20 Different Types of Exercises

Walking is one of the most effective ways of maintaining your health. Unlike the gym, walking is free and can be done at your own pace. Brisk walking for 30 minutes a day can be extremely beneficial to your health. Some of the health benefits of walking are listed below.

• Walking improves your lung and heart health.
• Reduces excess body fat by burning calories.
• Helps prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancers.
• It strengthens your bones and muscles.
• Walking boosts your immune function, mood, and energy.

Ever tried running or jogging? Maybe you have or maybe not. Some of us tried and nailed it, while some of us failed at it. Despite everything, running is a popular exercise and one of the biggest advantages of it is that we can do it at any time of the day as per our flexibility. You should aim to run for at least 30 minutes, three times a week if you want to get the maximum health benefits. If you run or jog regularly, you can gain the following health benefits from running:

• Running helps maintain a healthy weight by burning calories.
• Improves Mental health and reduces the risk of depression
• Running lowers blood pressure and diabetes risk
• It improves your Cardiovascular health.
• Builds strong bones and increases bone density.

Yoga is an ancient exercise that enhances our stamina, flexibility, and breath control. The biggest advantage of Yoga is that it can be done from the comfort of your own home, at your own pace, and suitable time. What makes it more popular is it can be done by people of all ages. Yoga for kids is quite beneficial for healthier growth. Some  of the benefits of yoga are given below:

• It improves our flexibility and strengthens the muscles.
• Boosts mental health by reducing anxiety and relieving stress.
• It is good for your heart as it improves circulation.
• Eases back pain by improving muscular strength.
• Yoga eases arthritis and asthma symptoms.

Meditation is a simple exercise that reduces your stress, anxiety, and worries. It is an inexpensive way of finding your inner peace without any instrument. Meditation enhances physical and emotional well-being, and that is why it is getting popular lately. Some other benefits of meditation are listed as follows:

• Meditation reduces stress and controls anxiety.
• It increases imaginative power and creativity.
• Improves concentration and memory.
• Meditation helps lower your blood pressure.
• It increases immunity power and enhances better sleep.

Zumba, a fun dance workout is primarily a cardiovascular exercise that is performed on music. You will be doing a full-body workout when you move your body against the beat, and this is why Zumba is so popular. This combination of salsa and aerobics has many health benefits such as:

• Regular Zumba supports weight loss and calorie burn.
• It improves your cardiovascular health.
• Zumba is a fun workout that tones your body.
• Your bones and muscles will be strengthened.
• It improves flexibility and coordination.

Weightlifting is a strength training anaerobic exercise in which people often lift weights like dumbbells or barbells. The main types of strength training are Muscular hypertrophy, Muscular endurance, Circuit training, and Maximum muscular strength. It is recommended to do strength training exercises for 30-45 minutes, 4-5 days a week for maximum benefits. Below we have listed some amazing health benefits of weightlifting.

• Increases body metabolism leads to burning more calories and losing weight.
• Improves our heart health by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• Weightlifting protects your joints from injuries and falls.
• Increases bone density and strength.
• It helps manage blood sugar levels.

Jumping ropes is a fun exercise and a full-body workout with huge benefits. One of the biggest advantages of jumping rope is that it is easily available and you can do it in your own home at your feasible time. We have gathered some health benefits of jumping ropes below.

• Improves Heart health as it is a great cardio workout
• Supports weight loss by burning calories
• Boosts mental health as it is meditative
• Improves concentration and coordination
• Tones down your upper and lower body

High Intensity Interval Training, popularly called HIIT is a training that involves alternating between short intense anaerobic exercises followed by minimal rest. HIIT is a short workout of about 10-30 minutes with maximum benefits. HIIT also has many other health benefits such as:

• You can burn more calories in a short period of time by doing HIIT exercises.
• HIIT increases your stamina and strength.
• Helps lower your blood pressure and sugar levels.
• HIIT keeps your heart healthy.
• HIIT increases your strength and keeps your bones healthy.

Stability balls are large, round, and inflated balls that are widely popular in the rehabilitation and fitness area. This fun exercise can be done at a gym or your own home and requires only one instrument, an exercise ball. Some of the best stability ball exercises you can try are Stability ball hamstring curl, Stability ball squat, Balance pushup, Stability ball roll out, and so on. Here are a few benefits that one can gain from doing Stability Ball Exercises.

• Stability ball strengthens your back and improves spine health.
• Helps increase the body's balance.
• It reduces body stiffness and improves flexibility and body posture.
• Increases back muscle and abdominal strength.
• Strengthens your core and protects your joints.

Hiking is considered one of the best outdoor activities that shower you with many health benefits. Hiking is not only good for your body but is also good for your mind and soul as being in the lap of nature is considered very therapeutic, and hiking provides you with that. There are many health benefits of hiking, and some of them are as follows:

• Improves circulation and reduces heart diseases.
• Boosts mental health by relieving stress and anxiety.
• Help you manage weight and tackle obesity.
• Builds muscle mass as you walk on the uneven ground.
• Increases bone density and helps prevent osteoporosis.

