1. So, really, how many steps a day do you need?

I saw this link on Prime Fit, a content site for trainers and gym owners. Polish researchers looked at 17 studies done since 2012 that followed 226,889 people and came up with the number of steps we should be doing each day.

It's not 10,000.

Here is the Conclusion from the study in a Oxford academic journal:

"This meta-analysis demonstrates a significant inverse association between daily step count and all-cause mortality and CV mortality with more the better over the cut-off point of 3,867 steps/day for all-cause mortality and only 2,337 steps for CV mortality."

So, if you are able to get in just 4,000 steps a day, don't sweat the load, literally and figuratively.

2. You can't help it. Get out there anyway.

"Your genes may determine how your body responds to training, diet and other external factors. Research on aerobic endurance shows that some people respond more to training than others. Training also increases cardiac efficiency, but the extent of this increase may depend upon genetics. Genetically gifted athletes will have a much greater response to training and will have a large increase in the number of mitochondria in cells."

This is the link  to the story about the role of genetics in training. The point that should be made here is that while you train and train to win a gold medal at the National Senior Games or a U.S. Swimming event, or USATF Masters, genetics restricts how much you get out of all that training.

So work out for the sake of exercise..and fun. 

3. This news just in from a scientist

"Just don't smoke, exercise, eat your vegetables, reduce inflammation."

That's the best advice from Steve Horvath, who created the GrimAge clock and studies longevity for Altos Labs. 

Ok, we know that.

Horvath's point in this articleis that the biological age tests, which are all the rage as people strive to measure how fast they are aging, should not be over-cooked, or a basis for your health.

If you want to live longer and not break down keep it simple and follow evidence-based science. Don't smoke, eat your veggies, exercise, reduce inflammation.

I first saw this story on Long Youthspan. Check it out.