The Role That Physical Fitness Plays In Preserving One's Lifespan
- May 13, 2025
- 3 min read
Written by Jenni Rivett, Health and Fitness Consultant
Jenni Rivett is an expert on women's health and fitness and the creator of the Train Like a Woman programme.. She was the personal trainer to HRH Princess Diana for seven years and continues to teach her method of training worldwide.
It’s probably fair to surmise that COVID-19 has impacted each and every one of us in some way or another. Not least with our exercise regime, which many of us had probably taken for granted, paying our monthly membership, turning up for a class or PT session whenever we wanted, and enjoying a coffee with friends afterwards.
And literally overnight, that all changed! Our lives became homeschooling, boredom, hitting the fridge, being closed in with family members, stress, worry, and anxiety as we all faced an uncertain future.
Within weeks, TV and Zoom became the new norm for workout regimes. For many of us, a reawakening of the importance exercise plays in keeping our mind and body in check, during a global pandemic no one could have predicted.
What does the future of fitness hold for us with the uncertainty of ‘real time’ training and bricks and mortar? One thing for certain; it has forced us to look at the vital role moving our bodies plays in preserving our health and longevity.
As a fitness and nutrition consultant, I've had to take my entire business online, which, in all honesty, has been great as I've really had to think out of the box, and it's brought new and exciting challenges. My potential audience has become ‘the world’ and my role is to educate and encourage as many people out there as I remotely can!
So, how exactly does one define "staying young" or "preserving one’s lifespan?"
You can stop the clock with exercise!
One way is to measure aging through your DNA literally. Your telomeres, which are found at the tips of your chromosomes, which serve as protective caps for the genetic material in between. Your telomeres are known to shorten as you age and are quite simply one of the most important factors in extending lifespan.
The discovery of telomeres has completely changed the way researchers study longevity and the process of ageing. The researchers who discovered telomeres won the nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009.
Telomeres get shorter each time a cell copies itself, but the important DNA stays intact. However, eventually telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to stop functioning optimally and ultimately aging them. Stand up and pay attention to your telomeres; they act as the aging clock on every single cell in your body!
I set out to discover the link between exercise and telomere length, and my research findings were extremely positive. Exercise can take a whopping nine years off your DNA, as according to research, it helps reduce damage by free radicals, allowing your body to invest its resources in maintaining health instead of repairing damage.
Let’s put that research into action by keeping our telomeres lengthened and reversing the signs of aging through a regular, balanced exercise regime.
Cardiorespiratory exercise: Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. These recommendations can be met through 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 20 to 60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise three days per week. Shorter, intense sessions of at least 10 minutes three times a week are also acceptable.
Resistance exercise: Adults should train each major muscle group two or three days per week using a variety of exercises and equipment. Two to four sets of each exercise, with anywhere between eight and 20 repetitions, will help adults improve strength and power.
Flexibility exercise: Adults should do flexibility exercises at least two or three days each week to improve range of motion. Each stretch should be held for 10 to 30 seconds, to the point of tightness or slight discomfort. Repeat each stretch two to four times, accumulating 60 seconds per stretch.
Mobility training: Moving all your joints through their various ranges of motion will help improve all aspects of your lifestyle, including improved performance with other sports, better posture and movement patterns. Aim to do three to four minutes of joint mobility most days.
Read more from Jenni Rivett
Jenni Rivett, Health and Fitness Consultant
Jenni Rivett is a leading health and fitness consultant. Her late mother, Adeline Rodd, released the first ever exercise LP in South Africa, which led Jenni to pursue her career in fitness. She has dedicated her life to helping women to better health through her unique method of training. She is a sought-after speaker and fitness journalist.
