Regular physical activity is vital to leading a healthy life. Exercise helps achieve and sustain a healthy weight while decreasing risks such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Exercise can be enjoyable and easily fit into your busy life. To maximize its benefits, aim for at least two moderate-intensity aerobic activities each week as well as muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days each week.
1. Aerobic
Aerobic exercise (also called cardiovascular exercise) strengthens your heart while helping the blood to flow efficiently throughout your body. Experts advise adults to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity on most days throughout the week, such as brisk walking or swimming, for instance.
Try the talk test: If you find it hard to speak in a normal voice without getting winded while exercising, your workout might be too strenuous. For those just beginning aerobics, start slowly by walking 10 minutes three times each day for three weeks; gradually increase its duration every week thereafter, and always finish off with stretching exercises afterwards.
2. Strength
Strength exercise differs from aerobic in that it involves short bursts of effort followed by rest periods to build muscle mass, control weight, and lower risks associated with heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. NHS guidelines suggest conducting two or more sessions of strength-based exercises targeting all major muscle groups every week, using weight or resistance levels that tire your muscles after 12-15 repetitions.
To avoid injury or exhaustion, begin your workouts with bodyweight exercises such as squats and push-ups with elastic bands before progressing to free weights or machines. Your GP or exercise physiologist can suggest an individualized exercise program.
3. Flexibility
Flexibility exercises such as stretching are proven to increase range of motion in the body and help prevent injuries to muscles and joints.
To enhance flexibility, start off by stretching lightly both before and after exercise. Focus on stretching major lower body muscles such as your thighs, hips, back, and calves to increase range of motion and reach. Be sure to do various stretches that reach as far as possible and avoid bouncing during stretching, as it could lead to muscle strains. Be mindful that everyone’s genetics and flexibility vary, striving for balance so your flexibility on both sides of your body matches up evenly.
4. Balance
Balance exercises can easily fit into your fitness regimen, with potentially enormous rewards. They strengthen the muscles that help support uprightness while increasing body reactions to changing conditions such as stairs or picking something off the floor.
Balance training helps to strengthen core strength and stability, body awareness, posture, confidence, and inner calmness—as well as lower injury risk and increase coordination and agility. At Coastline Ortho’s Thrive Therapy, we use cutting-edge research and best practices to assist our patients in improving their balance and strength. Contact us now for a consultation session.
5. Core
No matter if it be golf or lifting heavy objects at work, having strong core muscles is crucial for both balance and posture. Your core includes abs, pelvic floor muscles, and the erector spinae in your back; when these are weak, they can lead to back pain as well as muscle strain in other muscle groups.
For optimal core strengthening, choose exercises that target stability while activating muscles with conscious mind-body connection exercises. Also try exercises with increasing difficulty to slowly build core strength over time—consistency is key; like any muscle group, it will take time and dedication before seeing results.
6. Flexibility & Balance
Balance exercises help increase stability and coordination, enabling more fluid movement. They also reduce your risk of falls and enhance fitness levels overall. Stretching, yoga, tai chi, and Pilates are excellent balance exercises. To optimize results from these practices, they are typically performed at low intensities after warming up with aerobic activity such as walking on a treadmill or in a hallway.
Ideal exercise programs should include all four categories of physical activity—endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance. The American Heart Association provides easy-to-follow guidelines for endurance and strength training as part of their Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults document.
7. Flexibility & Strength
Stretching and strength training are integral parts of a healthy workout regime, whether recovering from injury or seeking to improve athletic performance. A comprehensive approach that balances flexibility, balance, and strength training is vital in reaching optimal physical condition.
Before beginning any stretching program, start off with some dynamic exercise (repetitive movements like walking or marching in place) to warm up muscles. Next, perform static stretches targeting major muscle groups such as calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, shoulders, and chest—holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds while being careful not to bounce or force the muscle into position, as this can lead to injury.
8. Strength & Flexibility
As a child, you likely found it easy to stretch out on the floor for TV viewing sessions or hop to grab snacks from nearby shelves without thought or concern about movement through full ranges of motion. But now it may be more challenging.
Flexibility and strength exercises work hand in hand to increase joint mobility and protect against injury. For example, flexible hamstrings allow deeper squats, while strong quadriceps and glutes supply the power necessary for good form. To reduce injuries, start off your workouts with several minutes of low-intensity activity like walking or jogging before stretching, and always stretch after working out when muscles are warm, holding each stretch for 30 seconds each time.
9. Flexibility & Strength
Flexibility and strength exercise regimens are vital. Flexibility helps prevent tight and overstretched muscles that could put one at risk of injury; additionally, flexibility enables the body to cope with physical activities as well as everyday activities like reaching, bending, and lifting more easily. Strength training involves challenging muscles against resistance, gradually building them over time. Aim to include strength exercises targeting all major muscle groups while including movements like lunges and squats, which also work the core.
Start incorporating yoga or Pilates into your workouts for daily stretching routines, as well as eccentric strengthening exercises (in which muscles contract while lengthening). Additionally, eccentric strengthening exercises should be practiced at least three times weekly in order to prevent injury from overtraining and muscle imbalances.
