Exercise

AndreaDee23
AndreaDee23 Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What are your favorite exercises? Needing some idea
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Replies

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,031 Member
    Rather an open-ended question, to put it in a massive understatement type of way. Are you asking about exercises for cardio? Favorite weight-lifting moves? Do you prefer to be inside or outside, work by yourself or as part of a group? Do you have any physical limitations that need to be planned around?

    Just for the sake of discussion, I'll throw out a couple...

    To increase strength: deadlift, squat, dumbbell bench press

    To improve cardio: walking on a treadmill set to a steep incline

    Exercise without a gym: hiking cross-country

    Exercise with a group: ultimate frisbee
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Deadlifts
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited March 2023
    To be honest I don’t particularly like exercise. I have things I prefer over others and things, I have tried and will probably never do again.

    So what do I do?

    I work my way through the classes the 4 rec centres I belong to. That gives me lots of variety as I change up ever 3-4 month.

    I also use the gym for lifting. I use the same programme (AllPro) but have it adjusted so in the winter I use the bar bell but in the summer I have adapted it to machines as I am busier and just interested in maintaining any progress.

    Home workouts are my least favourite, but I even worked my way through a variety of YouTube programmes during lockdown.

    So no favourites, just a heck of a good tolerance for variety.

    If you can’t find anything that sparks your interest, try everything.

    Cheers, h.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,580 Member
    Favorite? Rowing, boats, the skinny ones like in the Olympics (only mine is slow). Riding my bike on the trails is second. In Winter, I do machine rowing/biking to stay in somewhat decent shape for The Good Stuff, plus usually do a little strength training, mostly dumbbell lifting; sometimes add yoga or core workouts, but I've been pretty lazy about those this Winter. Sometimes I go on intentional walks, but mostly to socialize with walk-loving friends.

    There are literally hundreds of possible exercises, and different ones will suit different people. Any form of "moving more" can count. Walk, dance (dozens of forms of just that), swim, play active VR or video games, do YouTube workout videos, play real world games (pickleball, basketball, tennis, ping pong, whatever), do yoga, learn a martial art, skate (multiple types), ski (multiple types), do calisthenics, lift weights, work with exercise bands, . . . . I could go on and on.

    Find something that's pretty fun for you, pretty convenient to fit into your life. Do it at a level (of frequency, intensity, duration) that is a mild, manageable challenge to your current fitness level, that leaves you feeling energized rather than exhausted for the rest of your day. As you get fitter, increase the level or type of exercise to keep that manageable challenge.

    That's the sweet spot for both calorie burn and fitness: Fun and convenient so we do it more often rather than procrastinate/skip, challenge so we make fitness progress, keeping it manageable so it doesn't bleed calorie burn out of the rest of the day by causing fatigue.

    If you need ideas, you can look at a some threads here about what other people are doing:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10705619/what-was-your-work-out-today#latest
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10796095/what-youtube-workout-did-you-do-today#latest
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/331789/tlfc-exercise-and-accountability-support#latest

    Or, browse threads in the Fitness or Challenges part of the Community for ideas.

    Sample some things that look interesting. Give them a fair try - multiple sessions, maybe a few weeks - to get past that "newbie blues" thing where the thing feels impossible and we feel super awkward (like we'll never get it). Things that are easy at the start can get boring fast. Things that seem ultra-hard at first get more manageable. Other people figured them out, right? You can, too.

    Best wishes!
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 644 Member
    I enjoy rock climbing and aerial yoga, but regular vinyasa, running and swimming is good too and require less specialised locations.

    My partner and I signed up for a weekly dance class starting on Monday next week - who knows, maybe that will climb to the top of the list soon 😃

    I second AnnPT77 above in that any new activity needs a fair try - I would say commit to at least three times.
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 702 Member
    I swim, run, and hike regularly. Weekly Pilates classes, started spin classes a couple of months ago and like them better than I thought I would.
    The spin is because this year's goal is a triathlon, so when it warms up it'll be cycling outside.
    Have done SUP a few times and really enjoyed it so hoping to do more of that.

