Different Strengths, Different Exercises

Popular fitness books usually extol one particular form of exercise while ignoring or even denigrating other forms. In truth, to be totally fit requires an exercise program that addresses all components of fitness. For all ages, the exercising principle is the same: if you don't work your body, your body will become weaker. There are those that follow a different strategy and believe by resting they somehow conserve their strength. All that resting does is to place you quicker in a rest home.

 Fitness is primarily about strength and strength comes in three forms: power, endurance, and stamina and the exercises that develop these different strengths are quite different. So if you are going to achieve total fitness, you need to develop a program that works for each form.

 Power strength is the capacity and ability to exert force. This is the strength to open a stuck window on a hot afternoon or to lug a 50 lb bag of top soil. The type of exercise that best develops power is high intensity strength training or HIIT. The goal of power exercise is to develop muscle mass.

 Endurance strength is the capacity and ability to work for long duration. This is the strength to climb ten floors of stairs without being winded. The type of exercise that best develops endurance is aerobic exercise which increases the exerciser’s ability to access and process oxygen.

 Between power and strength is stamina which is the ability to work fairly intensely for a fairly long time. This is the strength to do vigorous yard work for an afternoon without becoming exhausted. The types of exercises that best develops stamina are bodyweight exercises or what was used to be called calisthenics.

 Other than strength exercises, core, balance and flexibility should also be included in a total fitness program for seniors.

 Which exercises are most important for seniors? Unfortunately, the best exercises are the ones that seniors do least: aerobic and power. This blog is going to explore all of the exercise forms and why and how they should be performed.