Listing of Exercise Activities for Activity Levels

You probably know that exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, but there are a number of other benefits associated with regular physical activity, including some you may not be aware of. According to MayoClinic.com, exercising a few times a week can help you fight illness and disease, combat depression, promote better sleep and give you more energy throughout the day. No matter what your current level of activity, it’s important to develop and maintain a varied fitness routine that includes both cardio and strength-training exercises so you can reap all these benefits. Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran fitness buff, there are lots of different exercises to try.

  1. Beginner Cardio

    • If you are new to cardio, repeat this mantra: Take it easy. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is starting off too strong and then burning out due to exhaustion or injury. You need to focus on gradual increases in intensity and duration for your cardio activities. You might start with walking three or four days per week for 15 minutes, working on increasing your pace and the length of your walk as you become more fit. Bicycling, swimming or aerobics are also cardio workouts that can also be done at a lower intensity, or you can hop on an elliptical trainer or rowing machine if you have them available.

    Advanced Cardio

    • Advanced cardio exercises are appropriate for people who have experience working out and have maintained a strong level of fitness. These exercises are much more demanding and require a high level of strength and endurance to complete. Advance cardio activities include: jumping rope, sprinting, running split intervals or going to a spinning class. Mountain climbers and stair sprints also provide a high level of intensity for your cardio workout.

    Beginner Strength Training

    • Strength training exercises result in stronger muscles and a more toned physique. These can be done with either weights or your own body weight for resistance. Like cardio, if you’re just starting out, you need to take it easy and don’t overdo it on weights or reps. For example, during the first week, do one set of reps on exercises such as crunches, glute bridges and side planks, resting for 30 seconds in between moves. As your level of fitness increases, you can advance to exercises such as push-ups or pull-ups, or you can do more challenging variations of these, such as one-handed push-ups or weighted pull-ups. If you want to strength train with weights, basic moves, including bicep curls, triceps extensions and leg presses are good for beginners.

    Advanced Strength Training

    • Advanced strength training can be done primarily by adding more reps or weight, but there are also certain exercises that are more challenging simply because of the way they’re done. For instance, stability ball pikes or medicine ball push-ups are more difficult not just because of the physical strength required but also the balance and concentration needed to do them. In the weight room, you can add in super sets, which are different exercises done with virtually no rest in between or forced repetitions with heavy weights and the assistance of a partner.