Such lifestyle-related conditions account for almost three-quarters of deaths worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization — 17 million of which happen before the age of 70.

Dedicating some time to a healthy, active lifestyle when you’re young can help to prevent or delay these conditions, LeBrasseur said.

Some might be disappointed that there’s no secret to healthy aging, no matter how much money “biohackers” throw at the problem. But LeBrasseur said this “should really be viewed as an incredible opportunity that you have such control over your health and wellbeing.”

He shared the smartest way to invest your time to stay healthy.

Spend 3% of your day exercising

Investing 3% of your income sounds like a “minimal financial

investment,” LeBrasseur said.

Similarly, investing just 3% of your day in exercise is “a minimal investment to have a profound impact on our overall health,” he said.

This works out at around 30 minutes of a typical 16-hour day that should be spent doing moderate to vigorous exercise, he said.

Moderate exercise should make you feel “on the verge of being a little short of breath,” he said, or is a five or a six out of 10 in terms of effort. Vigorous exercise, meanwhile, is more of an eight or nine out of 10 and should make you actively fatigued.

Depending on your fitness level, this could involve walking, lifting weights, running, cycling, or swimming.

The type of exercise matters

LeBrasseur recommended doing a mixture of resistance and aerobic exercises — aerobic for cardiovascular, brain, metabolic, and pulmonary health, and resistance to maintain physical function and prevent frailty in older age.

One 2022 study showed that doing both resistance training and aerobic exercise appeared to reduce participants’ risk of dying from any cause by 32%.

HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a good “twofer,” LeBrasseur said, because it features both resistance and aerobic exercises. With HIIT, “you’re definitely taxing your cardiovascular system as well as your musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems, and there is a clear benefit to that,” he said.

Functional training, featuring squats, lunges, and pulling/pushing exercises, is also beneficial for healthy aging, he said, as it can strengthen the muscles needed to preserve mobility and physical function in older age.

Don’t just be active at the gym

“Being more habitually active and having fewer rest periods during the day is highly beneficial” for health and longevity, LeBrasseur said.

He recommended adding bits of exercise into the day wherever you can — whether that’s parking the car further from your destination, getting up to speak to colleagues instead of emailing them, or going to the grocery store instead of getting a delivery.

Consider when you don’t move, too, he said. If you work a sedentary job, he suggested getting up from your desk every hour to walk for 10 minutes or doing some pushups or squats.

Start ASAP and pick something you enjoy

“Sooner is always better,” LeBrasseur said. “It’s never too late. Even for 90 year olds, there’s strong evidence that exercise can have clear health benefits on preserving function and preventing exacerbation of disease.”

But the most important thing about physical activity and exercise is consistency, he said. So, pick an activity that you enjoy and can do regularly to reap the benefits.

LeBrasseur runs, bikes, and swims, but said people shouldn’t try to copy him or anyone else. “The point is that I do these things because I really enjoy them and can be consistent with them. If you asked me to do another activity that I had zero interest in, I might do it for a week but then I’d drop off,” he said.

Combining exercise with socializing can also make regular exercise easier because it’s more enjoyable, plus your friends can hold you accountable.

The benefits were apparent almost immediately after the first class, she says.

Pilates is a mind-body exercise that focuses on muscular balance and improves strength and flexibility. It was developed by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates in the 1920s.

Recently, hot Pilates – doing Pilates in a space that is usually heated with infrared panels set at 35 to 38 degrees Celsius (95-100 degrees Fahrenheit) – has been firing up social media. There are nearly 150,000 Instagram posts with the hashtag #hotpilates.

Trixie Velez, co-founder and director of Defin8 Fitness, says the panels emit infrared light that penetrates deep into the body, warming it from the inside. This provides several benefits when combined with a Pilates practice, including warming muscles more quickly and improving flexibility and range of motion.

“The heat also boosts blood circulation, which can aid in muscle recovery and reduce soreness after a workout,” she says. “Additionally, the heat can induce a light detoxifying sweat, helping to remove toxins from the body.”

Loli Godoy is a yoga instructor and the founder and co-owner of 2Be Yoga, a studio in Singapore that began offering Inferno Hot Pilates (IHP) classes when it opened in 2020. These classes are done on mats, and do not use reformer machines.

While both IHP on mats and infrared Pilates on machines offer the benefits of infrared heat, they differ significantly in their exercise approach, Godoy says. The machine-based version often involves a series of low-impact, gentle movements typical of traditional Pilates, emphasising relaxation and muscle recovery.

The heated environment helps the body in several ways, Godoy says. It increases blood flow and circulation, which helps in delivering more oxygen to muscles and improving flexibility.

It also promotes sweating, aids in detoxification and helps the body eliminate toxins. The heat makes muscles more pliable, reducing the risk of injury and allowing for deeper stretches.

“The combination of heat and the high-intensity nature of IHP accelerates calorie burn, boosts metabolism, and enhances cardiovascular endurance.”

While hot Pilates has only become trendy in Asia in the past few years, it has been popular in the United States since at least 2014, with celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez and Dakota Johnson relying on the full-body workout to stay in shape.

Hot Pilates is suitable for most people, from athletes looking to enhance their core strength, flexibility and performance, to those wanting to improve their heart health or lose weight, to individuals with chronic pain or mobility issues.

You will sweat profusely while doing hot Pilates, so it is important to drink plenty of water before a class and to wear lightweight, breathable clothing. To prevent discomfort, avoid heavy meals too soon before a class.

Chan says that the movements in her infrared Pilates class are mostly easy, although her instructor sometimes “steps things up” to make the sessions more challenging.

Chan is thankful to have found a workout that is kind to her body yet helps her feel fitter and stronger.

“Doing infrared Pilates over the last couple of years has undoubtedly given me more energy and made me happier and healthier. Many people have also complimented me on my skin, which I believe has benefited from an improvement in my blood circulation and detoxification through sweating,” she says.

“I especially enjoy doing infrared Pilates when it’s cold outside. I love the feeling of being in a warm, cosy room and sweating it out on a gloomy day.”

The body of a 35-year-old Paramus man is believed to have been recovered from a river in Vermont on Wednesday afternoon, about four days after going missing.

According to a series of statements from the Vermont State Police, they were first notified of a missing swimmer at the Warren Falls in Warren, Vermont on Saturday at about 1:43 p.m.

Search and recovery efforts for the swimmer, later identified by Vermont State Police as Tuan Baldino, 35, of Paramus were periodically paused due to the conditions of the Mad River which was experiencing “high and swift water.”

The area of the Mad River at Warren Falls was closed to the public while search and recovery efforts were underway.

Local: Paramus High School hires new principal, Dominick Miller, formerly at Roxbury HS

According to the most recent statement from Vermont State Police, search and recovery crews recovered a body from the Mad River at Warren Falls late Wednesday afternoon.

The recovered body, which is believed to be Baldino, was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington, Vermont for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and to confirm identity.

A fitness and health coach, Baldino was the owner of Fitness Gainz Academy LLC in Bergen County, according to his social media pages. He graduated from Kean University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and from Bergen Community College with an associate’s degree in exercise science.

The incident does not appear suspicious, according to the Vermont State Police.