The Different Types of Exercise - What's Best For a Healthy, Fit Body?

By B. Martin

What's the difference between different types of exercise? Doesn't all exercise do the same thing? Isn't exercise just for weight loss? Do you have questions like these, or wonder why you should incorporate exercise into your life?

Well, if you want to enjoy life more by having a body that can "keep up with you" and not get tired quickly, one that can do the things that you need and want it to, like take a nice long walk on a beach, plant a new garden on a nice sunny day, play a great round of golf, dance all night or even just climb some stairs without feeling like you're gonna die, AND look and feel great, then incorporating exercise into your lifestyle is the activity that will allow you to do those things!

So what about all these different types of exercise? All I hear about exercise is that it's connected to weight loss or getting a fantastic-looking body. Been there, done that, didn't get results? That might be because the concept of just eating less and exercising more is flawed and inaccurate.

Having a great body means having a healthy body. It's not as simplistic as less calories in/more calories out (although there is some truth to it), so throw that idea away and let's get real about the purpose of exercise and what it actually does for your body.

Our bodies require physical activity and exercise to function properly. In other words, if we don't provide our bodies with regular physical activity, they don't work well and are very likely to develop illnesses. That's probably why exercise is frequently categorized as "preventive medicine" - which gives exercise a sort of negative purpose.

But the positive effects of regular exercise are feeling good mentally and physically and a much greater ability to enjoy life. Improving my health and energy and feeling good are definitely greater motivations than "preventing illness" and focus on a positive goal.

There are only 4 different types of exercise and the body needs ALL of them to work its best. There are are a lot of myths about when or how you should or should not do certain kinds of exercise which are generally a bunch of hogwash. As you'll see, each type helps the body in a different way and all different types of exercise are essential for a healthy, happy body!

Cardiovascular exercise: "Cardio" refers to the heart and "vascular" refers to the blood vessels of the body. Cardiovascular exercise strengthens and improves the condition of the heart, lungs and circulation of blood. Cardiovascular exercise is the type of exercise that improves your level of energy and endurance.
To enjoy good health and a proper weight, you need a strong heart that pumps oxygen and nutrients to nourish every cell throughout your body.

Strength exercise: This is any type of exercise that uses weight and/or resistance to increase the strength of muscles. Bodybuilding and weightlifting are simply specialized sports that use strength exercises. Our bodies need strength exercise to keep our muscles in shape and to maintain bone density.
Back pain is often the result of weak muscles. Strength exercise is also the type of exercise that really beefs up metabolism and "burns more fat," melts off inches and weight because of improvement to muscle tissue.

Flexibility exercise: If you can't turn and move and bend easily, then you know what it's like to suffer from limited flexibility. Flexibility exercise improves the range of motion of your joints and allows you to move more freely and naturally. Stretching and yoga are types of exercise that improve flexibility and contribute to a great body.

Less commonly known are balance and coordination exercises. Older people may notice the need for improving balance and coordination more than younger people - but certain illnesses and medications can negatively affect coordination and balance so it's not necessarily an age-related issue. Balance and coordination are abilities you want to maintain, (have you ever tried to walk when your balance was off?) and fortunately, the other types of exercise will improve balance and coordination too.

So now you might be asking, how the heck do I get all these different types of exercise, much less even a little more exercise in my busy life, especially something effective and enjoyable? Is there such a thing?

B.B. Martin discovered that there is such a thing and has been using it to regain her health and energy after some serious health issues. Join her and others who have discovered the joys of mini trampoline exercise at https://www.improving-health-and-energy.com/mini-trampoline-exercise.html and find out the benefit of this easy, fun and amazingly effective physical activity for practically any lifestyle and level of fitness.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/?expert=B._Martin

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

NatMedTalk and Beyond

That's a very good article!

Cardio, soon.....still babying the knee
Weight training, check
Flexibility, checkish
Balance & coordination, needs work

I've been thinkin' about doing ballet again and the only thing stopping me is I'd have to start over as a beginner. Shame I didn't move to FL when my cousin did as she's still teaching & I wouldn't feel silly being the biggest kid hahaha

T'ai Chi might be a better option at this stage of the game.

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Where has BB Martin been?

Also, the best aerobic exercise is the one you do not do. Let me explain: I love the stair machine, but I have done the stair stepper for 20 yrs. My body is use to it. I did an exercise bike the other day and it kicked my butt, mainly because I am not use to it.

I took a Tai Chi class a looong time ago, maybe twice a week for 6 weeks, and really enjoyed it. The teacher was an older man named Jaquinto Runes (sp?) and he was well respected and admired.

BB hasn't posted on the forum since late last year. She's a smart lady with good advice, that's why I've been posting some of her articles. I hope she's doing okay, I'll PM her and let you know if she replies.

I remember her from when I first joined.

BB was very nice to reply to my message. She is doing just fine, and her health continues to improve. She's been very busy learning new things not only to improve all areas of her life, but also to help others. Here's her blog for those who would like to visit.
Improving health made simple.