Strength and Flexibility Exercises

How to Boost Your Strength and Flexibility

Strength and flexibility exercises help you build muscle, keep your bones strong, improve balance, and lessen joint pain.

What Are Strength Exercises?

Strength exercises are activities that make your muscles work harder than usual. They help increase muscle strength, size, power, and endurance. You can use your body weight or resistance to do these exercises. Aim for at least two sessions a week.

Examples of Strength Exercises:

What Exercises Help Prevent Falls?

To prevent falls, focus on exercises that improve leg strength, balance, and coordination.

Examples of Leg-Strengthening Exercises:

How to Know If You're Doing Enough

For an exercise to strengthen your muscles, it should be challenging enough that you might need a short break before continuing. For instance, if you’re lifting weights, you should feel like you need to rest after a few lifts.

What Are Flexibility Exercises?

Flexibility exercises help improve the range of motion in your joints, making it easier to perform daily tasks.

Examples of Flexibility Exercises:

Benefits of Strength and Flexibility Exercises

Strength exercises help you do daily tasks better and slow down muscle and bone loss as you age. They also reduce the risk of falling. Flexibility exercises can improve posture, decrease aches, and lower injury risk, helping you stay active in daily life.

How Often Should You Exercise?

It’s best to do muscle-strengthening exercises for all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms) at least two days a week. A typical session can take less than 20 minutes.

Aim for 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise, which counts as one set. Try to do at least two sets, and for more benefits, aim for three sets. Start gradually and build up over time.

There’s no specific recommendation for how long flexibility exercises should last.

How Much Aerobic Exercise Should You Do?

For overall health, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, along with muscle-strengthening exercises on two days. If you're doing vigorous aerobic activity, 75 minutes can meet your weekly goal.

Do Strength Exercises Count Towards Your 150 Minutes?

No, strength exercises don’t count towards the 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity. However, activities like walking or cycling do count.

Can Some Aerobic Exercises Build Strength?

Yes! Some vigorous aerobic activities also strengthen muscles, including:

By incorporating these activities into your routine, you can enhance both strength and flexibility for a healthier lifestyle!