Get The Right Mix Of Exercise
Most of my clients don’t have all the time in the world to exercise. Their lives have many moving parts and different priorities so they need an efficient, well balanced exercise plan to maximise results and minimise risk of injury.
A good exercise plan includes cardio, strength and flexibility
Cardio
Cardio is any exercise that increases the work of the heart and lungs. There are loads of benefits. Not only does it burn calories, it also combats a variety of health conditions and diseases, improves mood and boosts energy and endurance. However there are a couple of drawbacks of relying exclusively on cardio for exercise. Repetitive movement patterns can easily cause overuse injuries. The most common injuries are tennis elbow, swimmers shoulder, runner’s knee, achilles tendonitis and shin splints. Several of these injuries are even named after cardio activities. To get the benefits of cardio without risking injuries it’s important to build up your intensity gradually. It’s also important to include weight training in your plan.
Weight training
Weight training supports your cardio training in several ways. It builds strong ligaments and tendons, which support your joints and reduce the risk of injury. Better muscle endurance makes cardio exercise and sporting performance easier. You can push yourself harder and perform better. Weight training has other great benefits too. It builds lean muscle mass which increases your metabolic rate. This means your body burns calories even when you aren’t doing anything. Just lying in the sunshine with your lean muscle mass you are burning more calories than a person with less lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass you have, the easier it is to manage your weight without requiring a super-strict diet.
Flexibility
The third key component of a good exercise plan is flexibility. Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint. It's usually the poor cousin of the fitness regime. It is the area that does not directly relate to weight loss, therefore many people do not prioritise it. However a limber body forms the foundation for your cardiovascular fitness and strength. When your muscles are more pliable you reduce the risk of injury in both your exercise and your everyday life.
When cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility come together you create multidimensional fitness that you can use in a variety of ways to achieve a variety of goals.
A good exercise plan includes cardio, strength and flexibility
Cardio
Cardio is any exercise that increases the work of the heart and lungs. There are loads of benefits. Not only does it burn calories, it also combats a variety of health conditions and diseases, improves mood and boosts energy and endurance. However there are a couple of drawbacks of relying exclusively on cardio for exercise. Repetitive movement patterns can easily cause overuse injuries. The most common injuries are tennis elbow, swimmers shoulder, runner’s knee, achilles tendonitis and shin splints. Several of these injuries are even named after cardio activities. To get the benefits of cardio without risking injuries it’s important to build up your intensity gradually. It’s also important to include weight training in your plan.
Weight training
Weight training supports your cardio training in several ways. It builds strong ligaments and tendons, which support your joints and reduce the risk of injury. Better muscle endurance makes cardio exercise and sporting performance easier. You can push yourself harder and perform better. Weight training has other great benefits too. It builds lean muscle mass which increases your metabolic rate. This means your body burns calories even when you aren’t doing anything. Just lying in the sunshine with your lean muscle mass you are burning more calories than a person with less lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass you have, the easier it is to manage your weight without requiring a super-strict diet.
Flexibility
The third key component of a good exercise plan is flexibility. Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint. It's usually the poor cousin of the fitness regime. It is the area that does not directly relate to weight loss, therefore many people do not prioritise it. However a limber body forms the foundation for your cardiovascular fitness and strength. When your muscles are more pliable you reduce the risk of injury in both your exercise and your everyday life.
When cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility come together you create multidimensional fitness that you can use in a variety of ways to achieve a variety of goals.