The Best Workout Tips: Why You Should Exercise
1. It can save your life-really! Regularly
doing cardio and strength training reduces your risk of heart disease,
diabetes, and endometrial, colon, and breast cancers. The American Heart Association recommends exercising for 30-60 minutes on most days to reduce your risk of heart disease. (Whoa. This push-up test might be able to predict whether you'll have heart disease later in life.)
2. You'll feel less stressed and happier. Exercise
has been proven to improve your mood and decrease anxiety. Studies show
that the fitter you are, the better you'll be at handling the long-term
effects of stress. One moderately intense 50-minute aerobic workout has
been shown to significantly lower anxiety levels. And a study in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine found that exercise may be more effective than drugs in treating mild to moderate depression.
3. It strengthens your bones.
Exercise increases bone density, helping prevent osteoporosis.
High-intensity activity, like jumping and running, is most beneficial
for preserving bone mass.
The Best Cardio Workout Tips
4. Always warm up and cool down. This
exercise tip will help you maintain your mobility and flexibility and
prevent injury. Take 5-10 minutes to gradually raise your heart rate at
the beginning of a workout and lower it afterward. Before strength
training, do low-intensity cardio that recruits larger muscle groups
like your legs, back, and core. Try this quick warm-up before every exercise sesh.
5. Take this jump-rope challenge. "The
best cardio workout is the jump-rope double-turn maneuver," says
Michael Olajide Jr., former number one world middleweight contender and
cofounder/trainer at AEROSPACE High Performance Center
in New York City. "It's intense: You'll burn about 26 calories per
minute! Do a basic jump for 5 minutes, then jump twice as high and turn
the rope twice as fast so it passes under your feet twice before you
land. This takes timing, patience and power. But you'll get in great
shape just by working at it." (Once you've mastered that, up the ante
with our 30-minute jump rope workout.)
6. Don't cruise through cardio. Increase
intensity by doing intervals: After a warm-up, alternate 1-2 minutes of
activity at a rate of perceived exertion, or RPE, of 7 or 8 with 2-4
minutes of lower-intensity periods (RPE of 3-4). Repeat 4-6 times. Use
our handy guide to help determine your RPE during any workout.
7. Tone up on the treadmill.
"Save time at the gym with this 10-minute cardio/sculpt session: Hop on
a treadmill holding a three- to five-pound dumbbell in each hand, and
set the speed to a brisk walk. Do a 60-second set each of shoulder
presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, side laterals, front laterals
and standing triceps kickbacks one after another as you walk. It's an
amazing upper-body challenge that also gets your heart pumping. Do this
series two or three times each week. As you improve, work up to doing
4-minute sets," says Michael George, trainer and author of
Body Express Makeover.
8. Make over your running routine.
"Unless you're training for a marathon, skip long, slow, distance
running-sprinting builds more muscle. Add a few 10- to 60-second sprints
to your run, slowing down just long enough to catch your breath between
them," says Stephen Holt, ACE personal trainer. (See: How to Use Running for Weight Loss)
9. Use the talk test. If
you can't speak a sentence or two with each breath, you're pushing too
hard (unless you're purposely doing high-intensity interval).
10. Get a jump on weight loss. "Add
plyometric box jumps to your workout to improve your cardiovascular
stamina and leg strength - you'll really sculpt your hamstrings, quads
and glutes. Find a sturdy box that's at least one foot high [like a
j/fit Plyometric Jump Box, $71; amazon.com].
Starting from a standing position, explosively jump to the middle of
the box, then jump back down. Repeat 20 times," says George. (Related: Plyo Box Workout for Your Upper and Lower Body)
11. Watch the clock to lose weight. In a
Journal of the American Medical Association
study, women who racked up at least 200 cardio minutes a week for 18
months lost nearly 14 percent of their total body weight. Those who
accumulated fewer than 150 minutes reduced their weight by less than 5
percent.
12. Power up your runs.
"Adding wall sits to the end of every run will strengthen your quads,
hamstrings, and glutes, improving your speed and endurance. Lean against
a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart, then squat until your knees
are bent at 45 degrees. Hold for 30-60 seconds; work up to doing 10
sets. Add a challenge by including heel raises: Lift your left heel,
then the right, then lift both together twice," says Mindy Solkin,
