Certain exercises can help you maintain your fitness and improve your overall health. Most of these exercises can however become overwhelming.
The most effective exercises are those that work for different muscle groups. The muscle group you belong to determines your fitness level requirements.
Exercising daily has proven to be a faster way to maintain your fitness and manage your health. However, you need to consider factors such as your age, health condition, and level of stamina to figure out the ideal exercise for you.
You might need to discuss what works for you with your doctor if you have illnesses like high blood pressure, arthritis, heart disease, etc. Now, let’s talk about exercises you can do daily to maintain your fitness regardless of your health condition.
Below are 10 exercises you can do to ultimately maintain your fitness and stay fit. Let’s explore.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Exercises to Maintain Your Fitness
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Lunges
Lunge is an exercise that helps to maintain your fitness by challenging your balance. Lunges encourage functional movement while increasing strength in your glutes and legs. This exercise also helps cut back on thigh fat and strengthen your muscles.
Lunges help to maintain your fitness.
Follow the steps below to carry out lunges:
- Stand with your feet apart and your arms by your sides.
- With your right leg, move forward and bend your knee as you go. Stop when your thigh is parallel to the ground. Also, make sure your right knee doesn’t go past where your right foot is.
- Thereafter, return to your starting posture by pushing up with your right foot. Continue by using your left leg.
- Complete three 10-rep sets.
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Push-ups
Push-up is another exercise that helps to maintain your fitness by strengthening the muscles of your arms, chest, and shoulders. This exercise activates your chest muscles, engage your arms and strengthens your lower back.
Follow the steps below to carry out a push-up:
- Lay on the ground and crouch.
- Your palms should be slightly wider than your shoulders and parallel to them.
- Back your legs up until your body is supported only by your hands and toes.
- Avoid arching your back and maintain a straight line from head to toe.
- Depending on what seems most comfortable for you, keep your feet close together or just a little apart.
- As you breathe in, slowly bend your elbows, and lower your body until they are at a 90° angle while maintaining a tight core.
- Exhale, raise your body back up with the help of your hands and return your hands to the beginning position.
- Bend your elbows just a little bit. Avoid tying your elbows.
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Running
Running is an aerobic workout that helps strengthen bones, increase cardiovascular fitness, and helps maintain your fitness. Running is more intensive than jogging, therefore it might be preferable for beginners.
Interval running, which involves running for a set amount of time or distance, walking for a short while, and then running again, is a common way for people to increase their running endurance. As an alternative, individuals can alternate between running and sprinting.
Sprint interval training is known to improve peak running speed, boost aerobic capacity, and reduce body fat.
Read also: Easy Ways to Improve Health and Fitness through Healthy Outdoor Activity
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Swimming
Swimming is another exciting exercise to maintain your fitness. Swimming is a low-impact workout that works for practically all muscular groups.
Owing to this, swimming might also be appropriate for those who have specific illnesses or injuries. This exercise should be carried out in a public pool or a safe, supervised environment.
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Burpees
Burpee is a special exercise to maintain your fitness as it works your entire body. It strengthens multiple groups of muscles and is a great workout for your cardiovascular system.
Burpees.
Here’s how to carry out burpees:
- Stand with your arms by your sides and your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down and extend your hands in front of you. Push yourself up into the pushup posture as soon as your hands touch the ground.
- Pull your feet up to your hands in one motion, then jump while standing up straight.
- Perform three 10-rep sets.
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Cycling
Cycling is another form of cardio workout that helps you stay fit. It is generally more intense than walking and it requires additional force on your legs as it keeps the pedals moving.
It is simple to adjust the resistance on a stationary bike to intensify the workout. When cycling outside, you can pedal more quickly or go uphill to enhance the difficulty.
Read also: Tips to Lose Weight and Have a Flat Tummy
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Squats
This exercise specializes in your glutes. Squats may be done without any equipment and are extremely simple to do. Your glutes and core are worked up, resulting in a well-toned appearance for your lower body.
Squat exercise may be modified in many ways, and carrying dumbbells can help you further utilize your muscles.
Below are steps to follow to carry out a squat:
- Place your feet hip-width apart as you stand.
- Dumbbells can be held at shoulder height with both hands.
- As though attempting to sit on a chair, lower into a squat by bending your knees, engaging your core, and sending your hips back and down.
- Keep both feet firmly planted.
- Get back up.
- Repeat.
- Don’t overexert your knee joint and make sure to activate your abdominal muscles.
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Crunches
Crunch help to maintain your fitness as they tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles. It can be done easily anywhere as it does not require any specialized equipment.
Crunches.
If you want to get rid of protruding belly or you want to build a six-pack, crunch is just the perfect workout option for you.
Here’s how to try out a crunch:
- With legs bowed and feet firmly planted on the floor, lie on your back.
- Raise your shoulders and the top half of your torso until you start to feel a stretch in the upper part of your abdominals while keeping your hands behind your neck and your lower back firmly planted on the mat.
- Slowly descend.
- Repeat
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High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
HIIT involves various types of exercise that include cycles of short, high-intensity activities. There are usually very short recovery periods during HIIT exercises. HIIT exercise keeps you fit and helps work most of the muscles in your body. This exercise also improves your cardiovascular health.
Read also: How to Get Rid of Body Odour
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Planks
Plank helps to maintain your fitness as it targets both the abdominal muscles and your whole body. Planking helps you stabilize your core without putting any strain on your back like crutches may do.
Follow these steps to carry out planks:
- Start in the pushup posture, keeping your back straight, your abdominals taut, and your hands and toes firmly planted on the ground.
- Maintain a small chin tuck and fix your eyes directly in front of your hands.
- Make sure your stomach, shoulders, triceps, glutes, and quads are all contracted while taking slow, deep breaths and maintaining tension throughout your entire body.
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Conclusion
Regular exercise is a good step to take to maintain your fitness and improve your well-being. Moreover, carrying out cardiovascular exercise is a known potent technique for avoiding health issues. This guide features the top 10 exercises that work wonders for almost all kinds of people. Begin your fitness journey today by sticking to any of the above exercises.
About Author
- David Chiedozie Ndeokwelu is a graduate of Microbiology, who holds a Masters degree in public health. He is currently a medical student at the University of Ilorin and is passionate about fields of career, public health, entrepreneurship and career building.
