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What type of exercise is right for you?

Posted by on 25 November 2009 | 0 Comments

Exercise helps us to burn calories and lose weight in two different ways. Firstly, it causes the muscles of the body to do more work. Secondly it raises raising our metabolic rate (the amount of calories we burn while resting). This is because muscle is more metabolically active than body fat. So physical activity leads to immediate calorie expenditure during a particular workout, and also helps us to continue burning extra calories even when our fitness routine is over. There are two basic types of exercise: aerobic and anaerobic. The word aerobic means "with oxygen". Aerobic exercise refers to physical workouts that require oxygen to be delivered to the muscles (via the lungs and blood supply) over an extended period. Aerobic activities (eg. walking, jogging, swimming, jumping rope, roller-blading, rowing and general sports like football and tennis) are typically sustained for a period of time, rather than short bursts of effort. Aerobic training is often called "cardio" exercise because it strengthens the cardiovascular (heart) and respiratory (lungs) systems. The word anaerobic means "without oxygen". Anaerobic exercise refers to fitness routines (eg. lifting weights) that don't rely on oxygen for fuel. Anaerobic workouts typically involve short bursts of energy, which are powered by non-oxygen fuel sources such as adenosine triphosphate and glycogen stored in the muscles. The best type of activity for instant calorie-burning is aerobic training. The best type of activity to raise metabolic rate and increase "longer-term calorie expenditure" is anaerobic training, like weight-lifting. The ideal training program involves a combination of both these types of exercises. In saying that, there are a lot of factors that determine the right exercises for you. What do you like to do? Why are you exercising? Do you have any physical limitations? Do you want to train outdoors or join a gym? These are all questions you should ask yourself before you start a regular exercise routine. It is very important to choose a fitness activity that you like to do. Your goal is to stick with the program, so you should not choose activities that you dread. For example, if you don’t like to run, you will not want to get yourself out of bed early in the morning to go for a jog. If you aren’t a co-ordinated person then you may not want to join an aerobics group at the gym. Perhaps you like the outdoors and you may wish to join an outdoor training organisation. Of course if you are not a fan of exercise at all, maybe you could just pick an activity you dislike the least. Walking is a good example. If you don’t like the idea of traditional exercise, then perhaps you can try sports like golf (leave the cart and walk) or tennis. Both are great exercise without seeming like a fitness program. Tennis may be too intense for the beginner, but golf is great for anyone. In the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you choose. The important thing is that you get out of the house and get moving.