Having an exercise routine and being active are essential for maintaining good health. However, often individuals set fitness goals and then limit themselves to only one or two workout routines because they think that is the only way to see results. That is far from the truth!
The key to your fitness and health journey success is to switch up your workout routines to achieve your best overall health and fitness goals.
Below we will discuss the importance of incorporating different workout routines such as cardio training, weight training, flexibility training, and sports. Adding a little variety to your daily physical activity will not only help you achieve goals, but will also help you stay healthy and fit.
Cardio Training
Cardio training is a popular exercise routine that is practiced by many. There are two different types of cardio training exercises: aerobic and anaerobic.
Aerobic Exercises
Aerobic exercises use a repetitive contraction of large muscle groups to get the heart beating faster. This type of exercise is very beneficial for your cardiovascular system and vastly improves your heart health.
Your reps and the amount of time you spend doing an aerobic exercise will depend on your fitness level. There are a few types of aerobic exercises to consider: steady-state, low-intensity, and moderate-intensity workouts.
- Steady-state workouts: These workouts refer to the pace of your workout. This can involve any level of intensity. The goal during these exercises is to maintain a steady pace at your chosen intensity for the duration of your workout.
- Low-intensity workouts: These workouts are exercises that keep your heart rate 50% below your maximum heart rate. Examples of these exercises include brisk walks or leisurely bike rides.
- Moderate-intensity workouts: These workouts push your heart rate up to 50%-70% of your max heart rate. These exercises should be challenging, but you should still be able to carry on a conversation while performing them. Think of endurance training exercises like running, swimming, or hiking.
Anaerobic Exercises
Anaerobic exercises are similar to aerobic exercises, but they push your body to use energy without the use of oxygen. These types of exercises are short and fast but also more intense. Some exercise examples include high-intensity interval training (HIIT), weight lifting, and circuit training.
Anaerobic exercises do not allow your body to use and take in oxygen as aerobic exercises do. For example, think of doing sprints — sprinting is a short burst of energy that usually takes up a lot of your oxygen.
CrossFit is a popular fitness regimen that uses both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. It combines the fat-burning power of aerobic exercises with the strength training exercises of anaerobic exercises.
There are so many benefits of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, including:
- Strengthening your heart and blood vessels
- Improving the amount of oxygen throughout your body
- Lowering blood pressure and cholesterol (potentially)
- Reducing your chances of heart disease
Weight Training / Strength Training
When people think about lifting weights, they often think it will only achieve one thing, hypertrophy, or the enlargement of muscles.
In actuality, weight training can improve your muscular endurance and muscular strength. When you incorporate resistance training with weights, you allow your muscles to exert tension over a long period of time which in return will elevate your heart rate and incorporate the cardio element to the workout.
Strength exercises such as squats, lunges, and push-ups can be done with just your own body weight, with additional weight, or with resistance equipment such as resistance bands.
Depending on your goals, you can increase or decrease repetitions to make the specific exercise more endurance-based or strength-based. So go ahead and throw your resistance bands into your Haven Athletic Gym Bag and hit your workout hard.
Flexibility Training
Flexibility training improves your musculoskeletal health and helps increase your overall fitness. Exercises that increase your flexibility and mobility are stretching, yoga, pilates, and mobility training.
Stretching can either be static or dynamic and passive or active. Dynamic and active stretching is very helpful when performing functional movements.
Static Stretching
Static stretching is isometric, which means you keep the muscle under tension for a certain length of time.
Dynamic Stretching
Dynamic stretching is performed when you continue to move through a challenging stretch that is within a comfortable range of motion repeatedly.
Passive Stretching
Passive stretching occurs when you use someone or something to help assist you during a stretch. This allows you to relax while using an external force to increase the intensity of the stretch.
Active Stretching
Active stretching uses motion to stretch your muscle. This occurs when you relax one muscle while using the opposite muscle to initiate the stretch.
Exercises That Increase Flexibility
- Yoga: Yoga is an exercise that can improve your flexibility and range of motion.
Yoga movements focus on form and breathing techniques. It increases flexibility through stretching, isometric bodyweight exercises, and moving meditation.
- Pilates: Pilates are exercises that incorporate controlled movements and emphasize your body alignment, breathing, and core strength. Pilates exercises utilize a lot of balancing exercises to help improve your coordination and stability.
- Mobility training: Mobility training can improve your flexibility and range of motion.
One way to achieve this is to add foam rolling to your warmup and your post-workout routine. Foam rolling will give you a deep tissue massage that will help release muscles that are under tension. The benefits of using a foam roller are that it is easy to transport in your organized gym bag, and it can be used anywhere.
Sports
Sometimes we forget the benefits of playing a sport and what it does for our fitness and health. Playing a sport is a fun form of exercise that will keep us physically active and ultimately help with weight loss and body fat while maintaining muscle strength just as much as a traditional goal-oriented workout will. Most sports require balance and coordination and are done at high-intensity or moderate-intensity.
In Summary
Incorporating different workouts to your workout routine will not only benefit your fitness goals but will also help keep your overall health in check. You do not need to just focus on one single workout routine to get results. Adding variety helps you see results faster.
And always remember, you do not need a personal trainer to achieve your fitness goals. Reaching out, asking questions, and doing your own research can help you better understand a workout regimen that best fits your and your goals.
So get that gym bag packed with all your essential needs and tackle these different workout routines!
Sources:
The Four Most Important Types of Exercise | Harvard Health
The 'Best' Cardio Workout for a Healthy Heart | UT Southwestern Medical Center
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