[Villages PL]

as opposed to just getting some exercise?

I read that intensive workouts started later in life can shorten one's life. Of course there are many in the villages who were PE teachers, etc. and were lifelong joggers or runners. I suppose they will be less likely to shorten their lives because they have maintained their heart muscle.

What I read had something to do with the heart muscle. It seems that it slowly deteriorates with age and is not reversible. And intensive exercise beyond a certain age can actually speed up aging instead of slowing it down.

I'll see if I can find that information again; it's in one of my books that deals with slowing down the aging process.

It might be interesting to note that the people who live to the oldest ages never worked out. Centenarians and supercentenarians, for the most part, grew up in an age when hardly anyone worked out. They may have worked hard during their working years but didn't workout in their retirement, like my grandfather who lived to 97.