Men Who Practice This Workout Routine Are Way More Likely to Stay Fit Forever

Never ever quit on your stickball team, for your health.

Liderina

He’s a stock character in plenty of movies, in some form or another. The 20-something former high school star athlete, donning his letterman jacket in perpetuity, reminiscing about the championship runs of yore. Frequently, he’s a kind of sad character, an embodiment of overdone nostalgia and an inability to move forward.

But he might be onto something, in spirit at least. Sticking to high school athletic habits might be the new key to staying fit all the way to old age, according to Men’s Health. Simply talking about it just won’t do.

A new study published in BMJ Open asked a group of 3,413 men who were mostly in their late 40s about their physical activity levels, then followed up with them 20 years later when they were in their late 60s.  The study took into account low participation activities, like household chores, as well as high participation activities, like participating in sports.

Men who were active in their 40s were three times more likely to be active in their 60s as opposed to men who had more sedentary lives at the beginning of the study. But men who participated in sports, and had been doing so actively for 25 or more years, were five times more likely to be active at the 20-year check up as opposed to their non-sports playing counterparts. (Here’s what your workout routine says about you.)

That weekly pickup basketball game is providing way more than bragging rights, as it turns out. It can even lead to a much longer life because you only have to do 150 minutes of activity each week to reap super health benefits.

[Source: Men’s Health]