    Sometimes I do circuit type gym classes because I think I should. But don't really like them so not very often! Everything else is just fun stuff for me and I feel the benefit.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,981 Member
    I enjoy long day hikes, long cyle rides (provided the landscape is flat), weight lifting and body weight exercises, and running. At times I might get my inline skates out or a skateboard. I enjoyed parcours when I was living in a country where classes were offered for adults. And sofa sitting and watching Star Trek, most series (not Enterprise!). I hate cleaning. Go figure.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,513 Member
    My favorites are aerial arts (silks, Lyra, trapeze, etc.), pole fitness, horseback riding, and weight lifting to help me be better at the first three. ;) I'm not great at exercise for the sake of exercise. I only have so much time to commit and I want it to be fun!
  • journey2ahealthierme
    journey2ahealthierme Posts: 50 Member
    Swimming and walking. And last three months have added Kickboxing. LOVE KB!
  • jdsridesagain
    jdsridesagain Posts: 3 Member
    Hammer Strength Iso-lateral Front Lat pull-down. Cable Egyptian lateral raise while leaning.
  • marikaCL
    marikaCL Posts: 276 Member
    My favourite is probably running. I love doing long events.

    I also do RockFit and swim and cycle as well for Triathlon
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Zwifting - riding my bike on an indoor turbo trainer with the Zwift software.
    It’s so convenient and quick and easy to just get on and get going and burns a good number of calories. The software makes it to a degree addictive with new routes and tours and badges to be earned for completing certain routes.
    It’s also suitable for any weather and much safer than riding on the open road.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    edited March 2023
    What i do now, after years of exercising, is to do something everyday. So I change it up, because every movement adds something. I powerwalk, reg walk, swim, do acquagym, yogaflex, tai chi, stretching (at home), and gymstuff. During the week, I hit all these and if I had more time, I'd add others. I do 10 hours or more a week. I love variety.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,246 Member
    One exercise that hits pretty much all muscle groups except chest is the Farmers Walk. If someone said I could only do 1 exercise that would be it.
  • Jesse62
    Jesse62 Posts: 43 Member
    If you aren’t limited in range of motion moving your body through space is best. In other words movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, push-ups, dips will always be a better option than a machine that locks you into a static position
  • terrbrown8187
    terrbrown8187 Posts: 3 Member
    Hello:

    I started working out January 1, 2023 and have been going to Planet Fitness three (3) times a week. I do the 30 minute circuit training, the Abductor, the Abbductor, bike, sitting stair stepper. I have slimmed down and the pounds are starting to shed. I have a Fitbit which helps me a lot and I log my food to hold myself accountable. Since Fitbit took away the challenges, I joined Stridekick. If any of you do have smart watches, Fitbit, Garmin, Apple, etc., please join it. There are so many challenges of walking which will also help you lose weight.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    My person favorite exercises are: running, hiking, rock climbing. I do also go to PF to use some machines/weights.

    As far as giving answers to give *you* ideas for exercise --- choose an activity that you LIKE and are LIKELY to continue to engage in.

    There are TONS of things you can do to be active and get steps in and cardio - stay mobile, etc. If you choose to do something (ex. 'I'm going to start running').....and then you absolutely hate it and have to force yourself to do it -- this isn't effective or good for you. So...what types of things do you LIKE? Do that.


    The 'best' exercise for you is the one you are likely to be consistent with actually doing.
  • PinUpDreamer926
    PinUpDreamer926 Posts: 29 Member
    edited August 2023
    following
  • PinUpDreamer926
    PinUpDreamer926 Posts: 29 Member
    terrbrown8187 wrote: »
    Hello:

    I started working out January 1, 2023 and have been going to Planet Fitness three (3) times a week. I do the 30 minute circuit training, the Abductor, the Abbductor, bike, sitting stair stepper. I have slimmed down and the pounds are starting to shed. I have a Fitbit which helps me a lot and I log my food to hold myself accountable. Since Fitbit took away the challenges, I joined Stridekick. If any of you do have smart watches, Fitbit, Garmin, Apple, etc., please join it. There are so many challenges of walking which will also help you lose weight.

    have you found a way to log the circuit on here?

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