Let's Talk Workouts

Working out is one of our greatest tools in life.  It can help us achieve our fitness goals, elevate our mood, ready our mind, and reduce our stress.  It's one of the best ways to care for our bodies and make sure we live long, healthy lives. And while working out can be a simple 30 minute walk a day, our body benefits more when we add variety to our routine.  Which is why switching up our workout class or adding in a new exercise, is the best way to achieve optimal health.  

So what workouts are there and which ones should we do?  We've got it covered, just follow along:

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is the most common exercise, and more than likely, something you already do when it comes to working out.  It includes walking, jogging, running, biking, swimming, dancing, and much more. But what makes an exercise aerobic? Anything that gets us breathing hard and boosts our heart rate for an extended period of time, making it an excellent choice to keep the heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy.  However, our body can easily reach a plateau if we choose the same endurance exercises over and over again. Luckily by switching the activities up or increasing our distance/pace, we'll achieve much better results. 

HIIT 

HIIT, or high intensity interval training, also falls into the cardio category, but instead of being aerobic, this form of exercise is anaerobic.  Unlike aerobic exercise, where the body receives a constant flow of oxygen to sustain an activity level, during anaerobic exercise, the body needs more oxygen than its able to get.  While this sounds scary, its highly effective and why HIIT workouts are gaining in popularity. By relying on other sources of energy, like stored glucose, our body is still able to meet the demands of the high intensity, but for shorter periods of time.  So what does a HIIT workout entail? High intensity activities, followed by rest, followed by more high intensity activities. It's truly a circuit where you give everything you have for 30, 60, or 90 seconds and then rest for a similar amount of time before going hard again.  Not only will you be able to burn a lot of calories using the HIIT method, but it will be in a shorter amount of time.

Strength Training

We love strength training and it’s of key importance to maintain muscle composition as we progress through life.  By using weights, resistance bands, or our own body weight, we are able to build or maintain muscle to carry out day to day tasks.  Squats, pushups, planks, lunges, crunches, and more fall into the category of strength training and are highly important to include in our weekly workout routines.  And while we don't have to set aside an hour every day to working hard in the weight room, adding in strength training a few times a week can be a huge benefit for our health.  With maintaining our muscle tissue, building our strength, and improving our bone health, strength training definitely deserves to be incorporated into our workout routines.  

Flexibility Training

While often left forgotten, flexibility training is highly valuable.  Not only does stretching regularly keep us limber, it's the best way to prevent injury and ensure we are able to accomplish our regular everyday activities.  By simply taking the time to stretch before and after exercise, our body is able to recover quicker and reap the benefits of flexibility training. Yoga, anyone?

While it's easy to have favorites and get stuck in a routine, varying our workouts is the best way to maximize the benefits of exercise.  Not only will our bodies see a major difference, but our overall health will too!

XOXO, 

Flex it Pink