There are literally hundreds of different types of exercise that people do around the world to stay fit and keep trim. Although the exercises themselves might differ, what is consistent is that each exercise (if it’s a good one) must contain 3 different elements. These are the warm-up and cool-down, weightlifting and resistance and the cardio part of the exercise. Many people argue about which part of the exercise is the most important, but in the view of many medical professionals, the most important part of your exercise routine is the warm-up and cool-down.
Warm up and cool down
Every exercise routine should have a period of at least 20 minutes for warming the body up and cooling it down before and after exercise. Any good physiotherapist or sports physio would tell you that the warm-up and cool-down part of an exercise routine is likely the most important. It is during this time that you will be getting your muscles and other parts of your body ready for the rigorous weightlifting that will follow. Without this warm up., the muscles, tendons, and other parts of your joints are more likely to be damaged.
Taking the time to warm your body up pays dividends for your exercise routine. Similarly, when you have completed your exercise routine, you need to wind your body down and the best way to do this is with stretching and breathing like your warm up.
Weight lifting or resistance
Weightlifting is part of resistance training that you need to complete during your workout. Resistance exercises help your muscles to get stronger and this has a benefit on nearly every part of your body. Stronger muscles allow you to carry your body more easily and to avoid muscle, tendon, ligament, joint, and bone damage.
Every good physiotherapist will tell you that having weight lifting as part of your exercise regimen is very important in order to keep your musculoskeletal system its strongest. If you look at physio exercises, you will see many resistance exercises are part of the therapy. This is because the benefits that weightlifting and resistance offers the body. Weight lifting, or resistance training make up about 20 uninterrupted minutes of your exercise routine.
Cardio
Every good exercise routine should have a part of it that focuses on raising your heart rate. The heart is a muscle and it needs to be worked out like any other muscle in order for it to be its strongest. When you do cardio as part of your exercise routine you keep the heart in an elevated state for a sustained period of time. Over time and the heart muscle strengthens.
You also strengthen your circulatory system and your lymphatic system as a result. Cardio activity causes more vital fluid to be pushed through these systems and as a result the systems get stronger and more capable of pumping life-giving fluid throughout your body. When you exercise, you should do cardio that keeps your heart pumping at least 70% of its capacity and cardio should make up least 30 minutes of your workout.
Use this guideline to know if a fitness routine will help you to be the fittest possible.