Exercise explained

A regular question is, “What classes do you recommend for me”? My answer (unless someone has specific health risks) ‘If you can afford to do 2 classes a week - go for either 1 intense strength/cardio combined with either Pilates or Yoga. Around your classes - walk, run, cycle, swim.

And this blog, hopefully, explains the difference in exercise and why you need an all-around approach. And maybe we need to view our exercise routine more in terms of our long-term health mentally as well as physically, you know if you lose your muscle strength, it’s going to be difficult to have a full range of movement in your bones, remember muscles moves bones, also remember your heart & lunges are involuntary muscles, they also need training in order to stay strong. 

Exercise is an investment in your long-term health, there are no pills or medicines that can replace exercise, and it’s never too late to start. 

There are several different types of exercise, and understanding what they are, their benefits, and how they can impact you is important for maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. Ideally, we should be targeting the four main areas below. However, the main priority is doing any exercise or activity that you enjoy! This means you are more likely to stick to it long term and have a positive impact on your health.

Here are the main different types of exercise and their benefits:

Strength/resistance

This includes any type of training that involves either weight training (e.g with weights or resistance bands), bodyweight exercises, or a combination of these, Pilates, Power Pilates, and Step FitMIX classes in The Workshop all include strength/resistance. We should aim to build strength 2 days a week to maintain muscle, bone, and joint health. 

The benefits of strength training go beyond helping you to get stronger muscles – it has an overall impact on your health too, reducing the risk of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. It is also important in maintaining muscle mass and function as we age – muscle starts to decline steadily once we reach the age of 30, a process called sarcopenia, showing why it is so important to keep our muscles active as we age. Remember muscles move the bone, so our entire movement pattern depends on strong muscles.

Cardiovascular/aerobic

This involves any type of training that gets your heart rate and breathing rate up, typically over a more prolonged period of time. Aerobic activity has been shown to have a positive effect on both physical and mental well-being. This includes reducing the risk of many conditions such as cancers, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and other cognitive dysfunctions, as well as reducing levels of inflammation in the body and, in moderation, improving immune system function. Any weight-bearing exercise also has a positive impact on bone health, helping to keep bones strong and develop when we are young, and helping with bone repair as we age.

Aerobic and resistance exercises actually stimulate muscles to release certain chemicals that increase the growth of new neurons in the brain, therefore directly affecting brain cell growth and reducing the risk of developing cognitive deterioration later in life. In addition, mood-boosting and analgesic effects have been found due to the release of chemicals such as dopamine and endorphins.

Aerobic exercise can include lots of activities from walking and swimming to cycling, running, and playing sports. The current government guidelines suggest that we should be doing at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, and 75 minutes of vigorous. When exercising moderately, your breathing rate and heart rate should be increased, but you should still be able to talk in short sentences or a few words. Vigorous activity should result in a faster breathing rate and more difficulty talking.

Both resistance and aerobic training are suitable for everyone, as the type and intensity of exercise can be adjusted to suit individual levels or needs. Step FITMIX is currently the class leader in the aerobic category at The Workshop, with Power Pilates in second place.

HIIT (high-intensity interval training)

This is a great way to get in some vigorous cardiovascular activity in a shorter space of time. HIIT involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise (which can be anything from cycling to squat jumps or burpees or interval running), with short recovery/rest periods in between the high-intensity intervals. An example of this could be 30 seconds of hard cycling on a static bike, followed by 30 seconds of easy cycling, repeated 10-20 times. The hard cycling intervals could be alternated with a different exercise such as squat jump or jump lunges to increase variety and challenge! Think Tabata 20 classes like Step FitMIX or Power Pilates.

Balance and flexibility

This is something we should aim to do 2 days a week and is especially important for older adults to maintain mobility and reduce the risk of falls. This can include activities such as tai chi, yoga, Pilates, and dance. These types of exercise also have a positive benefit on mood and general well-being due to the calming and meditative nature of these types of activities.

Some is good, more is better

Although the current guidelines suggest 150 minutes of moderate and 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, this is the minimum recommended amount…you will get better results and benefits for your health if you can do more! Remember, this can include walking, taking the stairs, and cycling. The key is to increase overall activity levels and reduce time spent being sedentary.