Regular physical activity is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health, happiness, and fitness. Moving more and sitting less creates tremendous benefits for everyone, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or current fitness level.
While the type of movement we do does matter,I will go more into detail about that in a little bit, at the end of the day any movement is better than no movement.
Finding success in the gym with our health & fitness goals is often the catalyst that leads to the pursuit of healthy habits outside of the gym as well.
The hard won results from our workouts help us to realize we are capable of doing difficult things, and often this realization leads us to look for opportunities to improve in other areas of our lives.
Each successful challenge we overcome today in the pursuit of self improvement keeps us motivated to reach for the next step on our path to success tomorrow—every small victory helps us continue each day to be better than yesterday.
There are lots of different ways you can move but depending on what your goals are, some types of movement pack more bang for your buck.
Here are some various types of movement and why they matter…
- Cardio (walk, run, swim, bike, jump rope, row, etc.) – Cardio helps us to increase our VO2 Max (our bodies ability to utilize oxygen as an energy source).
- Resistance Training (lifting, bands, machines, etc.) – Resistance training helps us to have strong bones, healthy organs, and build or maintain muscle mass.
- Gymnastics (body weight movements like air squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups) – Gymnastics helps to build our proprioception, also known as our “sixth sense”; it is our awareness of our body position and movement.
All of these movements require the use of energy (aka they help us to burn calories which allows us to maintain or reduce body fat), and they help us to create more “feel good neurotransmitters” (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, etc.) that boost our mood!
Combined, these movements help us to look good, and feel good; they help increase both how healthy we are today and how healthy we remain over time (longevity).
At Tradewinds, we are committed to teaching you how to best move your body and approach workouts to maximize performance and reach your goals. Click below to schedule a time to chat with us more about it!