Regular exercise has become the norm in countries around the world looking to stay fit among rising levels of obesity and heart disease in developed countries. Unfortunately, the main reason people quit exercising according to a 2019 survey by OnePoll of American adults at 42% was “not having enough time”.
We’re busy people, we have schedules to meet, families to support and friends to hang out with. At the same time, 63% of participants in the survey thought their habit of not exercising enough will shorten their life expectancy. In short, if we value both our time and ourselves, it’s time to find a way to balance both out.
Deciding on the best workout means getting maximum results in minimal time. You can do this by concentrating on a mixture of high-intensity anaerobic exercises followed by periods of low to medium-intensity aerobic exercises. Incorporating all your major muscle groups in a full-body workout is crucial to ensure you remain on track to reach your fitness goals, whatever they may be.
The 2 Different Types of Exercise
Understanding the difference and making the most of the 2 previously mentioned aerobic and anaerobic exercises are key to a productive workout.
First, aerobic exercise means “with air” and refers to long-term exercises of low to medium intensity. Some examples include running, swimming, martial arts, hiking and playing sports. On the other hand, anaerobic exercise means “without air” and refers to short-term exercise intervals of high intensity. These generally involve the types of exercises we think of when we imagine someone “working out”, this means bench-presses, dumbbell curls, deadlifts, etc.
These very different types of exercises are both very important for your body, but for very different reasons. Aerobic exercise is perfect increasing endurance, increasing flexibility and mobility as well as a host of health benefits such as decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, improved mood, quality and length of sleep among many more.
Anaerobic exercise contrarily is also great for a variety of factors. Anaerobic exercise is ideal for gaining muscle, “of course”, by increasing muscle size and density but it also increases bone strength and density, reduces risk of injury and is the best method of exercise of effective weight loss.
Planning Your Best Workout
Planning your best workout means finding a balance between both aerobic and anaerobic exercises in your routine for the best results. Since 15 minutes isn’t a lot of time to work with, we’ll assume that you plan on making this a daily habit. In that case, it is best to alternate between the two styles one day after the other, Here’s why.
Aerobic exercise, as detailed above, is essentially cardio. While effective for many things, most importantly helping you live a healthier lifestyle, it won’t be as effective in providing the same physical benefits that some are looking for when it comes to finding your best workout.
This is when anaerobic exercise steps into the picture. The only problem is, heavily working out your muscles causes to rip and tear which causes you to feel sore. The muscles thereafter heal and grow stronger during that healing process. The only thing is that this healing process takes time. How much time? At least 48 hours.
This means that for every week, you should have an equal number of cardio sessions involving anything from visiting your local pool, to a quick jog around the neighbourhood or a treadmill interspaced with an equal amount of “workout” sessions involving dumbbell curls, kettlebell squats, deadlifts, etc.
The Full Body Workout
Something that is unavoidable if you want the best workout is knowing how to make the most of the time you have. This means touching on as many key muscular outs as possible, as quickly and effectively as possible, to achieve the best results. The full body workout involves working out all 7 major muscle groups: chest, back, arms, shoulders, legs, calves and abdominals.
A full body workout is crucial because focusing too much on specific muscle groups while neglecting others may result in decreased stability/balance, increased muscle stiffness, increased risk of injury, poor posture as well as not looking your best self, naturally. Here are some of the best examples of the full body workout:
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Dumbbells Bench Press: With proper form, this exercise activates your entire body with your triceps, biceps, pectorals, shoulders, anterior deltoids(back) being involved.
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Dumbbells Shoulder Press: This exercise is especially effective for building shoulder and back strength, as the name suggests. This exercise impacts your upper back, shoulders as well as biceps.
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Dumbbells Goblet Squat: This exercise is great at working out the lower body with the quadriceps and glutes being the primary points of contact.
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Dumbbells Stiff Legged Deadlift: Another great lower body exercise is the dumbbell stiff legged deadlift which activates your hamstring, glutes and lower back all at once.
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Kettlebells Deadlift: This all-rounded full body exercise involves your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abdominals, back, forearms and more!
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Kettlebells Backward Lunge: This exercise may also be done with an overhead version which is only advisable for advanced levels. It affects your lower back, shoulders, triceps, quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and more.
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Kettlebells Farmer’s Walk: This exercise which works wonders for improving grips strength improves your body’s upper back, forearms, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and more.
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Kettlebells Thruster: This high-intensity workout is great for exercising a variety of muscle groups such as guts, hamstrings, quadriceps, triceps, abdominals, obliques and more.
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Push-ups: Believe it or not, one of the most effective full-body workouts is the simple push-up. Whether modified or regular, this exercise works your chest, shoulders, triceps biceps, abdominals and more.
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Squat: Similarly, the squat is an efficient way to build lower body strength. It focuses on your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and more.
For premium quality, convenient and local exercise equipment for the best workout, finding the right fitness store is key. Although there are many that may try to sell you gym equipment, finding the proper fitness store means finding the right place to suit your body’s unique needs as well as your unique fitness goals. Start your fitness regime today and achieve the results of tomorrow.
