How to Choose the Right Exercise for You

Whether you want to lose weight or get fit and improve your health, there are a variety of exercise programs to choose from. If you're primarily looking to build muscle strength, you'll need to add weightlifting or an equivalent intensity program to your exercise program (weightlifting or body sculpting type exercises are not recommended for those with heart conditions). The most ideal exercises for building muscle flexibility are those with stretching movements, such as yoga. If you are trying to lose weight, jogging or cycling may be most effective. If you primarily want to eliminate aggression and frustration, you can try a competitive exercise program. If you just want to get outdoors, then hiking or gardening are great. High-intensity hiking (like the Sierra Club does, for example) builds strength and endurance.

Aerobics is the key to fitness

Aerobics allows the heart and muscles to function more efficiently ? s ability to absorb and utilize oxygen, and can help burn fat. The benefits of aerobic exercise far outweigh those of other types of exercise, so when you want to exercise, and you want to do it efficiently, aerobic exercise is the way to go.

Benefits of aerobic exercise include:

1. Promote health - aerobic exercise can increase vitality, relieve stress, relaxation, and make you feel more confident in your own hands and feet.

2. Make the heart stronger - a strong heart can be fully oxygenated blood to the whole body, reducing the incidence of heart disease and high blood pressure.

3. Burn fat - burning fat needs oxygen, aerobic exercise can help the body in the "aerobic" state, can burn more body fat.

Many people find it helpful to increase the variety of exercise options to improve motivation. It's best to do aerobic exercise three or four times a week, such as jogging and cycling, and social exercise such as tennis or body sculpting twice a week. It's a good idea to include two different types of exercise programs in your fitness program to prevent boredom from doing the same kind of exercise all the time.

Running

Running (or jogging) has been the most popular form of aerobic exercise for many years, presumably because of its convenience. The only equipment you need is a pair of running shoes, and often, all you have to do is step outside your house to start running. Running is one of the best of many exercise programs for weight loss because it causes body fat to burn quickly. Numerous studies have proven that running is also good for overcoming depression, as it increases the levels of endorphins and 5?hydroxytryptamine in the brain. As mentioned above, running reduces anxiety by metabolizing excess adrenaline as well as relaxing tense skeletal muscles. A three-kilometer jog four or five times a week (about 30 minutes at a 10-minute mile pace) can be effective in preventing obesity and soothing moods.

Disadvantages of running: excessive running can cause damage to the joints of the legs. Especially if you run on hard surfaces, the constant vibration to the joints can cause injuries to the feet, knees or back.

Here are a few things you can do to minimize the risk of injury:

1. Wear properly fitted shoes, which minimize the shock to your joints.

Run on soft surfaces as much as possible, preferably grass, dirt, paths or on hardened beaches. Avoid running on concrete surfaces. It's OK to run on asphalt if your shoes are hard-wearing, but don't run on it every day.

2. Do some warm-up exercises before you start running. Try jogging for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Don't jog every day, change to other patterns.

If you can't run outdoors because of bad weather, soft ground, fog, or traffic, then you might consider spending money on an automatic treadmill. To keep the exercise from getting boring, place the treadmill in front of a TV or VRC.

Swimming

Swimming engages many different muscles throughout the body. Doctors often recommend swimming to people with musculoskeletal problems, injuries, or arthritis because it minimizes the shock to their joints. Swimming doesn't help you lose weight like running does, but it helps to sculpt your body.

For an aerobic workout, freestyle swimming is best done for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, four or five times a week. For a moderate, relaxing workout, breaststroke is a good choice. Typically, it is best to swim in a pool with a water temperature of 24°C-27°C.

The biggest downside to swimming is that the water in many pools is chlorinated. Chlorinated water can irritate your eyes, skin or hair, and the membranes of your upper respiratory tract. You can get around this by wearing eye protection and/or nose plugs. If you're lucky, you can find pools that use hydrogen peroxide or ozone as a sanitizer, both of which are less irritating than chlorine.

Cycling

Cycling has become a very popular aerobic activity in recent years. Cycling brings many of the same benefits as jogging, but the difference is that it doesn't shake your joints. For aerobic purposes, cycling requires a high level of intensity, and it requires you to travel at a speed of about 15 kilometers per hour or more on a flat surface. Cycling is great fun when the weather is good, especially if there are no cars on the road you are cycling on or if that road is a specially designed bike path and the scenery along the way is beautiful. If biking is not allowed because of bad weather, you can use an indoor stationary pedal bike.

If you're thinking of cycling outdoors, you'll need to spend money on a good bike first, and make sure you get a bike that's the right style and size for your body - it's worth it to spend a bit more on a bike with a well-dampened seat.

Regular bike racing bikes are more suitable for the average dieter, as sitting up straight on a bike is much more enjoyable and relaxing than sitting hunched over.

Once you've started cycling, give yourself a few months to slowly get up to 24 kilometers per hour (a moderate speed of 1.6 kilometers per 4 minutes). An hour's ride three or four times a week is enough. Always wear a helmet and try not to ride at night.

Aerobics

Most aerobics classes are instructor-led warm-up stretches and cardio exercises, often to music. These classes are usually run by health clubs and have beginner, intermediate and advanced classes depending on the level of the participants. Because some exercises can injure your joints, try to find aerobics that have a low impact on your body. Aerobics . Instructional formats may be a great way to motivate you to participate in exercise. If you are looking to exercise on your own and would prefer to stay at home, there are tons of great aerobics videos available.

If you do decide to do aerobics then make sure you have good shoes so that your feet are stable, don't wobble and are less likely to sprain. If possible, it's best to do these exercises on a wooden floor, not on carpet if possible. Exercising 3 to 5 times a week for about 45 minutes to an hour (including warm-up) is sufficient.

Walking

Walking has advantages over all other forms of exercise. First of all, walking does not require training. Secondly, apart from a pair of shoes, walking requires no equipment and can be done almost anywhere - even in a shopping mall if need be. Injuries are less likely to occur with walking than with any other type of exercise. Finally, walking is the most natural form of exercise. All of us enjoy walking. Unless someday the society is used to sedentary lifestyle, walking is a part of the habit of life.

General walking helps in relaxation and leisure, and to achieve walking fitness, one must walk about 3 kilometers per hour at a brisk pace. Walking for 20 to 30 minutes is generally not enough to achieve aerobic fitness. If you take a walk as a form of regular exercise, you will have to walk 4 to 5 times a week, preferably outdoors. If you find that an hour's walk is not enough, try walking with a weight in your hand or on a slope.

To get the best results from your walks, proper posture is important. Allowing your arms to swing naturally on either side of your body with your stride will help to harmonize the left and right hemispheres of your brain. Good shoes are also important. Look for a pair of well-fitting shoes with air cushioning, a proper arch and a firm heel.

Once you can easily walk three to four kilometers without stopping, consider spending a day or day and night hiking in a rural area, state or county, or national park. Hiking in the great outdoors can rejuvenate your soul along with your body.