Exercise Styles for Your Goals
There are many different styles of exercise and all of them have their own benefits and shortcomings. When you’re starting a health journey, whether it be for physique goals, mental health, spiritual well-being, internal health, or a combination of all of these, it is hard to decipher what style of exercise will truly help you achieve your goals. In order to determine what type of exercise you should put your energy into, you must define your goals specifically, especially goals related to the physical body. Down below are some exercise styles discussed and what physical changes they will elicit if you put effort into them for an extended period of time.
Exercise Examples and Physical Changes
Traditional Weight Lifting (aka. Bodybuilding style training):
Traditional weight lifting implements progressive overload via adding weight load successively as you train over a period of time. Weight lifting is great for anyone who has a goal to build muscle tissue, build strength, and look/feel stronger. Weight lifting is also a fantastic tool when your goal is body recomposition (losing fat mass by way of gaining muscle mass). It is not necessarily the most optimal style for weight loss specifically.
Cardiovascular Endurance Style Training:
Cardiovascular endurance training utilizes long bouts of repetitive movements (i.e. running, biking, swimming, fast-paced walking, elliptical training, etc.) to keep your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen exchange, at an steady, elevated level. This style of training is fantastic for someone with the goal of weight loss and some fat loss. It is not a great choice for someone with body recomposition goals or a goal of gaining muscle mass.
High Intensity Style Training:
High intensity training employs weight lifting, bodyweight exercises, and cardiovascular training in tandem to force short bursts of extremely elevated heart rate via repetitive intense exercise which is broken up by short bouts of rest. High intensity training is tremendously beneficial for fat loss, some weight loss, and although it is not optimal for complete muscular gain, it often does spare muscle mass that is already on the body.
What’s Right for You?
Not all exercise styles were listed here, but they are all extremely beneficial in different ways. Exercise is something that is vital to your health and when you find a style that gets you closer to your goals, that you enjoy doing, and that keeps you healthy, we want you to pursue it, even if it’s not one of the styles you learned about here. Analyze what you want out of exercise and what you want your physical body and cognitive health to be. Whatever type of exercise that aligns with your goals is what we recommend you practice. Your goals may change on your journey, and that’s okay. There are so many different types of exercise so that if your goals change, you can change the way you exercise. Stay consistent in your pursuit of health and you cannot choose wrong!
-Samantha Miller, CPT Zero Doubt Club
