Types of Exercise

Physical activity is defined as any movement using the body's large skeletal muscles that burns calories.¹ When combined with a reduced-calorie and healthy eating plan, exercise provides health benefits, promotes weight loss and is a key factor for sustaining weight loss.² A comprehensive exercise plan includes aerobic, flexibility and resistance components.³

Aerobic Activity
Aerobic exercise uses large muscle groups in a continuous and rhythmic way. Examples include walking, bicycling, dancing and stair climbing. Aerobic activities can be done at differing levels of intensity. While all aerobic activity burns calories and contributes to health benefits, improvements in cardiovascular fitness are proportionally linked to increasing intensity levels.⁴

Recommendations for the amount of aerobic exercise vary depending on the desired outcome. For body weight, it has been determined that most adults within the recommended weight range include 1 hour or more of moderate intensity aerobic activity each day.⁵

In addition to burning calories and enhancing cardiovascular fitness, aerobic exercise reduces the risk for metabolic syndrome, improves feelings of happiness and enhances cognitive function.^6,7

Flexibility Exercise
This type of exercise includes range-of-motion activities that use the muscle/tendon groups. Examples include yoga and stretching. Current recommendations state that flexibility exercises should be done at least twice per week.⁸ Stretching before engaging in a high-intensity activity that requires jumping or bouncing can reduce the likelihood of an exercise-related injury.⁹ And flexibility exercises can help reduce stiffness from resistance training and improve performance.¹⁰

Resistance Exercise
This type of exercise includes muscle-strengthening activities that build muscle and bone mass, such as lifting weights. Current recommendations include resistance training on two to three days a week with a focus on major muscle groups.

Resistance training is the most effective way to preserve lean body mass, improve muscular strength, and increase endurance. And there is increasing evidence that it may significantly reduce the risk of several chronic diseases.¹¹ For example, even a short bout of resistance training has been shown to have a positive effect on bone health.¹²

View footnotes

Other Science Library Topics:

• Exercise Intensity Levels
• Body Weight and Exercise
• Exercise and Preventing Weight (Re)Gain

¹http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/terms/index.htm

²Wing RR, Hill, JO. Successful weight loss maintenance. Annu Rev Nutr. 2001;21:323-41.

³American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. The recommended quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, and flexibility in healthy adults.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998 Jun;30(6):975-91.

⁴Herzberg GR. Aerobic exercise, lipoproteins, and cardiovascular disease: benefits and possible risks. Can J Appl Physiol. 2004 Dec;29(6):800-7.

⁵Brooks GA, Butte NF, Rand WM, Flatt JP, Caballero B. Chronicle of the Institute of Medicine physical activity recommendation: how a physical activity recommendation came to be among dietary recommendations. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):921S-

⁶Stewart KJ, Bacher AC, Turner K, Lim JG, Hees PS, Shapiro EP, Tayback M, Ouyang P. Exercise and risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome in older adults. Am J Prev Med. 2005 Jan;28(1):9-18.

⁷Kara B, Pinar L, Ugur F, Oguz M. Correlations between aerobic capacity, pulmonary and cognitive functioning in the older women. Int J Sports Med. 2004 Nov;26(3):220-224.

⁸Blair SN, LaMonte MJ, Nichaman MZ. The evolution of physical activity recommendations: how much is enough? Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):913S-920S.

⁹Witvrouw E, Mahieu N, Danneels L, McNair P. Stretching and injury prevention: an obscure relationship. Sports Med. 2004;34(7):443-9.

¹⁰Wilson GJ, Elliott BC, Woods GA. . Stretch shorten cycle performance enhancement through flexibility training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1992 Jan;24(1):116-23.

¹¹Hass CJ, Feigenbaum MS, Franklin BA. Prescription of resistance training for healthy populations. Sports Med. 2001;31(14):953-64.

¹²Whipple TJ, Le BH, Demers LM, Chinchilli VM, Petit MA, Sharkey N, Williams NI. Acute effects of moderate intensity resistance exercise on bone activity. Int J Sports Med. 2004 Oct;25(7)496-501.