The Best Types of Workouts! What’s Your Interests?

What are the best workouts? That depends on what your goals are and how you like to work-out. You might not even know yet but many people have an inkling what they like (if they remember) because we have been exposed to many activities in our youth! But before I go on I would like to say that I do not think some of the more traditional exercise routines are the answer for everyone. I think rather than going to the gym and walking or running on the treadmill, riding the exercise bike, or doing the hill climber, one should try and complement (or takeover) the gym workouts with REAL workouts!

For example why would you have to go out an buy a MP3 player if you were walking, hiking or biking on some nature trails? Is exercise for the sake of weight-loss your goal or would you like to transition to fun out-door activities you may have participated in when you were a teenager? In this post I will explore the question of exercise for exercises sake vs. having an actual fitness goal. I will compare and contrast the goals and well as give some examples of each. If you end up agreeing with me you can throw away that pesky MP3 player (it will divert your attention anyway – not really safe from a self-defense perspective) and focus on truly entertaining activities. I found this example of Michael Reardon climbing a rock face.

I was amazed at this example of how strong the human body can become! Muscle men will not agree with me that I think rock climbers are among the strongest athletes, pound for pound along with gymnasts. I was reading comments from body builders (I assume) that were saying climbers only could lift their body weight and were weak. I think the body builder types were jealous because they could not climb like that – they are not strong or flexible enough! Here is a video of our (California’s) governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding contest.

 These bodybuilders are strong but not nearly as strong as they could be if they stopped dieting to get the muscle defination. Here is an example of truly strong men in the Worlds Strongest Man 2008 Finals. You notice they are thick but would not turn any heads at the beach.

 Now I need more motivation than getting into shape because it is good for me. I do not mind being board out of my mind while working out but it is easier if I have a goal. In previous posts I mentioned that I was going to walk the dogs and start riding my mountain bike. I just got back from a two-hour bike ride up Spring Canyon in Mission Trails Regional Park. My body is slowly acclimatizing to bike riding again and I did better this time. I liked the views and feel like I’ve accomplished something today. I used to rock climb some in my youth. I found this video of Catherine Destivelle climbing a mountain in Africa.

This gal is another freestyle climber. Did you notice how strong she is? The thing I like is she applies her strength and agility to a sport/pastime she enjoys. Doing something you like should be part of your workout or at the very least a goal. To that end I am going to start hiking and rock climbing locally as I get into better shape so I can plan some weekend getaways to Joushua Tree National Park for some rock climbing as I get into better shape. Do you see? I will not have to motivate myself to workout as much as having a goal will make it easier to achieve.

Now look at your fitness goals and see if your exercise compliments your fun activities that well help your overall fitness. I will continue to work out with karate, walking, jogging but I will be doing more of mountain biking, hiking, and climbing. I am hoping to take my first rock climbing/day hike to Joshua Tree next spring. Hang in there and try and tailor your exercise to fun activities!