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Types of Strenuous Exercise

May 3, 2011 | By Carol Sarao
Types of Strenuous Exercise
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Regular aerobic exercise can help prevent and manage a myriad of conditions, including high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes and depression. It can also play a substantial role in helping you achieve and maintain healthy weight. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you can burn; strenuous exercise --- particularly when coupled with a reduced-calorie diet --- can be a great way to rev up your metabolism and banish excess pounds.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing offers a whole-body aerobic workout while strengthening muscles in your stomach, hips, legs, arms and lower back. It also promotes flexibility and balance and helps to develop spatial awareness and concentration. Different forms of this challenging activity include bouldering, in which you climb unroped over rock configurations that are low in height but technically difficult; free rock climbing, in which you make your way upward without the help of your equipment; and ice climbing, which involves using ice axes to travel up frozen waterfalls. Indoor climbing --- in which you scale rocks made of plastic --- is an excellent way to learn the elemental moves and techniques while getting a feel for this challenging sport. The HealthStatus website calculates that a 150-lb. individual can burn 747 calories in one hour of rock climbing.

Butterfly and Crawl Strokes

Swimming is an excellent aerobic workout that promotes strength and flexibility, and is often recommended by coaches as a way for athletes to maintain cardiovascular fitness while recuperating from stress fractures and soft-tissue injuries. But it is the demanding butterfly and crawl --- also known as freestyle --- strokes that really burn the calories. Swimming the crawl --- which works every major muscle group --- can burn off 1,000 calories in an hour, making it more strenuous than an hour of jogging, the "Evening Standard" newspaper reports. The butterfly --- in which the upper half of the body is rhythmically raised and lowered through the water --- can help you burn 150 calories in 10 minutes, or 900 calories in an hour. The butterfly stroke delivers an effective workout for your chest, abdominal, triceps, legs and back muscles.

Cross Country Skiing

Cross country skiing --- also called Nordic skiing --- requires a "kick and glide" motion with your legs combined with poling movements of your arms; the result is an intense whole-body aerobic workout that promotes a steady rapid heart rate throughout. Cross country skiing utilizes all the major muscle groups, including those in the shoulders, chest, back, buttocks, legs, abdomen and arms. The XCski Indiana website calculates that cross country mountaineering --- propelling yourself up and down steep inclines --- can burn 1,122 calories an hour, while brisk recreational cross country skiing can burn 612 calories per hour, about the same rate provided by working out vigorously on a stair-stepper.

Precautions

Take time to properly warm up and cool down, beginning and ending workouts with at least five minutes of gentle, slow movements. Watch for signs of overexertion during exercise; Chris J. Dunn, a registered clinical exercise physiologist, offers the conversation test as a rule of thumb. Quickened breathing is normal; not being able to talk because you are too winded means the activity level is too intense, Dunn writes for the FitMoves website. Dress in loose, comfortable clothing while exercising in the heat, and wear warm, layered clothing in the cold. Familiarize yourself with the warning signs of hypothermia --- such as frostbite --- as well as the symptoms of heat exhaustion, and remember to stay hydrated. If you experience faintness or discomfort or pressure in your chest, neck, arm, or jaw, consult a physician before continuing exercise. Consult your doctor before beginning any program of strenuous exercise.

References

Article reviewed by Will McCahill Last updated on: May 3, 2011

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