The type of exercise to meet your goals

Regular exercise helps to keep you in good health and prevent illness, but it also has psychological benefits as it promotes mental well-being: it improves self-esteem, memory and mental alertness, promotes positivity and improves rest.

The type of exercise you choose to do should not only depend on your preferences, but also on the goals that you want to achieve. Some people exercise to lose weight, others want to gain muscle mass, some exercise to relax and unwind and others simply want to stay fit and reap the many benefits.

Aerobic exercise

This type of exercise increases your heart rate, works your muscles and makes you breathe faster and harder.

So, aerobic exercise keeps your heart, lungs and blood vessels healthy, as well as improving your fitness.

This type of exercise includes: walking, cycling, swimming, running, etc.You should exercise with moderate-high intensity for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week. When combined with a healthy diet, exercise helps you to lose weight.

Anaerobic exercise or strength training

These exercises are characterised by the endurance and strength required to perform them. With strength training you can maintainstrong muscles and bones, tone your body and improve your posture, while also building muscle and burning fat.

As you build muscle mass your body’s calorie expenditure increases, as muscle burns more calories even when at rest, helping you to lose weight and look more athletic.

Strength training can be donewith resistance bands, dumbbells, weightlifting machines or simply with your own body weight.

To enjoy the benefits of this type of exercise, you should do it two or three times a week, working all the muscle groups of your body. The intensity should be varied, starting with light weights and gradually increasing the weights and/or number of repetitions. You can also combine it with aerobic exercises, which you can do at the end of the workout to continue burning fat.

Flexibility exercises

It is essential to stretch your muscles regularly so that they do not lose their elasticity or shorten. Doing this type of exercise improves the range of motion of your joints, reduces stiffness, and lowers the risk of injury.

This type of exercise includes disciplines like yoga, Pilates and tai chi, which improve flexibility and elasticity, relaxing and stretching your body in different positions that you have to hold while controlling your breathing.

It is best to do these every day for a few minutes at a time, to increase your flexibility and strength, help you to relax and rest and improve your circulation, balance and posture.

*These are standard recommended times, intensities and frequencies. They will vary according to your goals, age and fitness. Professionals should oversee high-intensity workouts, especially if you have health problems or want to lose weight.