Cycling, an easy aerobic exercise that is full of health benefits can be incorporated into our daily lives by using it to go to school, college, work, or just for a stroll. What makes cycling so popular among all age groups is that it is not only beneficial to our health but is also good for the environment. Some of the benefits of cycling every day are listed as follows:

• Cycling increases muscle strength and flexibility.
• It helps control and reduce weight.
• Helps boost mental well-being and brain power.
• Lowers cholesterol level and risk of heart disease.
• Balance, strength, and coordination can also be improved.

This fun activity has many health benefits and is considered one of the best cardio workouts as you have to move your whole body against the resistance of water. It is considered the fourth most popular activity in the U.S. because of the benefits that one may gain. Some of the health benefits that you may gain if you swim for at least 30 minutes 3 days a week are listed below.

• Burns more calories as compared to walking or jogging.
• Builds strength and endurance.
• Increases heart rate without any stress.
• Helps reduce belly fat and weight.
• Tones muscles and builds muscle strength.

Dancing is an easy and fun way to stay fit. Simply moving your body to the groove of the music can offer you so many health benefits. The best part of dancing is that you don't have to be flexible and can do it in your own home. The other advantages of dancing every day are as follows:

• Dancing helps you lose weight and shed calories.
• Improves coordination and flexibility.
• It builds bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
• Muscle tone, muscular strength, and endurance increases.
• Improves your heart health, lungs, and mood.

Remember doing jumping jacks as a kid? It isn't just a kid's PE game anymore. This fun plyometric exercise is also a full-body workout with several benefits. What makes jumping jack so popular is that you can do it in your own home at your feasible time. Some of the health benefits of jumping jacks are given below.

• Jumping Jack is a full-body workout that promotes cardiovascular fitness.
• Helps develop muscle strength and power.
• Strengthens hip muscle and bone density.
• Burns your calories as they are a high-intensity workout.
• It enhances the body's flexibility and mobility.

It can also be done by using jumping rope. Previously we covered benefits of jumping rope for healthier lifestyle.

You probably remember martial arts such as Karate and Taekwondo being practiced in your school's PE class. But there's more to this fun high-intensity workout than just being a self-defense practice. Martial arts provide numerous physical and mental health benefits. Some of them are listed below.

• Martial arts increase self-confidence and self-discipline.
• Improves flexibility and body posture.
• Promotes better memory and learning skills.
• Relieves your stress and strengthens your mental health.
• Helps you lose weight by burning up to 1000 calories per hour.

Push-ups are a simple exercise that has been around for thousands of years. Yet they are still popular as they allow us to build strength without using any equipment. The best part about push-ups is that they can be modified according to your fitness level and can be done at your own pace in your comfort zone. Some of the advantages of doing push-ups every day are as follows:

• Push-ups strengthen your chest muscles, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and upper back muscles.
• Supports heart health by increasing the heart rate.
• Helps in weight reduction by boosting body metabolism and burning calories.
• Improves body balance, flexibility, and posture.
• Supports bone health by preserving bone and muscle mass.

The squat is a strength exercise that challenges many muscles in the body. It is a simple movement that helps boost your exercise performance and can easily be performed at home. It has numerous health benefits and that is what makes squat so popular. The advantages of Squats are as follows:

• Squat strengthens your lungs and heart.
• It burns calories and helps lose weight.
• Regular squats can improve your body's elasticity and make you more flexible.
• Squats strengthen your bones and lower the risk of osteopenia or osteoporosis.
• It improves knee and hip stability and helps prevent injuries.

Tai Chi, a gentle exercise for the mind and body that originated in ancient China combines movements, awareness, and deep breathing. This form of graceful martial arts has numerous health benefits such as flexibility and cardiovascular health. There are five family styles of Tai Chi commonly known as Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun, and Hao. The advantages of Tai Chi are as follows:

• Tai Chi boosts the body's flexibility and strength.
• Lowers stress, anxiety, and depression and supports mental health.
• Improves sleep, focus, and memory.
• It lowers blood pressure and supports heart health.
• Prevents falls and helps people with arthritis.

Kettlebell, a full-body workout is an intermediate-level exercise that originated in Russia and today is popular all over the world. This high-intensity workout requires only a weighted ball with a handle to get started and is a very convenient exercise as it can be completed in about 10-15 minutes. The other benefits of Kettlebell swings are as follows:

• Kettlebell swing burns a lot of calories in a short time.
• Effectively builds the muscle mass and increases the muscle strength.
• Improves your heart health and lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Helps burn fat and build functional strength.
• It improves your flexibility and body posture.

Pilates is a low-impact exercise. It enhances your overall fitness by strengthening smaller and deeper muscles. You can do Pilates in two ways: on a mat or by using equipment. You can also perform Pilates at your own home even without any equipment. Some of the health benefits of Pilates are as follows:

• Pilates provide better flexibility, enhanced mobility, and a good body posture.
• It helps you build a stronger core strength.
• Reduce and ease lower back pain.
• Makes your immune system and bones stronger.
• Decrease stress and boost your mood.