It is universally known that exercise is good for us. It offers documented health benefits and is probably one of the best tools we have to fight obesity, some types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. At the same time, it can be hard to put that knowledge into practice. There are so many different suggestions on the types of activities and the ideal frequency, it can lead to information overload and overwhelm.

The most important thing to know is some exercise, any type of exercise, is better than no exercise. Here’s a complete breakdown of exercise and all the components you need to set up a workout program that meets all your needs.

Benefits of Exercise

It’s always a good idea to remind yourself about all the amazing things exercise can do for you, both physically and mentally. Not only is it motivating to remember why it’s so important, but it also helps shore up the commitment you need to get up every day and move your body.

The wonderful thing about exercise is that you don’t need much to get the benefits. Even just a few minutes a day can improve your health and well-being. Here are just some things exercise can help you do:
• Boost your mood
• Give you more energy
• Help you sleep better
• Increase bone density¹
• Improve your confidence
• Improve your quality of life
• Lose weight
• Reduce stress²
• Reduce your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer
• Relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety²
• Strengthen the heart and lungs³

Just think about it. Exercise is the one thing you can do every day that you’ll always feel good about. Even if it’s just a 5-minute walk, you’ll improve your health and do something good for your body and mind.

Keeping It Simple

The most common or popular types of exercises are cardio, strength training and flexibility. These three types of exercises are undoubtedly what most people will do when they exercise. They are popular for a variety of reasons like, they are not difficult to do, they are commonly done by many or there’s a supportive community for each type. ^I

Cardio

Cardio exercise is an activity that does a repeated movement which also works the heart rate at a progressed intensity for a consistent amount of time. Examples of cardio exercise include, brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming and cycling. Cardio exercise simply improves our stamina. It makes our heart stronger and brings with it a lot of other benefits.

Strength Training

Strength training exercises are traditional weight training exercises that focuses on improving muscle strength and increasing muscle mass. Strength training workouts are normally planned around the targeted muscle group for the day. Examples of weight training exercises include, bodyweight exercises, dumbbell exercises and free weight exercises. On top getting our muscles stronger,  strength training exercises also helps us to boost our metabolism, increase bone density and also prevent injuries.

Flexibility 

Flexibility exercises are mainly stretches that helps us improve our range of motion. Examples of flexibility exercises include yoga and pilates. Other than improving flexibility, flexibility exercises also helps to reduce muscle tension & risk of injuries, improve range of movement & blood flow to muscles and also improved posture.

Are they all important?

Cardio, strength training and flexibility are all important types of exercises. Do we have to do them all? Yes, but not everything in the same workout. It also depends on what your fitness goal and workout objective is. It is all about proportioning them out according to what your goals are. Here are some examples:

• If your goal is to train for a 10km, 21km or full marathon, at least 60% of your training should be proportioned to cardio and the remaining to be split between strength and flexibility exercises.
• If your goal is to get stronger, improve body composition, lose weight or be more muscular, at least 60% of your training should be proportioned to strength training and the remaining to be split between cardio and flexibility exercises. Yes, you did not read wrongly that if your goal is to lose weight, strength training will be more important than cardio exercises!
• If your goal is to improve posture or flexibility or reduce stress, at least 60% of your training should be proportioned to flexibility and the remaining to be split between strength and cardio exercises.
• If your goal is to maintain your fitness with no specific focus, you may evenly balance and mix your workouts between cardio, strength and flexibility exercises..

The examples given above are general guides based on the various goals. You may also follow other guidelines or customised programs given to you by a personal trainer.

These are just basic guides to make it simple for those just getting started. If you’re not new and have a more advanced goal, head on over to Fitness 102, where we go into further detail about other components of fitness.

The FITT Principle

When we fail to plan, we plan to fail. Most people still exercise without an exercise plan, do whatever exercises they are familiar with and try to a little more than what they used to do. Most of the times, these same people will also repeat the same exercises, in the same sequence, at the same intensity (or a little more) and for the same duration! They do this because they don’t have a plan. Doing the same exercises over and over again but expecting different results is called the insanity workout!

There are some basic principles that govern the world of exercise, and knowing them can help you set up and manipulate different components of your workout.

What Is FITT?

Use the FITT acronym to remember the exercise variables you can change to avoid plateaus and to keep your body challenged:
• Frequency: How often you exercise (3-5 times a week)
• Intensity: How hard you exercise
• Time: How long you exercise
• Type: The type of exercise you’re doing (e.g., cardio, strength, flexibilty.)

When you work out at a sufficient intensity, time, and frequency, your body will improve (also called the Training Effect)⁴ and you’ll start to see changes in your weight, body fat percentage, cardio endurance, and strength. When your body adjusts to your current FITT levels, it’s time to manipulate one or more of them.

For example, if you’ve been walking three times a week for 20 minutes and you’ve stopped seeing improvement, you could change your program in one or more of the following ways:
• Frequency: Add one more day of walking.
• Intensity: Add short bursts of jogging, speed walking, or hill training.
• Time: Add 10 to 15 minutes to your usual workout time.
• Type: Do a different activity, such as cycling, swimming, or aerobics.

Changing any of these variables every four to six weeks can help you keep that training effect going.

References:

1. Benedetti MG, Furlini G, Zati A, Letizia mauro G. The Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Bone Density in Osteoporotic Patients. Biomed Res Int. 2018;2018:4840531.
2. Vina J, Sanchis-gomar F, Martinez-bello V, Gomez-cabrera MC. Exercise acts as a drug; the pharmacological benefits of exercise. Br J Pharmacol. 2012;167(1):1-12.
3. Your lungs and exercise. Breathe (Sheff). 2016;12(1):97-100.
4. About Training Effect. Forerunner 935.
5. https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/ace-answers/exam-preparation-blog/4883/practical-application-of-the-ace-ift-model/
6. https://www.acefitness.org/fitness-certifications/ace-answers/exam-preparation-blog/4883/practical-application-of-the-ace-ift-model/