, his numerous followers ran, trained without heart stimulants …
But even with pacemakers, the problems grew. Angina pectoris, fainting, nocturnal suffocation … In 1998, Amosov wrote: “the heart was enlarged in volume three times. Shame: a cardiac surgeon - and let that happen! " In his native institute, the former boss refused to do the operation. Age! Fortunately, the German surgeon responded, the world's luminary! Sewn in a biological heart valve, put in two shunts. Amosov returned to the experiment. In January 2002 - the first heart attack. In December - the second, fatal. A month before his death, the academician wrote: "The limits of the load were clearly overestimated … It was necessary to reduce the exercises much earlier, not to wait until the heart completely failed …"
Everything is relative. There was another academician-cardiac surgeon, Lenin Prize winner Fyodor Uglov in the USSR. Leningrader. He also conducted an experiment to extend life. But he did not advertise it widely. He wrote the book "A Century Is Not Enough for Man", compiled "A Memo to a Russian Centenarian." True, he did not run, he did not exhaust himself with dumbbells. I walked a lot, went skiing, picked mushrooms. He showed moderation in everything, including sex (1-2 acts a week until the century itself). Therefore, it was not interesting for the press. Boring, commonplace … Whether the hero Amosov! They started talking about Uglov when he turned 100! On the anniversary, Fyodor Grigorievich danced with his wife (32 years younger), drove a car, read without glasses, performed one of the last operations, for which he was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest practicing surgeon on the planet. (Amosov stopped operating at 80.) Angles only a few months did not live to be 104 years old. Unsuccessful operation (kidney stones), stroke …
The life of Fyodor Grigorievich was also not sweet. My father died at 57 (heredity is weak!), A difficult peasant childhood in Siberia, a student caught typhus, was between life and death for many days, during the war - a surgeon in besieged Leningrad. Under Brezhnev, he almost thundered into a psychiatric hospital for fighting drunkenness …
Someone will say that 89 years of Amosov is an excellent result! Everyone would live so much … But among the front-line generation of Amos, who returned home alive, a lot later crossed the 90-year line. No exhausting training, running. Judging by my native village. My uncle Seryozha lived 93. Shepherd. If he ran, then a hundred meters a day, with a whip for a cow that had strayed from the herd. Another uncle, Volodya, will hit 93 in February. A combat officer, order bearer, was wounded. All his life later he worked as a teacher in a neighboring village. A fellow villager Mitryanya returned from the front without a leg. But he still fumbles in the summer with a prosthesis in the garden. He is 95! Examples I can continue … Amosov, however, in recent years was a very sick person. It's hard to read in a diary about his suffering, pain. I do not exclude that without the famous "Mode of Restrictions and Loads", he would also have lived longer.
YOGA AND SWIMMING DID NOT SAVE KRAMAROV
Another eloquent comparison is a pair of "gentlemen of fortune" from the comedy of the same name. Savely Kramarov was a true fan of a healthy lifestyle. Hoping to live to be 120. I ran a lot, swam, did yoga, ate exceptionally "correct" food. He died at 60. Cancer. Georgy Vitsin, to whom Savely gave instructions on yoga before emigrating to the United States, led a very moderate lifestyle. Instead of running - walking the dogs, yoga without fanaticism. Lived for 84 years.
By the way, not a single extreme guru of a healthy lifestyle, whom we were given as an example in the USSR, did not live up to 100, in contrast to the moderate in all Uglov. The legendary Porfiry Ivanov, the creator of the health-improving program "Baby", who walked barefoot in the snow in some long shorts in winter, died at 85 (gangrene of the right leg). The most fanatical follower of Amosov, Mikhail Kotlyarov, a walrus, a marathon runner who ran in shorts and a T-shirt with the inscription "Russian temper-run!" In any frost, died at 89. Cancer.
According to Aksta's theory, cold is one of the main "devourers" of vital energy. The body is forced to waste it in order to maintain a constant body temperature. Isn't that why there are no long-livers among the "walruses"? No wonder Axt advises Germans and residents of Northern Europe to go on vacation to warm, sunny places in winter.
The latest tragic example is the king of Russian fitness Vladimir Turchinsky "Dynamite". By personal example, books, articles, he promoted enhanced strength training. In public, the record holder puffed rubber heating pads with his mouth, they torn effectively. The heart of Dynamite itself broke at the age of 46.
TAKE A NOTE
Seven rules for health and longevity
So what does MD Axt offer for a long and happy life? Is it lazy to lie on the stove for days?
Not at all. From lying down for a long time, doing nothing, extra weight appears, which increases the consumption of vital energy. For good health, it is enough:
1. Vigorous walking for half an hour 4 times a week. Energetic - up to a pulse of 120 beats per minute.
2. Three times a week - stretching exercises for 10-15 minutes (see below).
3. Avoid stress.
4. Do not overeat, maintain your ideal weight. Fast or fast day a week.
5. Don't skimp on sleep. Wake up - no earlier than 7.20 am.
6. Love warmth, sunshine.
7. Sit back more often.
THE MAIN "EATERS" OF LIFE ENERGY
Stress, grief, cold, lack of sleep, unhealthy diet, excessive fitness stress.
The high rate of energy expenditure accelerates the aging process, makes us more susceptible to disease and even shortens our life, says Dr. Akst. If, on the contrary, we use our energy reserves sparingly, reducing metabolic activity to reasonable limits using various measures, then we become healthier and more resilient.
VERBATIM
"Do not be afraid of rest, inactivity, laziness or idleness - after all, it is in this seemingly wasted time that you do something amazing for your body: you save energy."
