We all know exercise is good for us. But do you ever wonder, what type of exercise is best?
There are so many choices!
Here are ten components to consider in order to be well rounded in your physical fitness.
1. Mobility and motor control. Being fit means moving well in a wide range of motion without pain. If you are super stiff and can’t touch your toes or squat for example, you are probably achy or even in pain sometimes. Basic mobility is a prerequisite for many exercise modalities and is a baseline for a pain free life.
2. Strength. Everyone knows strength matters. If you can’t push yourself from the ground, pick things up or carry things, it makes you fragile and prone to injury and pain. It isn’t just muscles that need to be strong, it is your bones and connective tissues. You can use body weight or resistance to develop strength but some type of strength training is good for everyone. Sarcopenia* (muscle loss) is a disorder that effects many people over 50 but is not necessarily a natural consequence of aging. Strength can be developed at any age and is so important for quality of life.
3. VO2 Max and Heart rate. This is the strength of your respiratory and cardiovascular system. VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen you can utilize during exercise. It’s commonly used to test the aerobic endurance or cardiovascular fitness of athletes. Heart rate is a more commonly used tool used to measure intensity, recovery and cardiovascular fitness. Studies* have shown short bursts of intense activity interspersed with recovery of lower intensity exercise periods actually alter a cell’s DNA to make it act younger. High intensity intervals also enhance memory performance as much as 30% in older adults.*
4. Power. This is a bit different than strength. This refers to the ability to move more explosively and quickly. It is good to move slowly and with control like we do in yoga or pilates to enhance motor control and strength, but it is also good to be able to move quickly and with power. To be more sprightly. 🙂 There are many ways to train power but adding even a little bit of jumping into a routine can help with this. When was the the last time you played hop-scotch?
5. Endurance. There is muscle endurance and cardiovascular endurance but endurance basically means how long does it take you to get tired doing something?
6. Coordination. The ability to pick up a dance move or throw and catch a ball etc. Working on this is super good for your brain.
7. Balance. Good balance is so important, especially as we get older. Falls are a main cause of morbidity and disability in the elderly. More than one-third of persons 65 years of age or older fall each year, and in half of such cases the falls are recurrent. Good balance involves the vestibular system, core strength, vision etc.
8. Consistency. The last three points on this list are things you need to achieve the previous seven. Doing some exercise once in a while won’t really cut it. Exercising 3-4 times a week is required to make gains or even maintain your fitness. We know the skeletal muscular strength deteriorates after a month of not exercising. You start losing muscles after three weeks of inactivity. You lose cardio, or aerobic fitness more quickly than muscle strength, and this can start to happen in just a few days.
9. Variability. Ido Portal* says “If you specialize, you will pay the price.” What this means if you do the same thing repetitively, not only will your body adapt and stop making gains, you will risk injury. For example, yoga (which is a specialized form of movement) is great. I personally practiced only yoga for many years. I had pretty good mobility and was strong in certain ways but my cardiorespiratory fitness was terrible and I was not powerful or particularly coordinated. I had limited strength when it came to pulling and even my pushups never really got better. Instead of giving up yoga, I started to add in more high intensity movements and added more variations in the practice to improve my coordination, power and strength.
10. Recovery. This is one of the most important aspects of good fitness. Rest and recovery are absolutely key to good health and fitness. This is a basic principle of exercise science and is the reason I am so keen on restorative yoga, somatic movement and self massage. No gains can be made in any of the first seven things on this list without making time for recovery.
I have started to design all my classes now with these things in mind. I have short bursts of higher intensity natural movements in the classes which are designed to get your heart rate up. I have flows that require some basic coordination. We are sometimes working with resistance bands for strength training, other times it is bodyweight strength. We are using a tennis ball and somatic practices for recovery. And of course we are working on mobility!
If you want to join us for July – get more information here
The format of the zoom classes emphasizes consistency by encouraging three times a week and makes it easy since you get the recording for a week afterward to do anytime that suits you.
I also try to make it fun, feel good and encourage a sense of community.
If you would like to try a class for free, just shoot me an email and I will send you an invite!