Do you ever find yourself (or your partner!) asking “why do I keep doing this to myself” after another sore back playing beer league hockey, cranky knees after a run or a tweaked groin playing soccer with the kids.

 

Or maybe it’s worse than that, maybe you’re one of the unfortunate souls (like my wife recently) who tore their ACL skiing or like a patient of our clinic last week who tore his achilles playing pickleball.

 

You get to a certain point and you wonder if all these recreational activities are really worth the risk.
A recent study, helps put those concerns into perspective, showing that recreational exercise variety may be one of the most underrated longevity tools.

 

Researchers followed 110,000+ adults for more than 30 years, tracking the types of physical activity people did and how consistently they did them. They then compared this with death rates from all causes, including heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease.

 

Most common activities such as, walking, jogging, running, cycling, resistance training, stair climbing, and racquet sports, were linked to lower mortality. Benefits increased with activity but plateaued at higher volumes (more isn’t always better).

 

Most importantly this long term observational study found that people who regularly did a greater variety of activities had a ~19% lower risk of death, even when total exercise volume was the same.

 

In other words someone who walks, lifts, runs and plays sports does better long-term than someone who only walks or only lifts or only runs, even if weekly minutes are identical.

 

So it’s not just how much you move, it’s how varied your movement challenges are. This makes complete sense. Some activities will challenge our cardiovascular system, some will challenge strength and help build muscle mass, some will build power or challenge mobility, balance or co-ordination. Having a more rounded approach to your exercise selection increases the odds that you are addressing most of the key areas of your physical health.

 

But it’s not just the physical movement diversity component at play here. The varied cognitive challenges associated with pursuing and learning different activities may help mitigate some of the key factors associated with aging and some forms of chronic disease. You may even become a super ager.

 

And the varied environments with different social networks can’t be ignored either. Our social circle starts to naturally shrink as we get older. A variety of recreational endevours are a fantastic way to both build and maintain a stronger social network. Your social community and supports are key pillar of your overall health.

 

We all know that being active lowers your risk of disease and early death. But don’t just move more, challenge yourself to pick more ways to move. Your body thrives with variety.

 

So next time you’re wrestling with that “is it all worth it” question, remember your healthspan (quality of life) and lifespan, quite literally depends on it.