Living a Healthy Life -- Wellness and Physical Fitness
Classes:
Introduction > Take the Test > Nutrition and Meal Preparation > Exercise and Physical Fitness > Prevention and Regular Check-Ups > Special Considerations > Conclusion
Types of Exercise > Common Terms > General Guidelines For Exercise > Maintaining a Healthy Weight > Quick Tips for Exercise On the Go!
Types of Exercise
There are many different kinds of exercise (walking, running, swimming, dancing, and weight lifting, to name just a few), but three basic types of exercise. A good exercise program will include some combination of all three of these types of exercise:
Cardiovascular
Cardiovascular exercise improves and strengthens your heart, lungs, and circulation and helps people lose weight. Cardiovascular exercise is any type of exercise that raises your heart rate to a 'target zone' (determined by your age, weight, and health). Some of the most commonly discussed types of cardiovascular exercise include running, aerobics, bicycling, walking, and stair climbing, but could also include dancing, skating, skiing, martial arts, tennis, or any type of exercise that raises your heart rate.
Strength Training and/or Muscle Endurance
Strength training helps you by making you stronger and giving you better endurance (so you can do things longer). This makes day-to-day activities easier and reduces your chances of injury. While many people think of weight lifting when they hear 'strength training', there are many different types of exercises you can do to improve your strength (and you don't have to be a muscle-man or woman to do them.) Some common strength training exercises include sit-ups, push-ups, and using nautilus machines, strength bands, and free weights.
Flexibility
Exercises that increase your flexibility give you greater range of motion in your joints and make your body more supple, again, making day-to-day activities easier and reducing your chances of injury. Many people do specific stretching exercises to increase their flexibility but other types of exercise (such as dancing, yoga, and martial arts) can also improve flexibility.
Next: Common Terms
