Physical Activity Program
Types of Physical Activity
All three of these types of physical activity are vital components of a physical activity program.

Aerobic Activity - any physical activity that uses large muscle groups and causes your body to use more oxygen than it would while resting. Aerobic activities benefit the heart most. Examples of aerobic activity are:

• Brisk walking
• Jogging
• Bicycling

Resistance Training - also called Strength Training, can firm, strengthen, and tone your muscles, as well as improve bone strength, balance, and coordination. Resistance exercises can help you achieve the muscle strength, balance, and coordination to do your aerobic activities more successfully. Examples of strength moves are:

• Pushups
• Lunges,
• Bicep curls using dumbbells

Flexibility Exercises - stretch and lengthen your muscles. These activities help to improve joint flexibility and keep muscles limber, thereby preventing injury. Flexibility training will help you to move your muscles and joints more easily and prevent injury as you engage in aerobic activities. An example of a stretching move is:

• Sitting cross-legged on the floor and gently pushing down on the tops of your legs to stretch the inner thigh muscles

Below is a sample schedule for a well-rounded activity program:

I agree with this post. I think cardio, strength training and stretching are all equally important. Strength training is especially important to help your bones stay strong when you get older. If you don't keep your bones strong, especially for females, you risk the chance of developing osteoporosis. Strength training is a BIG plus that you can do to prevent osteoporosis!

Plus you have to keep in mind that if you want to lose weight... what is your end result?!? Do you want to lose a ton of weight from strict cardio and have a lot of excess skin hanging around, or do you want to lose it and tone and firm up your body so that you don't look droopy?!?

I have lost weight from doing a lot of cardio before and it just doesn't look as good to me as having the muscle to accompany the heathy weight. Plus, since muscle burns more fat, it is so much easier to maintain the weight loss and keep you healthy!!!

Droopy!?!? Ok, so does the "toning and firming up" work for people over 50??

Absolutely... Even more so for 50 year olds because the 20 year old's body will naturally get firmer... but the 50+ will have to firm it up using weights... in fact, that might be the only way... to lose the flab!