Exercise for longevity

Blog for Life is a series of opinion pieces from the team at CPC RPA Health for Life Program, our clinical, research, culinary and education experts developing resources for healthy longevity. Mr David Hutchinson, exercise physiologist, explores how exercise can increase longevity and how to make it fun and enticing.

The CPC RPA Health for Life program is a lifestyle medicine program helping people to improve their health through science-backed exercise, healthy nutrition and cooking. However, after a year of working with participants, we’ve realised that while science is essential, some of the most crucial factors in long-term success go beyond research and data, they’re about making exercise enjoyable and sustainable.

The first and best example arose in our first ever exercise session: After a successful introductory workshop featuring cutting-edge science, comprehensive advice and practical tips and tricks, one participant rose their hand to ask, ‘but how do we make it fun?’.

As the presenter, it was a ‘deer in headlights’ moment. Since then, we’ve accommodated the ‘fun factor’ in every workshop, because, after all, neglecting it could mean the difference between a routine that sticks, and one that wanes.

So, what have we learnt about integrating the fun factor into exercise? And how can you use it to your advantage for stronger, happier exercise habits? Here we break down key learnings from the scientific literature, and some out-of-the-box approaches that have worked for our Health for Life participants. 

According to the scientific literature, it’s likely that our perceptions of enjoyment during exercise are amenable to both changes in exercise programming characteristics (namely type and intensity of exercise) and external stimuli. Taken together, these key factors form a basis for experimentation as you pursue your spark for exercise.

Program characteristics

Program characteristics are features that, when altered, will change the body’s exercise response; including exercise frequency, intensity, time, and type. When it comes to augmenting enjoyment, type and intensity are our most potent levers.

Exercise type

As you commence your joyous exercise experiment, the simplest place to start is by asking yourself “what exercise makes me feel good?”. It’ s a simple but powerful question; evidence suggests that we’re more likely to stick to a routine and get results when we do any exercise that makes us feel good.

And fortunately, we’re spoilt for choice – any movement counts. Some notable examples from Health for Life include dancing, community gym classes, cycling, and social sports.

Exercise intensity

Evidence indicates that the effort level of exercise influences exercise enjoyment in an ‘inverted U’ fashion. That is; as intensity increases from ‘low’, our perceptions of enjoyment increase concurrently up until a peak, whereafter enjoyment declines with increasing intensity.

For most individuals, this ‘peak’ enjoyment occurs at a ‘moderate’ effort level. Some studies also suggest that undulating intensity during sessions (ie. brief bursts of higher effort, followed by short ‘recovery’ periods) can also enhance enjoyment - such as in many unstructured sports, or interval-based activities.

They key lies in your personal preference, so feel free to experiment with different effort levels and undulating patterns of differing durations to find your fit.

External factors

Although listening to your body is important for choosing an intensity that fits for you, evidence also suggests that being too internally focused and can be detrimental. Negative judgments about how we’re feeling and performing can weigh heavily on mood and become discouraging.

That’s where external factors become important. Several studies have demonstrated that altering the external stimuli of the exercise environment can enhance our enjoyment by distracting from internal perceptions of exertion or discomfort.

The external stimuli with the greatest body of scientific support for enhancing enjoyment in exercise are audio-visual stimuli, exercising outdoors, and the social environment.

Audio-visual stimuli

Listening to music is the most popular strategy for enhancing exercise enjoyment among Health for Life participants. But music isn’t our only option.

One Health for Life participant reported becoming so enthralled in the ‘History of Rome’ podcast that he scheduled daily hour-long walks for uninterrupted listening time. Others used audio workout apps that guide and encourage them through their training.

In one case (my personal favourite), a participant used an interactive ‘fitness adventure’ app called ‘Zombies Run’ which paces participants’ outdoor running workouts via the motivating sounds of zombies quickly approaching from behind. When it comes to auditory stimuli, we’re truly spoilt for choice.

A range of audio-visual stimuli, such as in watching films, or ‘deep immersion’ virtual reality systems have also proven effective in injecting the ‘fun factor’ into exercise. The most important thing to remember is that the external stimulus must be enjoyable itself – otherwise we run the risk of making our exercise less enjoyable.

Exercising outdoors: 'Green exercise'

Exercising in a natural outdoor environment is akin to immersion in audio-visual stimuli, but with an additional kick from our biological affiliation to green space. Scientists hypothesise that people are share a natural affinity with green space due to the fact that we spent millennia evolving alongside it.

It follows that “green exercise” results in higher levels of motivation, enjoyment, and lower levels of perceived exertion when compared to exercising indoors. Furthermore, green exercise is noted to improve mood and physiological wellbeing.

So, if the gym isn’t cutting it, green options like outdoor gyms or your local Parkrun might be for you!

Social exercise

Exercising with a group of supportive peers can enhance enjoyment and motivation. It seems that there are multiple ways by which the social environment enhances motivation, including: 

• distraction from intrinsic feelings of discomfort or effort
• enhanced feelings of achievement and reward, facilitated by praise from peers
• greater desire to continue, motivated by a commitment to peers
• feelings of motivation as inspired by the achievements of others.

Overall, there is consistent evidence indicating that exercise with supportive peers promotes enjoyment, motivation and long-term engagement. So, as you’re searching for the ‘fun factor’ in exercise, share the journey with others. It could be friends, a local community, or a coach – experiment to find what works for you!

Incorporating the fun factor into exercise is key to long-term success. By experimenting with different types, intensities, and external stimuli like music or outdoor environments, you can find a routine that brings joy, making fitness a sustainable and enjoyable part of life.