Time for Exercise

Trying to get fit? Exercise is very important, but there are four kinds of exercise you should do in order to get the maximum benefit.

The first type is cardiovascular or endurance exercise. If you do at least 30 minutes a day you are helping your body build endurance. Don’t stress about finding 30 minutes all at once. Even breaking it up into 10 minute sessions three times a day will help you tremendously.

In this kind of exercise, you want to push yourself just a little. You don’t want it to be so easy that your heart rate and respiration rate don’t increase, but you want to be able to talk comfortably throughout your routine as well.

Next, you want to exercise your muscles. Healthy, strong muscles are always a good thing. You don’t need to bulk up unless that’s the look you’re going for, but you want strong muscles for your entire life.

As you age, strong muscles also help to keep you from breaking bones by helping to not fall. Most broken bones in older people are the result of falling, but if you have kept your leg muscles strong, you are less likely to fall. As you get to that stage of life, it also makes being a grandparent more fun… which would you rather be? The grandparent with a blanket in his or her lap and staying inside all the time or the one playing in the park with the grandchildren?

The third type is balancing. You don’t have to do much, just simple things like standing on one foot, then the other, heel-toe walking or getting up from a chair without using your hands.

Finally, stretch! A well done stretch feels good. It’s not painful. Stretching will help you to move more freely, and you’ll be more flexible. It’s also just fun. Just watch a cat enjoy a good stretch.

Each of these activities is important to overall fitness, even though some take more time than others. Find a balance between them that is both healthy and in line with what you want to achieve.