The Best Fitness Exercises For a Healthy Lifestyle
There’s almost nothing that exercise can’t fight or prevent, and it’s a hugely important part of any healthy lifestyle. Even a moderate exercise program that requires you to move your body for two hours per week can reduce your risk of disease, improve your mood and make you feel and look better, physically and mentally. It can also boost your life expectancy, allowing you to live healthier and longer.
The best fitness exercises target multiple muscles at once and work your entire body. Compound exercises like the standing overhead press, squat and pull-up help build muscle mass and burn calories. They’re also easy to perform at home, without needing a gym membership or expensive equipment.
Aerobic exercise, which involves moving your body at a pace that gets you breathing harder and faster, is an essential part of any fitness routine. It helps you burn fat, lowers blood sugar levels and builds strength. It’s recommended that you do two to three hours of aerobic exercise per week, and it can be anything from swimming and dancing to walking and cycling.
While it’s fine to do aerobic exercises on their own, fitness experts recommend combining them with strength training and flexibility exercises to get the most out of your workouts. Flexibility and balance exercises, such as yoga, tai chi and pilates, can improve your posture and balance, while strength training will keep your muscles strong and reduce your risk of injury.
Adding weights to your strength workout can help you burn more calories and tone your muscles, but it’s also important not to overdo it. To avoid injuries, it’s best to use a weight that tires your muscles by the last repetition (rep) of the set and is challenging but still allow you to maintain good form.
For example, if you’re doing a standing shoulder press, start with your feet no more than shoulder-width apart, hold the bar above your head and brace your core. When you press the bar overhead, you should squeeze your shoulder blades together. Lower back to your starting position and repeat for 10 reps.
When choosing your strength training exercises, aim to do them on two or more days of the week and do a few sets for each exercise. You can use free weights, resistance bands or your own body weight to achieve your goals. It’s recommended that you warm up before and cool down after your workout to reduce the risk of injury.
If you’re a beginner, it’s recommended that you begin with the Big Five, which are exercises that target several major muscles at once. Bench press, deadlift, squat and pull-up are the most effective exercises for building strength. If you’re unsure how to do them, find an expert who can teach you the correct technique and provide support.
