Fitness Types

 Type of Exercises

1- Cardio-respiratory or Aerobic Exercise

2- Strength or Resistance Training

3- Balance Training

We are going to go through the different types of exercise.

1- Cardio-respiratory or Aerobic Exercise

     All right, let's roll. The first type of exercise is cardio-respiratory or aerobic exercise, which in general is any type of exercise that raises your heart beat. Your respiratory and cardiovascular systems work together to deliver oxygen you breathe to all parts of your body, and doing regular cardio exercise sessions strengthens both of these systems and many of the organs in them.

Photo by pexels

 There are different types of cardio exercise, and they're usually based on heart rate and exertion. Steady-state cardio is keeping a constant pace for a  specific distance or duration, such as walking or jogging. Even performing everyday tasks such as cleaning the house, walking the dog, or working in the yard can be considered a moderate form of cardio. Interval training is another type of cardio where you may walk for three minutes and jog for   seconds, repeating this cycle for a specific time period. Circuit training can also be a form of cardio, combining some strength exercises with cardio-based exercises. For instance  exercises like side-to-side hops, side dumbbell raises, lunges, and push-ups. You can take short rests between the exercises or do the complete circuit, take a rest, and then do the circuit again. And more advanced athletes can do HIIT, or high-intensity interval training. An example of this would be to maybe sprint for  seconds, then walk for   seconds, and repeat this cycle for eight bouts. This would be a one-to-one ratio, and the ratiocan be changed, as many athletes do a two-to-one ratio, sprinting for seconds and walking for seconds.

2- Strength or Resistance Training

The next type of exercise is strength or resistance training, which in general is any type of exercise that requires a muscle or group of muscles to exert force. Resistance training can help improve strength, stamina, increase bone density, improve sleep, and it can also make many everyday tasks easier, such as climbing up stairs or carrying groceries into the house. There are many different types of ways to perform strength training exercises.

                                                                        Photo by Pexels

You can use free weights, such as dumbbells, which are very efficient as they allow for a full range of motion and work more stabilising muscles. Resistance bands are very versatile as all you need to use them is something to wrap them around, which in many cases can be your own body. Bands are great at providing what is called progressive resistance, which means they provide an increase in resistance throughout the range of motion of the exercise. Exercise machines provide another way to do resistance training. Most of these machines are based on a cable pulley system to provide the resistance. Bodyweight exercises are another way to perform resistance training. In these types of exercises, your body is providing resistance against gravity. There are many other ways to perform strength training exercises, such as with medicine balls, suspension trainers, and exercise balls.

Flexibility

Flexibility exercises are the stretching of muscles and tendons to improve joint range of motion and physical function. 

  

Photo by Pexels

There are many types of stretches to improve flexibility, with the two most popular being static stretches and dynamic stretches. Static stretches consist of slow movements into a peak position, then holding that position. Dynamic stretches involve moving parts of the body through a full range of motion while slowly increasing the reach or speed of the movement. 

3- Balance Training

The next type of exercise is balance training. Having good balance can help to prevent falls and injuries, improve neuro-muscular connections, improve athletic performance, and make many everyday movements easier. There are three main types of balance: stationary balance, motion balance, and offset balance. 

                                  Photo by Pexels

Stationary balance is when your body is not in motion, so standing still on both feet requires balance. Doing alternating movements like alternating curls or side raises or single-leg exercises, such as standing on one foot and holding the other foot off the ground, or even doing single-leg arm curls, can help improve stationary balance. Motion balance is exactly what it sounds like; the ability to balance yourself during movement. A great example of this is lunges. Doing a front lunge, where you step forward, or especially a back lunge, where you step backwards, requires a great deal of balance and coordination. Box or platform jumps are another movement that requires balance as you stick the landing. Offset balance is where one side of your body holds a weight, or each side of your body holds a different amount of weight, so doing a single arm side raise is an offset balance exercise, or doing a lunge while holding a dumbbell on one side of your body is a combination of offset and motion balance. The next type of exercise is coordinated movements, which is the ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently. Using your hands and feet to drive a car, or walking and scrolling through your phone, are a couple examples of coordinated movements.

Photo by Pexels

A few exercises to improve coordination include tossing a ball against the wall and catching it as it returns to you; dribbling a basketball while jogging and alternating hands; kicking a ball against the wall and stopping it as it returns to you; doing jumping lunges with alternating feet; and you can even combine strength training movements like doing a squat with an arm curl to a shoulder press; or a bent-over row to a kickback to help improve coordination. Both balance and coordination are neuro-motor exercises that really strengthen your ability to move easily and more efficiently. Many people overlook these types of exercises in their workout routines, so you need to make sure you're not neglecting them.