Varied components of complete fitness

Fitness is an important aspect of overall health and wellness. It is for this reason that incorporating an adequate fitness program into your lifestyle is one suggestion you often get from your healthcare provider. What are the basic components of a complete fitness program? Well, they include cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility exercises.

Cardiovascular exercises: Any exercise that increases your heart rate, thereby, increasing oxygen and blood flow through the body. By doing so, cardiovascular exercises allow for maximum calorie burn and strengthening of the heart and lungs. Cardiovascular exercises may vary in intensity; ie: From a low intensity brisk walk, for instance, to a higher intensity sprint, cycling, climbing, and so forth. For how long and how much cardiovascular activity should you do, you might ask?

          -For the maintenance of good health: 30 minutes of moderate (when still able to talk while exercising) activity 3-5days/wk OR 20 minutes of vigorous (can hardly talk while exercising) activity 3days/wk

          - For weight loss: 1-1.5 hours 3-5 days/wk

Strength training exercises: Any activity that increases lean muscle mass and strength. They include weight lifting, resistance training, and the like. Lean muscles also play a major role in calorie burning, so it’s important to include strength training exercises in your fitness regimen.  For how long and how much:

-Light weight, longer repetitions

-Heavy weight, shorter repetitions
 

Flexibility exercises: Any activity that allows your muscles to stretch. It might sound a little mundane but believe or not, stretching is as equally important as cardio and strength training as it allows the muscles to return to a relaxed state, which prevents injury, maintains agility, thus, increase fitness level. Exercises in this category include stretches (calf, triangle, quadriceps, butterfly, child pose, etc…) as seen in yoga and Pilates.

 

 

For how long and how much:

-Can be done any time of the day



Well, that’s it guys! I’ll talk to you later.

Xoxo,

Patience

 

 

Sources

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00038
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