Vary Your Exercise to Maximise impact

Walk Out On Your Favorite Exercise

This Week's Tips on RealAge.com:

• The Fruit That Fights Wrinkles
• Do This to Lower Your Blood Pressure
• Walk Out On Your Favorite Exercise
• Turn Off Hunger with This Drink
• The Calm, Quiet Vitamin -- and Why You Need It

There's a lot to be said for being faithful to one thing. But not when it comes to this: exercise.

So don't just walk. Hop, skip, jump, and gallop, too! Doing more than four different activities a week protects your brain as well as your body.

Your Brain on Exercise
And the rewards will be sweet, not just sweaty. In a study of more than 3,000 people 65 and older, those who engaged in four or more physical activities a week were less likely to develop dementia than those who did one or none (assuming they hadn't inherited a gene linked to Alzheimer's disease). Being active defends your brain in half a dozen ways -- from keeping your neurons sharp to releasing mind-enhancing hormones. Here are three more reasons to cross-train.

A Walk . . . and Then Some
Already walking 30 minutes a day? Good for you. Now, dust off the stationary bike, and push the lawn mower around the yard, too. Any type of physical activity counts -- from line dancing to training your dog. Doing more than four yet? Here's a little help to nudge you over the edge:

• Do chores. Check out this list of calorie-burning round-the-house work.
• Try the YOU2 Workout. Choose from 18 different at-home moves.
• Become a chi-gong expert. The YOU Docs show you the moves in this online video.
• Jump rope. Here's how many calories you'll burn in 1 hour.

Get the lowdown on all the bodywide benefits of aerobic exercise. RealAge Benefit: Exercising regularly, expending at least 3,500 calories of energy a week, can make your RealAge 3.4 years younger.