How Slow Fitness Can Boost Your Physical And Mental Health

Staff inbox: Slow fitness, a trend that’s gaining popularity, offers a different approach to exercise than the high-intensity interval training (HIIT), spin, and crossfit classes that have a large following. Low-intensity exercises, on the other hand, have the opposite effect, reducing cortisol levels.

The slow fitness approach suggests that you can replace strenuous and fast exercise with slower, more mindful movements and still reap the physical benefits of improved strength.

Whether you’re a fitness novice or a regular gym-goer, incorporating slow fitness into your routine can look different for everyone, depending on your existing fitness routine and goals.

One example of slow fitness is low-intensity interval training (LIIT), which replaces the short burns seen in HIIT with longer, lower-intensity periods of exercise and longer rests.

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In The News:

How to embrace ‘slow fitness’, the low-effort approach to exercising

In a fitness culture that often rewards superlatives – fastest, strongest, biggest – slow fitness involves a welcome shift to a more balanced approach. But don’t make the mistake of confusing it for an inferior approach to health.

“As a personal trainer, many of my clients struggle with sleep issues, and slow exercises have been a simple but effective solution.”

Excerpt: How to embrace ‘slow fitness’, the low-effort approach to exercising

Walking Speed and Physical and Mental Aging

If your stride is on the slow side, you may be more at risk of accelerated aging and the health issues that come with it.

One study published in 2019 in JAMA Network Open found that your walking speed at age 45 can indicate the speed of your physical and neurological aging. The researchers examined nearly one thousand 45-year-olds to understand what walking speed revealed about their aging.

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