THE 14 BEST EXERCISES TO KEEP YOU YOUNG Research says your brain is as old as you feel. So let's

Constantly complaining about those damn kids on your lawn? Dial it back there, Clint Eastwood - new research from Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences shows the older you feel relative to your actual age, the more likely you are to actually get dementia in later life.

Fortunately, there's a way for you to feel young at heart as well as body; lifting weights, as resistance training reduces the ageing of cells in your body and provides muscle mass that takes longer to break down. Read on for the rules and the moves to live by - and you'll be living by them for a long, long time.

Exercise: it makes you happier, smarter and even better in bed. And just in case you needed another incentive to head down to the gym today, new research has found your workouts allow you to enjoy all those benefits for longer. Why? As a study published in Diabetes journal shows, exercise makes senescent cells age much slower, which leaves you less at risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. In short: you'll be enjoying life long after retirement.

That's great news, but which exercises work best? Add the moves below into your workouts to keep younger for longer.

1. Power clean & press

80% neuron activation.

Feel young: This Olympic move boosts the links between your nerves in your spine.

2. Power clean

80% neuron activation.

Look fresh: Similarly high-scoring; a neural boost of this size tightens your skin for an anti-ageing effect.

3. Sprint

75% neuron activation.

Gain speed: Sprints trigger head-to-toe nerve activation, which leads to faster reaction speeds.

4. Deadlift

75% neuron activation.

Stay strong: Defy old age with a full-body move that will slow your rate of muscle wastage.

5. Power snatch

75% neuron activation.

Think fast: This lift creates complicated mind-muscle connections to forge new brain pathways.

6. Swing snatch

70% neuron activation.

Build size: Activating 7/10 of your neurons, this keeps your limbs responsive as your muscle power declines.

7. Jumping split squat

70% neuron activation.

Get higher: Keep your fast-twitch muscles’ nerves firing away for ageless power.

8. Weighted sled push

70% neuron activation.

Go harder: Muscle response declines quickly. This challenging exercise stops the slow down.

9. Sledge-hammer slam

70% neuron activation.

Add fitness: Work your lungs so they respond to exertion well into old age.

10. Med ball slam

70% neuron activation.

Keep supple: Beat the reaper (and stiff limbs) in one clean blow. Slams fire up more than 2/3 of your neurons.

11. Lunge

40% neuron activation.

Find Stability: Unilateral (ie single-leg) moves hit the neurons that build perpetual balance.

12. Air squat

40% neuron activation.

Cut body fat: More responsive legs are the key to a leaner middle. Squats will fend off age-related weight gain.

13. Tricep extension

35% neuron activation.

Be mobile: Not so powerful, but still useful. Dodge potential arm joint problems with this move.

14. Bicep curl

20% neuron activation.

And just for vanity: Less about the neurons, all about the T-shirts. After all, an ego boost never gets old...