The 3 Principle Types Of Exercise

Let’s now explain these three types in a little more detail and look at a few studies supporting exercise when it comes to health, especially gut health.

Strength exercises are categorised into different forms, with each exercise targeting a different muscle group or groups and providing unique benefits.

Remember to include a variety of these exercises in your strength training routine to ensure that you target different muscle groups and promote overall functional strength and stability. Most people pick one or two forms are tend to focus on these. Personally, I prefer a combination of using my own bodyweight along with some free weight exercises.

Others may prefer Yoga, kettlebell exercises, or get their weight strengthening exercise by being active around the house. Carrying groceries, chopping and carrying firewood, as well as climbing ladders to clear your guttering are all considered different forms of muscle-strengthening exercises. When contemplating strength training exercise, especially if using weights or kettle bell, it is crucial to maintain proper form and gradually increase resistance to continue challenging your muscles as they adapt to the exercises.

Here are some of the more common forms of strength training exercises:

When it comes to strength training, some people like to join their local gym. Gyms have a lot of different kinds of ways you can exercise and strengthen your muscles, but most forms will involve some type of resistance training, like free weights, kettlebells, and various types of machines. You’ll find that most gyms have different classes at various times and days of the week, some may even come equipped with a squash or tennis  court, or even a swimming pool.

You can use an elliptical trainer or other similar no matter what size, weight, or fitness level you have. This piece of equipment can effectively work out your arms, legs, chest, and buttocks while keeping your knees and hips from getting too painful. Most gyms will have one similar, or you can buy or rent one to use at your home. You can even watch TV or listen to your favourite podcast at the same time as you exercise.

Some people like organised classes, others like working with a personal trainer, and yet others prefer to have their workout alone. Working out with other people is also a great way to stay motivated. For many people however, getting some initial help from a personal trainer can help you make a plan that fits your wants and goals.

Your health and fitness regime can gain a lot from just 20 minutes of strength training a day. No matter how fit you are, strength training is a great way to work out and is especially helpful if you are looking at building a high level of strength and fitness in your body.

When we increase our muscle strength, we also increase our metabolic rate, and this can have many positive effects on our digestive and immune health as we will see.

Weight Training Can Have Positive Effects On Our Gut

While strength training is not a direct treatment for specific gastrointestinal disorders we’ve been discussing, like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Candida overgrowth, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it can have an indirect effect and benefit our gut health and possibly help manage our symptoms in a number of ways.

Let’s talk about a few ways how this may occur:

Different forms of exercise like resistance training (weights) can be helpful, but it is important to remember that everyone reacts differently to different kinds of movement and exercise. Some people will enjoy working with weights, whereas others may find it repetitive and boring.

Endurance Exercise Tips

Take note of any symptoms, are you feeling dizzy, or experience any pain, you’ll need to slow-down and take it easy. Talk to your doctor if necessary, especially if you are an older person or have a medical condition.

To refer osteoarthritis today as “degenerative joint disease” would be a misnomer because OA is not simply a process of wear and tear but rather a much more complex disease driven by inflammation within the affected joint.

Recent researches supports the view that osteoarthritis is a “whole joint” disease although cartilage destruction is the hallmark of arthritis. Studies have also found that loss of cartilage around the knee joint is probably initiated as a “focal lesion” (an accident), which may progressively extend and produce changes in loading (your knee gets progressively weaker, thereby accelerating loss of cartilage. (Ayhan et al., 2014)

This is exactly what happened to my left knee, loss of cartilage over many years as the result of an injury. When I was 22 years old, I had a motorcycle accident that caused serious L knee ligament damage. I refused any operations and painkillers, 45 years later and both knees are now in great shape, thanks to yoga and correct ways of eating. No more clicking sounds, the weakness and limited range of motion is gone and along with it – all the pain. This can be you too, but it will require commitment on your part. Our bodies can heal themselves, but the conditions need to be right first.

In our clinic, we would typically recommend you look at your body in a mirror and notice how it moves in all directions. You’ll quickly notice that one side of your body moves less well than the other, or maybe both sides. Because of this, we need to start moving the body more without setting off our defence system.

