Whatever your fitness level from beginner to an experienced gym-goer, creating a fitness plan that is balanced is key to succeeding in achieving your goals. While you may want to have a stronger focus on certain areas such as building muscle, losing weight or improving heart health, you should incorporate several aspects of fitness to ensure your workout routine is maintainable and balanced. With that in mind, there are five key things to include in your workout regime: cardio, strength training, core exercises, flexibility/mobility, and rest. These are five pillars of a well-structured fitness routine and in this blog, we’ll run through why you should include them all.
Cardio
For many people the mere thought of cardio is daunting, but it is a cornerstone of building a good workout routine. Cardio fitness includes exercises that raise your heart rate, with the recommendation from experts being that you should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate cardio exercise a week or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise a week. These exercises would include things like walking, swimming, cycling, HIIT, and much more, with the amount of time spent performing such exercises increasing as your fitness improves. The reason cardio is crucial to your routine is that these exercises help with the flow of oxygen as well as blood around the body, benefitting vital organs such as the heart and lungs while building stamina along with the added bonus of burning plenty of calories as well as a boost in endorphins which aid in mental well-being.
Examples of Cardio Exercises
- Running
- Walking
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Rowing
- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
- Skipping Rope
- Dancing
Strength Training
Another key component of a balanced fitness routine is strength training. This ranges from bodyweight exercises like push-ups to the use of free weights or weight machines and again is a brilliant asset for maintaining or losing weight. Strength training should be something you incorporate into your regime as it increases bone and muscle strength, while aiding in joint health and boosting your metabolism. There are misconceptions around strength training as people think of it aesthetically, however, especially as you get older it should be a certainty in your workout schedule as it enhances your functionality greatly, allowing you to perform everyday tasks more easily and decreasing your risk of falls.
Examples of Strength Training Exercises
- Weightlifting
- Push-Ups
- Resistance Bands
- Pull-Ups
- Squats
- Shoulder Press
- Bicep Curl
- Lunges
Core
Core exercises are often overlooked as engaging your core is incorporated into many other forms of training, but it is still a good idea to set aside time to focus on just your core. Your core includes the muscles around you stomach meaning your lower back, abdomen, hips and pelvis, all of which combine to allow your lower body work in tandem with your upper body as well as supporting your spine. A strong core improves your balance, posture and stability, while also improving functionality along with boosting your athletic performance across several other areas. Exercises such as planks, sit-ups or swimming are a good place to begin to build core strength and will make daily tasks more seamless.
Examples of Core Exercises
- Planks
- Sit-Ups
- Butt Bridges
- Twists
- Leg Raises
- Bicycle Crunches
- Farmer’s Carry
- Swimming
Flexibility and Mobility
Much like with our core exercises, flexibility and mobility are often touched on in other types of exercise, but it is still important to train for them individually. When looking into these areas think of exercises such as stretching, yoga, foam rolling and so on. These exercises may seem less exciting to some people, but they are vital in improving our range of motion as well as preventing injuries as they prevent stiffness in muscles and joints to make everyday movements easier to perform. Warming up or cooling down after a workout allows your muscles to activate or ease back to a natural state which reduces stress and tension within the body aiding in better recovery.
Examples of Flexibility and Mobility Exercises
- Stretching
- Foam Rolling
- Yoga
- Shoulder Rotations
- Squats
- Dynamic Lunges
- Ankle Rolls
- Knee to Chest
Rest
While exercise is key to achieving your fitness goals, the role of rest cannot be underestimated. Without adequate rest you will be more prone to injuries, burnout and a decrease in workout performance, which can result in you not seeing the results you want. During rest your muscles grow and repair, allowing your body to rebuild itself for your next big session, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay stationary while you rest. If you like to move then you can look to active recovery which means participating in low impact exercise such as walking or light swimming, which give your body time to recover while staying active and putting less strain on the body, however it is important to remember that within your routine sleep is crucial too as this is the time your body recharges fully, so make sure to give yourself time to rest properly.
Examples of Rest and Active Recovery
- Sleep
- Walking
- Foam Rolling
- Stretching
- Light Swimming
- Gentle Yoga
- Short cycle
- Ice Bath
Building Balance
So, there you have it, the five key things to incorporate into a fitness routine: cardio, strength training, core exercise, flexibility/mobility, and rest. A combination of these elements will ensure you maintain a balanced workout regime which engages all the body and helps with injury prevention. The amount of each exercise you incorporate into your routine will differ depending on your personal fitness goals or your starting fitness level, as will the tempo in which you perform them, but it’s ideal to consistently work on each area to maintain that perfect balance. While these are the cornerstones of creating a structured fitness routine, it must be remembered that nutrition is crucial in achieving any fitness goal too and having a nutrition plan to go along with your fitness routine will go a long way to reaching any target.
How Aura Leisure Can Help
At Aura Leisure, our centres have everything you need between our state-of-the-art swimming pools and gyms to work on all key elements of a good fitness routine. Even better still, we offer personalised fitness programmes to help you reach your targets, with Aura Fit for Life ideal for beginners and Aura Lean3 better for more experienced fitness fanatics. We also have a range of fitness classes available to allow you work all parts of the body during a busy schedule. Best of all, our members get access to all of this and much more at no extra cost.