5 Of The Best Exercises You Can Ever Do
With all of the craziness going on in the world today it can be difficult to know what to do to stay healthy. This week we thought we would share some of the best exercises you can do to stay healthy. These exercises are great if even you’re not an athlete, or trying to be serious about exercise, and are just trying to make healthy decisions. Some of the best physical activity for your body doesn’t even require a gym or require you to be fit enough to run a marathon. These activities help maintain weight, strengthen bones, improve balance, fight off chronic disease, and can even help fight memory loss.
Swimming is a great activity and many may call it the “perfect” workout. The buoyancy of water supports your body and helps to take the strain off of overloaded joints. This is a great option for people with arthritis who have a hard time exercising on “dry land.” Swimming is a great full body workout, but water aerobics are another great option.
Walking is what our bodies are designed to do. It’s not only simple, but packs a whole bunch of health benefits from the heart, lungs, bones, muscles, cholesterol levels, and brain, just to name a few. It’s good to start with short spurts about 10-15 minutes and build up to 30-60 minutes for the full benefits of walking. All you need to start this activity is a good supportive pair of shoes.
Tai Chi is a chinese martial art that incorporates movement in combination with breathing techniques and is good for the body and mind connection. It’s often referred to as meditation in motion and is a great option for people who are looking for a healthy activity that doesn’t require you to sweat. It’s often recommended for elderly adults because balance is important as we age to prevent falls, and countless studies have shown doing tai chi can help reduce fall risk.
Kegel exercises. These ones don’t do anything for your looks, but they’re great for maintaining pelvic floor muscle strength. These are the muscles that help support the bladder and prevent incontinence. Men benefit from these exercises just as much as women do. To do kegels properly, squeeze and relax the muscle you would use to stop urination or prevent you from passing gas.
Strength Training. If you believe strength training is a macho activity and all it does is bulk up muscles, think again. Lifting light weights help keep your muscles strong and won’t make you “bulk up.” If you’re trying to lose weight, but aren’t strength training, then you’re doing it wrong. The more muscle mass someone has the more calories their body has to burn, and the easier it is to lose or maintain weight. Proper form is important with any strength training program and is even important for lifting just 1 or 2 pounds. It’s good to start low, just 1 or 2 pounds, and work your way up from there.