So, a smart solution is get your muscles to contract regularly and your cells to fire before you stretch. One of the best things you can do for your muscles is to tighten them and hold that position for 10 to 15 seconds without moving. Do this several times.

Begin your stretch, but only for a short time. Your body is now ready to move a little more. Focus on stretching as much as possible without hurting too much, stay within your limits.

Five or six times a day, stretch that area for only a few minutes each time. Always tighten the muscle before you stretch. Do this over and over for a week or two, making sure that muscle moves more and more without any pain or any reason for the body to become more sensitive to end range pain.

This is being done to get rid of any compensatory gaits. When a part can’t move well, you’ll develop osteoarthritis. This is your body trying to keep a joint stable, it’s not because you are “getting old”, it’s because the muscles, ligaments, and tendons around the joint have become tight and rigid, and compensated for any injury even if 20 years or more ago by limiting the range of motion.

With patience and perseverance, almost all injuries can be successfully rehabilitated at home with the correct diet, stretching, and becoming involved with yoga practice on a daily basis. I’ve personally overcome several injuries fully by adopting these methods, with injuries including sciatica, frozen shoulder, a serious neck injury, and a serious knee injury after a motorcycle accident.

There is a standard range that you don’t need to go beyond. Most of us can figure out what that range is by looking in the mirror.

Your challenge for today: be brave, take your clothes off and stand in front of a mirror, and look at how well you can move those joints in all directions without pain or limitations. Maybe it’s time you thought about regular stretching, it can change your entire life.

Being flexible and able to stretch easily are important for many people, across a wide range of ages, occupations, lifestyles and interests. There are many benefits you can get from stretching, your body will become more supple and flexible while becoming stronger and more stable.

You’ll find that stretching increases your range of motion, helps improve your balance, and stops you falling. It’s so easy to take flexibility for granted, but here are just a few of the countless reasons why you need flexibility:

I’ve found these people benefit a lot from flexibility and stretching:

 Yoga and Tai Chi

Let’s talk about yoga and Tai Chi, two of the most well-known forms of exercise that incorporate stretching, flexibility movements and breathing exercises to improve both our physical and mental wellbeing. Both of these forms of exercise are often put in the same category, but are there any real differences between Tai Chi and Yoga, and is one better for you in some ways than the other?

Both Tai Chi and yoga share many similarities and are often regarded as “cousins” suitable for people of all ages. However, despite these commonalities, they exhibit notable differences, particularly in the variations adopted by those who practice them regularly.

While some people may follow more slow, relaxed and continuous motion in their practice, others prefer more physically demanding movements. Regardless of these variations, both Tai Chi and yoga share three fundamental elements:

Integrating these three components into your exercise and flexibility routine can yield the most significant benefits over time for both our physical and mental well-being. The ongoing debate often arises regarding the “superiority” of Tai Chi or yoga.

In general, Tai Chi places emphasis on a slow and continuous sequence, whereas yoga centres around holding poses for extended periods and transitioning between them. To explore the distinctions between yoga and tai chi, let’s delve a little deeper, starting with an examination of yoga.

When yoga is practiced regularly, it offers several advantages for those who may have Candida overgrowth, SIBO, IBS, or IBD. Yoga is a great way to enhance the benefits of any program of cleansing and gut-improving while simultaneously mental and emotional health. This is important because our immune system’s functioning (and our ability to recover fast) can be significantly influenced by stress – depending on our state of mental and emotional mind.

In addition, as mentioned previously, some people find it easier to stick to eating healthy and living practices if they regularly practice yoga, because it helps us be more aware of living in the moment.
If you are new to yoga or unsure what to do, good advice is to speak with an experienced yoga practitioner or teacher to determine which of the many varieties of yoga and various postures (asanas) best meets your requirements.

Certain forms of yoga are more meditative than others; some are meant to improve our strength and flexibility, while other forms are meant to help our body become cleaner and detoxify more easily. For this reason, some yoga practitioners may recommend one or more kinds of yoga.
                                                                                                                                                    For instance, the primary goal of Hatha yoga’s higher branch, pranayama, is to assist with breath regulation. People who do pranayama have discovered how to greatly strengthen and enhance their parasympathetic nervous system through specialised approaches. (Sengupta 2012) This has the incredible effect of lowering stress levels. Over the years, I’ve observed in many of the patients I’ve known that those who practice yoga regularly experience a sense of inner calm, wellbeing, and serenity. In addition to helping with self-realisation and self-development over time, yoga can help us feel more attuned to our surroundings.

