Designing your own fitness routine may require a lot of work and considerations at first. But if you do it right, you can achieve your fitness goals with much ease and fewer delays. A balanced workout plan is a comprehensive session that aims to target the muscle groups in your body. What’s more, it is ideal for boosting overall physical well-being.
However, it’s vital to understand that improper or excessive exercise can impact your dental and overall health. We recommend you visit your dentist or physician for professional advice. For people with special dental cases like abnormalities in the jaw or teeth, kindly seek advice from clinics with proper orthodontic appliances to ensure you won’t worsen your condition, especially when doing intense workouts.
After all that, you can then proceed with your workout plan. So, let’s now dive into the five most important components of balanced fitness training.
Mobility exercises
Flexibility and stretching are important components of a well-rounded training program. Including mobility exercises in your routine is beneficial to improve your balance, allow you to move more effectively, and reduce the risk of injuries.
Stretching is known for improving our joints’ range of motion and promote good posture. At the same time, it can also help relieve tension and stress. You can do some stretches before or after your workout. If you do not exercise regularly, at least do some stretching three times a week to maintain flexibility. Yoga is a great example of mobile activity.
Experts say that allotting at least 15 minutes for mobility exercises every day can prevent injuries such as slipped disc and torn rotator cuff. You can do a stretch or walk for 5-10 minutes before starting your other workout routines.
Strength training
Another significant element of a good workout routine is muscular fitness, which boosts muscular fitness and bone strength. This is essential if you’re looking to lose some weight or enhance your performance in daily activities. Ideally, you should do this type of exercise at least twice a week.
For this, you can use handheld and homemade weights like plastic bottles filled with sand or water, especially if you don’t want to invest in an expensive gym membership. You can also include pull-ups, leg squats, abdominal crunches, and push-ups.
Aerobic fitness
Also referred to as endurance or cardio workout, anaerobic exercise is ideal for improving lung and heart function. This type of workout helps our blood vessels, lungs, and heart efficiently transports oxygen throughout our bodies. With that, you can easily accomplish routine physical tasks.
For a good set of aerobic exercises, you can start with basic physical activities such as dancing, walking, jogging, and biking. Or, you can also do sports or high-intensity interval training or HIIT. For moderate aerobic routines, it’s advisable to spend at least 150 minutes a week. As for vigorous aerobic exercise, you can do 75 minutes every week. It’s also recommended to spread out such activities during the week. Alternatively, you can try high-intensity interval training that involves 30 seconds of short bursts of intense activities and three to four minutes of light exercise for recovery periods.
Core exercises
Another crucial component of a fitness training program is core strength. Often neglected, these exercises target your core muscles, including your lower back, abdomen, and pelvis, which connects your lower and upper body movements. This exercise helps train the muscles to brace the spine, allowing you to effectively utilize your lower and upper body muscles. Some examples of activities that use your body’s trunk without support include valslides, bridges, sit-ups, or abdominal crunches.
Rest
Working out can cause your muscle tissues to get broken down, which is why it is important to have breaks to rebuild them. It’s important to have adequate rest periods in your fitness routine to minimize the risk of injuries and ensure your immune system is still in good condition. Most of all, you will be tired for long hours. Surely, you don’t want that to happen, right?
Make sure that you’re having a proper workout recovery, which includes healthy meals, enough sleep, and plenty of hydration. Always listen to your body when you exercise. Take breaks when you feel great discomfort or pain.
Whether you are opting to work out at home or in the gym, make sure to incorporate all these elements in your fitness training session. Bear in mind that you don’t necessarily have to include all of them in everyday sessions. Aim for balance and rotate them so you can have a well-rounded routine for the entire week.
