Now that you know what to put into your mouth, let’s talk
about exercise.
Exercise plays a key role in maintaining good health and
fitness. It boosts your energy, improves your mood, promotes better sleep and
improves your overall quality of life.
Being fit requires you to exercise. As long as your diet is good, weight loss will be the least of your concerns. You’ll be more
focused on how you can improve at the sport/fitness activity you have taken up.
Depending on what your goals are, you’ll have to tailor your
workouts. Here, I’ll talk about the different types of exercise and their
effects on the body.
Physical exercise can be broadly classified into three
types:
1.
Aerobic exercise
2.
Anaerobic exercise
3.
Flexibility
Aerobic
Aerobic exercises cause the body to use more oxygen and
primarily make use of carbohydrates and a smaller amount of fat.
This includes all forms of exercise which can be done
repetitively, for a long amount of time. Running, cycling, swimming and certain
sports (such as tennis and rowing) are aerobic exercises. In general, these
forms of exercise help improve cardiovascular endurance and skill in a
particular sport/activity.
Aerobic exercise usually works the type 1 muscle fibres.
They generally burn calories more efficiently (more calories per hour of
exercise). Recovery from aerobic exercise is quick and as a result, can be
performed every day.
Anaerobic
Anaerobic exercise requires energy very quickly and use the
glycogen stored in muscles.
This includes exercises where one has to be very explosive
for short amounts of time. Sports such as American Football, Weightlifting and
100m dash are examples of anaerobic exercises. They usually help improve the
strength and size of muscles and athleticism.
Anaerobic exercises typically work the type 2a and type 2b
muscle fibres. They run out of energy very quickly (about 30-45 seconds) and
the muscle takes a couple of minutes to replenish its glycogen stores. This
type of exercise causes micro-tears in the muscles, and as a result, the body
rebuilds this muscle stronger and bigger, in response to the stimuli.
Type 2a and 2b muscle fibres have much greater size and
strength potential as compared to type 1 fibres whereas type 1 fibres have a
greater aerobic capacity.
Flexibility or Mobility
It is the ability of a muscle to elongate itself. A muscle
must be able to move through its full ROM (range of motion) without pain.
Both exercise and inactivity often lead to tightening and
shortening of muscles. This can affect posture as well as optimal use of the
muscles. Muscle imbalances caused by inflexibility can lead to joint pain such
as knee pain and shoulder pain. It can prevent injuries occurring due to
incorrect form as a result of being too tight.
Foam rolling, static stretching and exercising with proper
form help improve mobility and flexibility. Stretching for about 10 minutes every
day can be enough to see good progress.
What you must remember is this a broad classification of
exercise. Running doesn’t just work the aerobic system; it works the anaerobic
system too, albeit to a lower extent.
Similarly, powerlifting isn’t just a purely anaerobic form
of exercise. High repetition squats and deadlifts can work the aerobic system
to a certain extent.
The mistake most of us make is to neglect one form of
exercise for the other since we don't like it. Some people (like me) find
steady state cardio boring. What I do instead is incorporate some HIIT
(high-intensity interval training) into my weekly routine. This way I’m
improving my overall fitness while still enjoying what I do.
In my next post, I’ll talk about how to find your goal and
what you should be doing to achieve it.
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