Many people embark on an exercise program with the goal to improve health. To achieve optimal health and fitness, you will need a well-rounded program. Why? Because you can’t get healthy and fit by just pumping weights, or just running, or just Yoga!
What type of exercises should you do?
A well-rounded fitness and wellbeing program incorporates muscle strengthening, cardiovascular exercise, balance, flexibility and mobility, as well as something for the mind through either learning new knowledge or skills to build mind-body connection.
We call this the 4 Pillars of Exercise at our studio. A balanced and complete exercise program include all of these –
What does this mean for you?
If you’ve been walking lots in the past, consider adding a couple of strength training sessions into your mix. They don’t need to be long, 30-40 minutes per session is plenty. Not sure how to get started with strength-training at home? Contact our studio to find out how you can take part in our guided strength classes.
If you’ve been following a few Yoga videos each week, consider adding a couple of cardiovascular exercises to the mix, as well as strength training sessions. They’ll round off your weekly exercise program nicely! Contact our studio to find out how you can take part in our guided cardio and strength classes.
How much exercise should you do?
To stay fit and healthy, the Australian Department of Health recommends 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise), as well as muscle strengthening exercise every week.
Moderate intensity exercise means you are able to talk while doing them. Vigorous intensity exercise means you are unable to talk while doing them. Muscle strengthening exercise involves weight-bearing training (body weight or free weights), as well as resistance training.
One important thing to note is that when you do vigorous or strength training, be sure to fit in rest days for your muscles to repair. Your body needs recovery time for it to get the full benefits of exercising. Recovery doesn’t mean you must be inactive; walking, or a gentle Yoga session is perfect for a bit of ‘active’ recovery.
What does this all mean for you?
The exercises that you do need to be suitable for you and your goals.
Every person and their goals are unique. However, as a general rule, we would recommend exercising at least 3-4 time per week, each time being 30-45 minutes for best results. These training sessions could be mix of strength training and cardio exercises.
Exceptions to this rule include people who may have specific injuries or health conditions, which means they cannot train so regularly. On the other hand, for people who want to lose weight they may need to do more.
How does Leap’s exercise program help you achieve optimal health?
At Leap, our classes offer you a good spectrum of all aspects of exercise that your body needs. You can meet your recommended amount of exercise by doing a range of classes at the studio a few times a week! Below is a summary of what you get from each of our main stream classes:
* Functional Training can be both moderate intensity, and vigorous intensity exercise, depending on the exercise options you take in class.
Example of a well-rounded exercise program at Leap:
(This is an example only. There are many ways to create your own fitness and wellbeing program incorporating a mix of Leap classes, according to your needs, goals and interests. If unsure, ask your friendly Leap team help put together a program for you.)
