Fitness training balances five elements of good health. Make sure your routine includes aerobic fitness, strength training, core exercises, balance training, and flexibility and stretching.
Aerobic fitness
Aerobic activity, also known as cardio or endurance activity, is the core of most fitness training programs. Aerobic activity or exercise causes you to breathe faster and more deeply. The breathing boosts how much oxygen is in the blood. The heart will beat faster, which sends more blood flow to the muscles and back to the lungs.
The better the aerobic fitness, the more efficiently the heart, lungs and blood vessels carry oxygen throughout the body. And it will likely be easier to do routine physical tasks.
Aerobic activity includes any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and raises the heart rate, such as:
- Walking.
- Jogging.
- Swimming.
- Dancing.
You also can try high-intensity interval training, also called HIIT. HIIT involves doing short bursts of intense activity of around 30 seconds. Then you have recovery periods of lighter activity for around 1 to 2 minutes. So you can switch between brisk walking and relaxed walking, for example. Or add bursts of jogging in your brisk walks.
Strength training
Strength training is another key part of a fitness training plan. Muscular fitness can help you increase bone strength and muscle fitness. And it can help you stay at a healthy weight or lose weight. It also can improve your skills in doing everyday activities. Aim to do strength training of all the major muscle groups at least twice a week.
Your own body weight counts too. Try pushups, pullups, situps and leg squats.
Core exercises
The muscles in the stomach area, also called abdomen, lower back and pelvis are known as the core muscles. Core muscles help protect the back and connect upper and lower body movements. Core strength is a key part of a well-rounded fitness training program.
A core exercise is any exercise that uses the trunk of the body without support. Some core exercises are bridges, planks, situps and fitness ball exercises.
Balance training
Balance exercises can help you keep your balance at any age. Balance exercises can help older adults prevent falls and keep doing things on their own.
But anyone can be helped by balance training. It can help steady, called stabilize, the core muscles. Try standing on one leg for longer periods of time to improve your stability.
Flexibility and stretching
Flexibility is an important piece of physical fitness. Aim to have stretching and flexibility activities in a fitness plan. Stretching exercises can help increase flexibility. Being more flexible can make it easier for you to do many everyday activities.
Stretching can also improve the range of motion of the joints. And stretching may help with better posture. Regular stretching can even help lessen stress and tension.
Try to stretch each time you exercise. If you don’t exercise often, you might want to stretch at least 2 to 3 times a week after warming up to keep flexible. Activities such as yoga help you stay flexible too.
Have all the basics
You can choose training program. Aim to have aerobic fitness, strength training, core exercises, balance training, and flexibility and stretching in your exercise plan.