Exercise is a muscular activity that requires more energy than that used in resting state. Exercise is voluntary, structured and its main goal is to improve physical health.

Physical activity is differs from exercise. We perform physical activity when the goal is not physical health but completing daily activities that require energy expenditure.

While performing exercise, the body undergoes several physiological changes allow us to engage in exercise.

Before performing any type exercise, download and complete the following form.

Resistance Training

Cardiovascular Training

How to pick an exercise program based on your goal?

Each person has different goals when it comes to exercise. Below you can find a guide to exercises you can perform in accordance with your personal goal.

Resistance Training

Goals:

Muscular Hypertrophy
1. Hyperthrophy is the enlargment of muscles
Muscular Strenght
1. Is the ability of the muscles to produce tension overcoming external forces
Muscular Endurance
1. Endurance is the ability to produce and mantain a certain force for long periods of time

Cardiorespiratory Training

Goals:

Weight Loss
1. Cardiorespiratory training requires large amounts of energy and therefore it is used as a preferred method for burning fat
Training for a particular event or activity
1. This type of training is performed by athletes or people that want to train for a specific activity. Such as, marathons, swimming, cycling, etc.

Functional Training

The main goal of this type of training is to help people imitate movements performed in their job or daily lives in order to maximize their efficiency. For example, if your job is to lift heavy bags or boxes, exercises that target arms, back, etc., will benefit you.

If you don’t have a specific goal in mind, you can choose an activity of your liking that allows you to perform exercise. 30 minutes of daily exercise is enough to maintain and improve your health. Review the pages and sections on this website and choose one activity.

Recreational Training

What is exercise?

Health Questionnaire

Bibliography for the whole section of EXERCISE:

ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer. Baltimore, MD: American College of Sports Medicine, 2007.
Barrett, Kim E., and William F. Ganong. Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2010.
Clark, Micheal, Scott Lucett, and Brian G. Sutton. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012.
Coburn, Jared W., and Moh H. Malek. NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2012.
Fahey, Thomas D. Weight Training Basics: A Complete Guide for Men and Women. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Farrell, Peter A., Michael J. Joyner, and Vincent J. Caiozzo. ACSM's Advanced Exercise Physiology. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012.
Guyton, Arthur C., and John E. Hall. Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, 2006.
McArdle, William D., Frank I. Katch, and Victor L. Katch. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010.
Plowman, Sharon A., and Denise L. Smith. Exercise Physiology for Health, Fitness, and Performance. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011.
Silverthorn, Dee Unglaub, and Bruce R. Johnson. Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2010.

Cool-down

Warm-up

Introduction to Exercise

Center for

Health, Wellness, Nutrition & Exercise

Costa Rica