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Fitness Basics

Staying active is one of the keys to living a healthy lifestyle. Being fit means you have the ability to perform physical activities. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week in addition to strength training exercises at least twice a week.

Before starting any exercise program, it is important to check with
your doctor about any possible medical concerns. If you’re new to
exercise, consider making an appointment with one of our certified
personal trainers to help you develop a safe, effective, and
enjoyable exercise program.

There are a few basic components to any fitness routine. Those components include Aerobics, Muscular Strength & Endurance, Flexibility, and Body Composition. A complete fitness program should be geared toward improving each of these areas. When starting a fitness routine it’s important to take those things into consideration and then build something that works for you at each stage of your fitness journey.

Aerobics

Aerobic exercise is a type of physical activity that increases the heart rate and promotes increased use of oxygen in order to improve the overall body condition. To achieve aerobic fitness, you must participate in some form of aerobic exercise, which is also referred to as cardio, or cardiovascular, exercise. Aerobic exercises include: Walking, Jogging, Running, Bicycling, Dancing, Swimming, etc.

Strength

Strength training not only makes you stronger but it also helps strengthen your bones, ligaments, and tendons. All of which will give you better balance, more power, the ability to recover quicker, and help reduce your risk for injury.

StretchingFlexibility

Flexibility is the ability to move your muscles and joints through their full range of motion. The more flexible you are the less likely you are to injure yourself during daily activities. As we age, our flexibility tends to deteriorate, often due to an inactive lifestyle. Without adequate flexibility, daily activities become more difficult to perform. Over time, we create body movements and posture habits that can lead to reduced mobility of joints as well as compromised body positions. To increase and maintain your flexibility you should stretch all major muscle groups prior to and during each workout. Those muscle groups include: Arms, shoulders, upper and lower back, thighs, hips, groin, and calves.

Body Composition

Body composition the percentages of fat, bone, water and muscle in our bodies. Because muscular tissue takes up less space in our body than fat tissue, our body composition, as well as our weight, determines leanness. This measurement is a clearer indicator of your fitness because regardless of what you weigh, the higher percentage of body fat you have (especially in the abdomen), the more likely you are to develop obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. In order to improve your body composition, you should vary your fitness routine and keep it balanced with both strength and aerobic exercises. The percentage of body fat that’s ideal for you will vary based on your gender and age. Women naturally have a higher body fat to lean tissue ratio than men, and body fat naturally increases with age.

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