Cardiovascular exercise and strength training work well together to build muscle strength and improve the health of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
Workouts that work more than one muscle group at once are especially good. These include different exercises that don’t need much or any tools and can be done by people of different fitness levels.
Here is a list of the best workouts for health and fitness as a whole. We explain what parts of the body each exercise focuses on and show you how to do it step by step.
The best workout routine
Table of Contents
The following movements can be done on their own or as part of a circuit. Some of them need simple fitness tools like dumbbells or an exercise ball, but many of them don’t. The American Council on Exercise says that people should keep doing reps until their muscles get tired or they can’t keep their form. But they say that endurance athletes like runners and bikers shouldn’t do more than 20–30 reps and shouldn’t work until their muscles are tired.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) says that you should do 8–12 reps of 8–10 strength workouts at least twice a week. The ACSM also says that people should be active for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. On the other hand, they say that people can do vigorous physical exercise for 20 minutes 3 days a week, and one of the best exercises to build core exercise is rear delt fly
Push-ups
Push-ups improve the arms, chest, and shoulders by working out a lot of different muscle groups.
How to do it:
- Start in a plank position with your arms straight and your body in a straight line parallel to the floor. Keep your feet close together and your toes bent to help support your body.
- The hands should be flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart, with the fingers pointing straight ahead or slightly inward.
- Keep the head in line with the spine. Slowly bend the arms outward and lower the body to the floor, keeping the head in line with the spine.
- Keep your hips and lower back in a straight line.
- Lower as far as you can, trying to touch the floor with your chest or chin.
- Press the body back up to the starting position by using the arm muscles.
- Keep your abs working the whole time to help support your back.
Weighted Squats
Bodyweight squats work the abs, buttocks, hips, legs, calves, and shins. This makes the lower body and core stronger.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet a little farther apart than your hips and your toes pointing outward.
- Keep your hands down by your sides with your palms looking in, and keep your shoulders back.
- Use your stomach muscles to help support your back.
- Move your hips back and bend your knees as if you were sitting down. Keep your back straight.
- Keep lowering yourself until your legs are parallel to the ground.
- Push through the feet to get back to the starting position.
- Breathe in as you squat, then breathe out as you stand back up.
Leg lifts
Lunges work the muscles in the legs, buttocks, hips, and stomach.
How to do it:
- Keep your feet together and stand up straight.
- Step forward with one leg, bend the knee, and put the foot flat on the ground.
- Bring the knee of the leg you’re standing on closer to the floor.
- Use the muscles of the leg in front to push yourself back up.
- Do the same thing with the other leg.
Sprints
Running is a type of aerobic exercise that can help your heart and bones get stronger. Jogging is a less intense way to run, so it might be best for people who are just starting out. Interval running, in which a person runs for a certain distance or amount of time and then walks for a while before running again, is often a good way to build up their running fitness.
People can also switch back and forth between running and racing. Sprint burst training might help you lose body fat, get better at breathing, and run faster at your fastest. Side planks help you strengthen your core, which can help ease lower back pain. When you do a side plank, you work your legs, hips, and stomach.
Planks
Plank exercises are a great way to work out more than one muscle group at the same time, giving your core, hips, and other muscles a full workout. Start a plank workout by lying on your back with your elbows and lower arms on the floor. Your elbows should be in line with your shoulders.
From this starting position, raise your body so that it is in a straight line with the floor. During the exercise, it’s important to use your core muscles and keep your body straight. Keep your feet close together and bend your toes to give yourself more support.
Hold this pose for 20 to 30 seconds, making sure to keep your form right and keep your muscles working. After the time is up, slowly lower yourself back to the floor to give your muscles time to relax and heal. Take a one-minute break and then do the plank exercise 3–5 times, getting stronger each time.
By doing the plank exercise regularly, you can improve your core strength, your stability, and your posture. All of these things can help bikers improve their performance and reduce the risk of getting hurt while riding.
When this practice makes someone feel strong enough, they can try a high plank. The same body position is used for this move, but the arms are kept straight and the hands are placed flat on the floor right under the shoulders.
Knee bends
Knee tucks work your abs, thighs, and legs. For this activity, people will need an exercise ball, which is sometimes called a stability ball.
How to do it:
- Put your hands and feet on the floor and lie on your stomach on top of the stability ball.
- Walk forward on your hands until your knees are on the ball and your feet are off the ground. The hands should be right under the shoulder blades.
- Roll the knees forward to pull them into the chest.
- Push the knees back slowly to get back to where you started.
- Bridge of the glutes
- The glute bridge is a good exercise for the back muscles, which are called the “posterior chain.”
What to do:
Weighted glute exercises strengthen vital muscles and boost pedaling power, improving cycle workouts. Try the “hip bridge with dumbbell press.” Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat to begin this workout. Keep your feet hip-width apart and your back flat to protect your lower back.
Beginning the movement, tighten your bottom and use your core. Get your hips off the floor to align your shoulders and knees. For proper form, do not circle your lower back in this bridge stance. Grab a dumbbell in each hand. It works your upper body. Press the dumbbells up slowly until your arms reach full length above your chest, keeping your hips high. This workout strengthens your legs, core, and shoulders.
After the barbell press, return your arms to your chest and carefully lower your hips to the start, after a specific number of repetitions, your glutes and shoulders will strengthen. This will improve your riding strength and ability.
How to do it:
- Put your feet about as far apart as your hips.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with the inside of the wrists facing forward. Bend the arms to bring the weights to shoulder height.
- Tighten your abs and let out a breath as you straighten your arms to lift the dumbbells in a straight line above your shoulders.
- Take a deep breath in to bend your elbows, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to shoulder height.
- Try not to round out your lower back.
Rows with weights
Rows with dumbbells can help you build muscle and improve your back. The body also burns more calories when muscle strength goes up Trusted Source when you want to rest. For this move, people will need two dumbbells.
What to do:
- Put your hands and feet on the floor and lie on your stomach on the ball.
- Roll forward on the ball so that your bent toes can rest on it. Keep your body in a straight line, with your arms straight and your hands flat on the floor.
- Hinging at the hips, lift the buttocks towards the sky while keeping the legs straight and the toes flexed on the ball.
- The shoulders and hips will be in line, and the back will be straight. The head will be in the middle of the arms.
- Slowly move back down to where you started.
Swimming
Swimming is a low-impact workout that works almost all of your muscle groups. Because of this, it might be good for people with certain accidents or health problems. If someone is just starting to swim, they should do it in a public pool or somewhere safe with a lifeguard.
People can also work with an exercise instructor or personal trainer. These experts can safely raise the level of difficulty and help people keep up the right method.
Conclusion
Getting regular exercise is important for your health and fitness as a whole. A powerful way to help avoid a lot of health problems is to do both strength training and cardio. People can start out slowly and then, as they get fitter, raise the number of times they work out or the number of reps and sets in each one.