The Archives of Internal Medicine reports that 3 hours of vigorous exercise a week can make your DNA 9 years younger! Another study at King's College London quizzed 2400 twins about their fitness habits and examined the telomeres in their white blood cells. Telomeres are tiny branches at the tip of each chromosome that allows cell replication. Think of your telomeres as being like the toner in a copy machine. The quality of your copies has a lot to do with having good toner. Each time a cell replicates the telomere gets shorter, the longer you've lived, the shorter the telomere and the more likely you are to have wrinkles, sagging skin and vulnerability to disease. The study found that people who exercise the most, about 3 hours a week, had longer telomeres than those who exercised the least, only 16 minutes. The telomeres of the most active people were the same length as people up to 10 years younger.

So another way to look 10 years younger is to start exercising vigorously today. The key here is what is vigorous? Most people, even those who regularly exercise, tend to choose workloads far below what is challenging for their body. In a study at the College of New Jersey, only 5% of people who regularly exercised picked challenging workloads. Aim for workloads. Aim for workloads that are 60-80% of your maximum ability whether it's weights or aerobic exercise. Of course check with your doctor before starting or changing your workout especially if you have any background health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure.