Daily Exercise Routine Example

Everyone wants good health and great quality of life. One way to achieve this is by incorporating a daily exercise routine into your lifestyle. You may think that you can't exercise at all because you do not have time to go to the gym. The truth is that many exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home on your own time. Beside weight loss, exercise can also help improve energy levels. According to the American Council on Exercise, exercise may reduce fatigue while improving functional status and fitness.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Incorporate cardiovascular exercises such as jumping rope, running on stairs or jogging into your daily exercise routine. If you are exercising at home, running in place or jumping jacks can help you break a sweat as well. Keep in mind that you can do one form of cardio per day as opposed to performing all of them in the same day. For example, jump rope on Monday, run stairs on Tuesday, and jog on Wednesday. These exercises are great for burning calories, strengthening the heart and toning the body. Remember to stay hydrated during cardiovascular activity as dehydration can lead to muscle cramping. Water is good for replenishment, but sports drinks are recommended as they contain electrolytes such as sodium and potassium that are lost during exercise.

Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders

Upper body strength training exercises should be performed. Some exercises for the arms are bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls or preacher curls. These exercises work the bicep muscles which are found in front of the arm between the shoulder and elbow. The tricep muscles are located in the back of the arm behind the biceps. Bench or chair dips, tricep kickbacks or overhead extensions are recommended for training these muscles. If you want more of a challenge, try narrow push-ups where your hands are placed on a mat directly underneath you shoulders. Shoulder exercises include dumbbell front raises, lateral raises, shoulder presses and upright rows.

Chest and Back

There are several exercises that are great for working the chest or pectoral muscles such as push-ups, chest presses and dumbbell flyes. These exercises can be done at home if you own dumbbells, or in a fitness center using free weights or strength training machines. Back exercises that can be incorporated into a daily exercise routine include lat pull-downs, bent over rows or seated rows, reverse dumbbell flyes are also effective. Remember that all muscles should be worked evenly for muscular balance.

Lower Body Strength Training

Do not neglect muscles in the lower extremities. While cardiovascular exercise will work these muscles, strength training is still important. To target your quadriceps, and glutes, perform squats using a dumbbell, stability ball or both. If you prefer to train at a fitness center, a smith machine can be used for squatting. Other lower body exercises include lunges, plie squats, leg extensions and leg presses. Your hamstrings, the muscles in the back of the leg between your glutes and knee can be targeted with floor bridges or a prone leg curl machine. If training at home, strap 5-lb. weights around the ankles, extend the right leg out with the toe pointed, bend the knee and lift the foot towards your glutes. Perform three sets of 10 on each leg. Calve raises are also a good exercise for defining calve muscles.

Your Core

Core muscles are used in nearly all activities of daily living and having a strong core makes you less susceptible to back injuries. Instead of traditional crunches and sit ups, try more challenging exercises for your core such as the plank and Russian twists. Standing core exercises such as wood chops or trunk rotations are highly effective and incorporate the use of weights such as dumbbells or medicine balls.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Remember to begin each workout with an eight- to 10-minute warm up and end with a cool down and stretching. Warm ups help get blood flowing to the extremities, in turn preparing the muscle for physical activity. Cool downs and stretching help bring your heart rate down and elongate muscles that have become tense during your workout. By incorporating this into your daily exercise routine, you will help prevent injuries sustained during or after exercise.