The Best Exercise Hack for Maximum Results

Introduction

Here’s the best advice you’re going to get about exercising.

There are different types of exercise routines that you can do. All these routines claim that they are the best.

In this article, I’m going to show you the mechanism behind exercise so you can understand the anatomy of exercise and think with the underlying principles. That way, you won’t waste your time on fruitless exercises.

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Exercise explained

Exercise is any form of movement that causes your muscles to work and requires your body to burn calories.

There are many types of physical activity, including running, swimming, walking, dancing, and jogging, to name a few.

Studies have shown that being physically active has many health benefits. Exercise has both physical and mental health benefits. It may even lengthen your lifespan (1).

Aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise

Exercise is divided into two major categories: aerobic and anaerobic exercise. We will describe each of these categories below:

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Aerobic exercise

The aerobic exercise aims to improve oxygen utilization by the body. Most aerobic exercises take place at average levels of intensity over extended periods.

An aerobic exercise session involves warming up, doing at least 20 minutes, and then relaxing. Most forms of aerobic exercise use large muscle groups.

Benefits of aerobic exercise include:

· Lowers blood pressure

· Improves the strength of muscles in the heart, lungs, and the entire body

· Improves blood circulation in the muscles

· Aerobic exercise increases erythrocyte counts to boost oxygen transportation

· It minimizes the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes (2)

· It improves life expectancy and symptoms for coronary artery disease patients (3).

· Aerobic exercise stimulates the growth of bones and drastically reduces the risk of osteoporosis when performed at a high intensity.

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Anaerobic exercise

Anaerobic exercise does not use oxygen for energy. Instead, this exercise builds strength, power, and muscle mass.

Anaerobic exercises are high-intensity exercises that should last a maximum of 120 seconds.

Examples of anaerobic exercises include:

· Sprinting

· Weightlifting

· Isometrics

· Fast and intensive skipping with a rope

· Interval training

· A burst of intense activity

All forms of exercise are beneficial to the lungs and heart. However, anaerobic exercise provides fewer cardiovascular health benefits than aerobic exercise. This is because it also uses fewer calories.

But it is important to note that anaerobic exercise is more effective than aerobic exercise for strength improvement and muscle building.

When you increase muscle mass, your body will burn more fat, even when resting. The muscle is the most efficient tissue for fat burning in the body.

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What is exercise intensity?

When you’re engaged in aerobic activity, like biking or walking, the intensity of the exercise correlates with how hard the exercise feels to you.

Exercise intensity also reflects in your heart rate and breathing rate, whether or not you are sweating, and the tiredness of your muscles.

It is important to note that there are two ways to gauge exercise intensity:

· How you feel

· Your heart rate

Regarding how you feel, it is worth mentioning that exercise intensity is how hard you feel the physical activity while you are engaged in it — your perceived exertion. Your perceived level of exertion may differ from what another person feels performing the same exercise.

For example, you may feel exhausted after running hard, but another person may feel like an easy workout.

Your heart rate offers a better view of exercise intensity. Generally, the higher your heart rate during an exercise, the higher the intensity of the exercise.

Perceived exertion may differ from your heart rate level, depending on the individual. But it can be a general guide to measure your exertion level. If you think you’re working hard, your heart rate is probably higher than usual. You can use either way of gauging exercise intensity.

If you like technology, you can check your heart rate with an activity tracker that includes a heart rate monitor. You’ll likely do fine without a monitor if you feel you’re in tune with your body and your exertion level.

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Not exercising has some risks

A sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of the following health problems:

· cardiovascular disease

· type 2 diabetes

· cancer

· osteoporosis

It can also contribute to an increased risk of premature death from all causes, including the complications of being overweight and obese.

In many parts of the world, including the United States, the number of overweight and obese people continues to increase rapidly.

According to the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that researchers did in 2013–2014 across the U.S., more than 2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese.

The same survey found that around 1 in 13 adults have extreme obesity and face an increased risk of severe health complications.

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Takeaway

You’ll see the most benefits if you do both anaerobic and aerobic exercises. This combination will help you maintain your muscles and endurance.

If you build up to doing the high-intensity workout required for anaerobic exercise — you only need to do the workout one to two times per week.

An excellent example of a high-intensity workout is high-intensity interval training or HIIT.

On the other days of the week, you need to recover or try aerobic exercise. You can do aerobic exercise three to seven days a week.

Disclaimer: Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Correction to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or product you obtain through this article or others.