Exercises - The Three Main Types

Many people love to exercise. Not only does it bring long-term fitness and health, it also gives you a fantastic short-term buzz, and can increase your overall well-being. There are all sorts of exercise routines that you can try, but generally most can be put into one of the following categories:
1. Cardiovascular Exercises
These are the exercises that get your heart pumping, your brow sweating and your lungs working overtime. Cardiovascular exercise is excellent for increasing your overall fitness and stamina. It has also been proven to strengthen your heart and other organs, making them perform better and more efficiently.
Popular cardio exercises include running, cycling and swimming. To get the most from cardiovascular exercise you should do it three or four times a week at regular intervals. Focus on improving your performance over time, for example by running further or faster.
2. Weight Exercises
If your primary focus is on building muscle, strength and size then weight you should focus on weight training. This typically involves shorter bursts of more intense exercise than cardio training does.
When training with weights you should choose a handful of exercises which work lots of musculature, such as the squat, bench press and row. You must also ensure that you get adequate rest between sessions, in order to give you muscles to repair themselves and grow. Twice a week is a good regime for most people, although some may find that even that doesn't give enough rest time.
3. Flexibility Exercises
Finally, some people would prefer to focus on improving their flexibility and range of motion. This can be particularly beneficial if you are recovering from an injury or operation, or for older people who want to fend off aches and pains.
Flexibility and stretching exercises are typically done in a slow, controlled manner. You should not be worn out after performing them - if you are, you're doing them too fast. However, you should still feel like your limbs have been well worked.
Of course it is possible to combine these different types of exercise to give a well balanced overall fitness regime. Bear in mind though that your body needs time to recover from all three types, so if you're doing too much it may actually end up having a detrimental effect on your body.


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Paul loves to exercise, and uses a variety of routines to provide and varied and balanced exercise regime. When he isn't working out he loves to write and design websites, such as his latest site about garden tool storage which includes information about finding the perfect garden tool organizer to keep your tools neat, tidy, and accessible.