Regular yoga practice helps our body become stronger and more flexible. It has also been shown to improve our immune, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, neurological, and even our hormonal systems. Similar to Tai Chi, yoga promotes mental clarity and emotional stability.
Physically, I’m all for yoga; it’s a great exercise for anyone who want to stay active since, by routinely strengthening our body in this way, we’ll become much less vulnerable to strains, falls, and other mishaps as we get older.

Having practiced yoga for more than twenty years, our eighty-two-year-old patient nevertheless looks young for her age—she started when she was sixty. After her spouse passed away, she wanted to focus her mind and body on something, she claimed that yoga helped her maintain balance in her life.

You’ll find that yoga may help provide us with a quality of life that many people only imagine as they age. It’s true that if you don’t use it – you tend to lose it.

The physical and mental benefits of yoga include:

Yoga and our Digestive System

Our gut-brain axis involves a sophisticated communication system including involvement of our nervous system, gut microbiota, and our immune system. Scientists have discovered that certain nerves and biochemical signals that travel in the blood, connecting our digestive system to our brain

Through this system, our gut can react directly all kinds of mental, psychological and physical stress with symptoms that may include digestive pain, cramping, constipation, diarrhoea, bloating and gas, nausea, and even changes in appetite and digestion. (Foster 2017)

Let’s look at a few ways in which yoga can have a positive action on our gut health:

Studies conducted recently have even found that Tai Chi is beneficial and safe for people who have heart failure, coronary bypass surgery, or heart disease. Since many of the exercises are mild and low-impact, I think this is one of the finest workouts for people who are stressed out or burnt out.
Chinese philosophy and medicine embrace the idea that “chi” is the life force that drives and animates the body. One of the key objectives of Tai Chi is to improve a person’s health and vitality by promoting the flow of chi.

Because of the slow, elegant, and exact movements, Tai Chi’s secondary goal is to promote mental tranquilly. A person gains significant knowledge about balance, alignment, and rhythm of movement in their body, as well as precise motor control of their specific muscles, when they learn to finish the sets and eventually master the exercises.

You’ll Feel Better and Look Better
                                                                                                                                                  

I’ve noticed that patients who regularly practice Tai Chi seem to have more control over their posture, including standing, walking, and general movement, than people who do not engage in this age-old type of exercise.

You will almost definitely find that there are significant benefits to rectifying your posture, alignment, and numerous movement patterns after practicing Tai Chi for a few years. Improper movement patterns can frequently result in strain or injury.
Tai Chi is a wonderfully soothing and peaceful discipline that seems to have a renewing effect on our nervous system. For people with adrenal or thyroid problems, I highly recommend it.

Many years ago, I suggested Tai Chi to a patient who had hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland can cause serious illness. The patient’s improvement after just a few months astounded me.
I can vouch for the benefits of Tai Chi and have seen it work wonders for a variety of chronic ailments, including persistent yeast infections and irritable bowel syndrome. Tai Chi should be practiced once or twice a day for fifteen minutes at a time. Let’s look at the health benefits possible by practicing Tai Chi on a regular basis.

The physical and mental benefits of Tai Chi include:

Did you know that practicing Tai Chi can be most beneficial when it comes to our gut health? This is because Tai Chi emphasises the connection between our mind and our body. When we incorporate therapies that recognise the impact of mental well-being on our physical health, we are in a more powerful position to positively influence the course of many chronic illnesses.

I’d like to encourage readers to consider exploring Tai Chi for overall well-being, because Tai Chi isn’t a holistic practice that only benefits our physical and mental well-being, but also benefits our digestive system in many different ways. Here are a few of the benefits our digestive system may experience if we regularly incorporate Tai Chi into our wellness program, especially in relation to stress.

Here’s how Tai Chi benefits stress: