A Change is as Good as a Rest – Alternative Exercise Options to Try

“Variety is the pleasure of the soul” – Alphra Behn (Poet)

Choosing alternative types of exercise to follow is not only good for motivation, it is also important for your overall health. Specific exercises have different specific functions and benefits to our body. Some exercises improve your strength, while others increase your endurance and some will make you more flexible.

Think of your body like a motor car, it is not just the main engine that you need in good condition, you also want to maintain the oil levels, your breaks, suspension, wheels and so on. If you want the car to be in perfect status before you head for a long drive and prevent unwanted accidents there are preparations to be made.

It is the same thing with our body, yet it is still common to find ourselves so engaged and fixated in one specific exercise routine that we may neglect other areas of our overall fitness health. It can be possible for you to have a physique like a superhero, and yet you can’t even manage to climb up a few stairs without gasping, or perhaps struggle while reaching to your toes.

Your physical fitness is multidimensional, and you need to be attuned to that fact in order to achieve a proper balance in your health and wellbeing. Lucky for you, this article will introduce a few alternative types of exercise that you can consider adding to your workout week if not already there.

Cardio

You may have heard of the phrase “Cardio is Hardio” before, and it is a often-used quote by those who have come to dislike cardio-aerobic exercises. Well, it may be true in some sense, since cardio challenges your heart and lungs to work more than you may find enjoyable. What you can’t escape though, is that  this is the most popular exercise routine on earth due to its workout effectiveness and an associated wide range of benefits.

Benefits:

With all these great benefits from cardio exercises, maybe it’s time to change that phrase into “Cardio is a must dio (do)”, if you catch my drift?

Basically, any rhythmic workout routine that will elevate your heart rate into your target heart rate is considered a cardio exercise.

Some of the possible exercises to try are: brisk walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, and so on. As you can see, the range is so vast that everyone can find something they can do. Isn’t it about time to go grab the leash and take the dog out for a walk? 

Resistance Exercises (Weight Training)

This is an area where all the gym bro’s will surely excel. Resistance exercises involve using weights / loads such as dumbbells, resistance bands and other gym machineries and equipment to challenge the muscles and initiate a body response for muscle growth (hypertrophy).

Benefits:

If you are looking to get bigger, leaner and a generally better physique, you should definitely try resistance exercises. But keep in mind while you do that, the actual changes in your body will be noticeable only after a 8 to 12 week period of doing resistance training, so don’t get discouraged if you see little to no improvement in your first few weeks of this training, just remember that consistency is the key to success here.

Calisthenics

If you are looking for something different, an exciting and less structured exercise that looks really cool, then calisthenics is a must for you! Calisthenics are exercises that only use your own body weight, and do not rely on anything else to achieve muscle strength and growth.

These exercises are performed at varying intensities and rhythms, and you can alter your body positions and degrees of inclination to make the movements progressively much harder and to challenge your muscles more.

Benefits:

Flexibility Training

If you are into dancing and moving around a lot, then including some flexibility exercises into your routines may be just the ticket for you!

Some people are born with higher levels of natural flexibility than others, but this doesn’t mean that those who aren’t will forever have their body held stiff like a log. Exercises that facilitate flexibility and mobility are often neglected during workouts, but including them can add many benefits to your workout.

While such stretching exercises do not exhibit the same physical development effects as weight training and cardio will do, we must not overlook their positive impact on our body.

Benefits:

Yoga

Maybe what you prefer is a more quiet and stress-free exercise session, far away from the pumping action of the gym and its sometimes too loud motivational music? If so, you may want to try some yoga for a change.

While the origins of yoga stretch back over thousands of years, it has in more recent times evolved and split into different branches that are tailored to specific philosophies, although its core principle remains the same, which is the interaction between the mind and the body.

Yoga uses different techniques simultaneously during the exercises, such as breathing patterns, relaxation techniques, meditation, isometric muscle contractions, and balance exercises.

Benefits:

While it is quite aesthetic seeing a yoga session in a calm environment, and the sense of improving your mind and body at the same time attracts many people to this art form, not all yoga’s are created equal (some are more strenuous than others) and you should look carefully into which branch best suits you before committing

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

If your life is too busy and you have very little time for your workouts, then you should consider HIIT. This exercise method is increasingly popular  with many people, particularly those who seek thrills and adrenaline over the course of their workouts.

HIIT can let you achieve the benefits of a 2 mile run in just 20 minutes! To do this, HIIT exercise methods involve a period of explosive workout movements, followed by rest, and then another round of  workouts. This approach tries to achieve at least 80 to 95% of your maximum heart rate [which is about 220 – (minus) your age].

That being said, HIIT is not for everyone and must be carefully considered given its highly strenuous nature. In general, a HIIT session should only last for 4 to 15 minutes and  should be capped at 30 minutes to prevent overuse related injuries.

Benefits:

Pilates

Well, if you are looking for an unconventional yet interesting way to improve physical fitness then you could try Pilates. It is an exercise method that is a combination of low-impact flexibility and muscular strength and endurance training originally designed to help improve the body at the same time as the mind and in this way at least, has much in common with yoga..

Pilates promotes core strengthening and improves muscle control and posture. While it is very popular with the middle age group given its slow curve up and clear benefits on muscle tone, core strength and general wellbeing, anyone can try Pilates and experience its benefits and unlike its older cousin yoga, given its medical roots (Dr Joseph Pilates created it to help athletes) some form of Pilates can often find itself included in physiotherapy type injury rehabilitation programs.

Benefits:

There’s a lot of different exercises out there to try, so don’t be afraid to try new things. Keeping your training varied not only improves your mental well being and adds motivation to continue, it also adds balance to your workouts. Choose which exercises will benefit you the most and fit into your lifestyle, but always remember your journey to fitness goals should be a balanced one, and ultimately this approach can bring joy into your life.