Peter AKST
Possible lifespan of humans and animals
Working bee - 3-6 months
Mole - 2 years
Mouse - 4 years
Queen bee - 5–20 years
Earthworm - 6 years old
Dog - 18 years old
Grape snail - 18 years old
Cat - 20 years old
Lion in the wild - 10 years old
Captive lion - 20 years
Polar bear in the wild - 20 years old
Polar bear in captivity - 40 years
Dolphin - 30 years old
Bat - 30 years old
Brown bear - 47 years old
Chimpanzee - 50 years old
Ostrich - 62 years old
Alligator - 66 years old
Owl - 68 years old
Elephant - 70 years old
Eagle - 80 years
River pearl mussel - 100 years
Human - 130 years old
Turtle - 150 years old
Peter Axta complex for muscle stretching
Stretching exercises maintain muscle elasticity and protect against injury in the home. From the twentieth year of life, the elasticity of the ligaments and joints begins to decrease. If nothing is done, the person becomes less and less flexible.
The older we are, the more we are limited by this immobility in everyday situations. With these exercises, elasticity and mobility can be maintained.
Observe the following conditions while exercising.
Stretch your muscles only when they are warm. Cold muscles are easily damaged.
Stretch slowly and gently. Never try to forcefully stretch a muscle. When performing the exercises, there should be no pain.
Do each stretch for 30 seconds.
Do each exercise twice.
Breathe calmly and evenly as you stretch. It relaxes the senses and muscles.
Pause for a minute after each stretch.
1. Stretching of the shoulder muscles, lateral muscles of the back and muscles of the back of the shoulder
Stand up straight. Place one hand on the back of your head. With your other hand, gently press down on your elbow. Pull this elbow slowly towards your other arm. Hold the tension for about 30 seconds. If you performed the exercise correctly, you will feel a slight stretch on the back of the shoulder, as well as on the sides in the area of the shoulders and back. Repeat the same exercise with the other arm. Repeat the whole process one more time.
2. Stretching the pectoral muscles
Stand straight and extend both arms horizontally in front of your chest. The arms should be parallel to the floor, making sure that the palms are turned to the floor. Now bend your elbows and bring your arms back until your elbows are behind your body. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Return to starting position. Repeat the exercise one more time.
3. Stretching of the wrist joints
Extend your arms over your head and fold your palms in "prayer." The fingertips point up. Bring your folded arms to your head, and then close to your chest, until you feel a slight stretch in the wrist joints and forearms. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Return to starting position and repeat the exercise.
4. Stretching the hips and buttocks
Sit upright in a chair with a back. Place your left foot on your right thigh. Grasp your ankle with one hand and your knee with the other, and gently, slowly pull your leg towards your upper body until you feel a slight tension in your thigh and buttocks. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise with the other leg. After that, repeat everything from the beginning.
5. Stretching the thigh muscles
Stand in front of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lean your left hand on the back, bend your right leg back and grab the toe of your bent leg with your right hand. Slowly and gently pull your heel towards your buttock until you feel a slight pull in your right thigh. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Then repeat the exercise with the other leg. After that, repeat everything from the beginning.
6. Stretching the calf muscles
Stand behind a chair with a back and rest your hands on the back. Straighten your right leg as far back as possible with the heel touching the floor. Then bend your left leg until you feel a pull in your calf. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Then repeat the exercise with the other leg. After that, repeat everything from the beginning.
QUESTION - RIB
Are your fitness efforts justified?
You've probably heard and read a lot that regular sport protects against diseases, rejuvenates and prolongs life. So you go to the fitness club twice a week, when in fact you would rather work in the garden. In addition, once a week you go for a run, although it does not give you much pleasure. How much do you think you could extend your life if you played sports constantly from the age of twenty? Five, six, eight, or more years as a reward for this hard labor? You will be surprised: lifelong sports activity will add two (!) Years. Living two years longer is certainly wonderful and worth the effort. However, the American cardiologist Jacobi calculated that the time spent on the treadmill, in the fitness studio or on the tennis court to receive this increase is at least the same two years! This is the gain of life years. If you enjoy sports, time certainly isn't wasted. But if you are indifferent to him and you are tormented in order to earn health and longevity, you should think again, are the efforts worthwhile? Indeed, not only physical activity in the fitness room has a positive effect on health. Everyday “exercise,” such as gardening, walking the dog, washing windows, or climbing stairs, is enough to keep you healthy and alert.washing windows or climbing stairs is enough to keep you healthy and alert.washing windows or climbing stairs is enough to keep you healthy and alert.
FROM THE DOSSIER "KP"
Peter AKST, 76 years old. Doctor of Medicine, Professor at Fulda University of Applied Sciences (Germany), specialist in gerontology and psychology. Author of several books on health promotion. In his youth, he was fond of long-distance running, was a member of the presidium of the German Athletics Federation, but later gave up long-term endurance training.
TO THIS TOPIC
Train your brain
“There is no research confirming that it is sport that makes life healthier and longer,” says Dutch neuroscientist Dick Swaab, author of the world bestselling book “We are our brain. From the uterus to Alzheimer's. - It is quite possible that people who are completely healthy from birth by themselves tend to engage in physical activity, that is, the connection is not obvious. If you like movement, then you are initially healthy, and not the other way around: you are healthy because you move. That is, the causal relationship may be different. And if you have a categorical dislike of movement, then it is likely that there is a latent, not yet discovered disease.
Vigorous brain exercise is most beneficial. They also help to lose weight.
Recorded by Anna DOBRYUKHA.