Learn about the most important types of exercise you need in your exercise routine and how they can improve your health and physical well-being.
Our regular exercise routines should involve cardio, strength and mobility exercises, such as stretching and balance, for overall fitness and injury prevention.
Here I'll explain the different types of exercise and their benefits.
Aerobic exercise simply means the body has enough oxygen to produce the energy needed to perform certain activities or exercises for extended periods.
Oxygen is the body's primary energy source during aerobic exercises.
Examples of aerobic exercises are walking, running, cycling, swimming, skipping rope (jump rope), rowing and dancing.
These exercises help strengthen the heart and lungs and help to increase the flow of oxygen to the muscles.
Aerobic exercise has many other benefits, such as burning body fat, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar levels, better mood, and reducing inflammation.
Anaerobic exercise simply means the body can't get enough oxygen to keep up with the body's energy demands. Anaerobic exercises require quick bursts of energy at maximum effort over shorter periods.
The body needs immediate energy during anaerobic exercise and relies on stored energy in the liver, muscles and body fat rather than oxygen.
Examples of anaerobic exercises are strength training (weight training), sprinting, HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and CrossFit.
Anaerobic exercises help to strengthen your muscles and stimulate bone growth. These exercises will help make you stronger and help with burning body fat, balance, and posture.
I'll try to combine anaerobic exercise with aerobic exercise whenever I'm exercising.
For example, I will never sit down and rest after doing a set of resistance or strength training exercises such as a pull-up or push-up (anaerobic exercise). Instead, I'll always use an active rest by simply walking (aerobic exercise) around until I get my breath back and heart rate down before attempting another set.
The lower intensity exercise (walking) helps to facilitate recovery from the higher intensity exercise (pull-up or push-up) while still expending energy and maintaining my fitness.
Becoming fitter and stronger is very beneficial for overall good health, but so is moving freely.
If you want to move comfortably, run better or move without any pain or discomfort, it might not be the lack of exercise but rather the lack of mobility. Unfortunately, mobility is an area that gets neglected, especially as we get older.
Maintaining and improving your mobility as you get older helps you to move easier. Better mobility also helps improve your range of motion and become more resistant to injury when exercising.
Performing a dynamic warm-up before your exercise routine or gym workout is a great way to start. A dynamic warm-up is a series of exercises that helps by stretching a muscle through a joint's full range of motion to prepare your body for a more intense workout.
If you want an online resource that focuses on mobility exercises, check out The Ready State, created by movement and mobility expert Dr Kelly Starrett. The Ready State YouTube channel also offers hundreds of free video tutorials to help you move better.
There are many great and free dynamic warm-up routines online.
Here is an example of a simple and effective dynamic stretch warm-up routine that I've put together for you to use before your exercise or workout routine. If you're unsure how to perform each exercise, you can quickly search on YouTube for video tutorials.
Start with a 5 minute walk or 1 minute of Star jumps. Then perform each exercise about ten times.
Arm circles
Air squats
Single leg RDL
Kneeling hip flexor stretch with overhead reach
Lunge with T-spine rotation
Standing walkout plank