The 10 Best Exercises to Maintain Fitness

Exercise helps keep your heart and lungs healthy, makes you feel better, and burns calories. Health experts recommend getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and 75 minutes of strength training a week.

Start small and work your way up to more challenging exercises, such as pushups, which strengthen all the major muscles in the upper body.

1. Lunges

If you ask any personal trainer for a lower-body exercise, they’ll likely suggest lunges. This simple, effective body-weight movement activates multiple muscle groups and improves your balance, stability, and flexibility.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, keeping your back straight and core engaged. Take a big step forward with your right leg, shifting your weight to the heel. Bend your knee until your right thigh and calf form a 90-degree angle.

Repeat, alternating legs. If you’re just starting to build your strength and endurance, complete 12 to 20 repetitions per set. If you’re looking to add muscle mass, go for a higher number of reps. If you have knee or hip issues, try lateral lunges, which target the same muscles but put less pressure on your knees. You can also add stationary lunges or alternating reverse lunges to your workout, which may be easier on your knees.

2. Running

Running is an easy exercise that can be done anywhere, requires little equipment, and has major cardiovascular benefits. It can also be a good way to burn calories and lose weight.

A jog is low intensity because it can be done at a slow pace and last for any length of time. A run at a faster pace that is usually tied to a training plan is considered a moderate to vigorous intensity workout.

To get the most benefit from your workouts, you need to push yourself a bit past your comfort zone. Increasing your speed or incorporating short intervals of higher intensity runs can improve your fitness level and decrease the chance of injury. This can be as simple as adding sprints to your regular jogs or trying out some tempo runs. You can even try leap frogging, a technique used by runners that involves running with a group of friends to increase motivation.

3. Rows

Rows are horizontal arrangements of people, objects or numbers. Columns are vertical arrangements of the same things. The point where a row meets a column is known as a cell.

Rowing and dumbbell rows are two examples of compound exercises, which work multiple muscles at once. Both build muscle and increase fat-burning capacity.

Bent-over rows (also called seated rows) are great for the back. They work the rhomboids, lats, teres major and minor, lower traps, rear delts and spinal erectors. They're a great option for building thickness in your back, helping you achieve that classic v-taper look.

Yes, rows do work the biceps to some degree, but dumbbell curls are a better choice for bicep training. Rows can also be systemically taxing, so they're best reserved for smaller numbers of reps. This allows you to maximise the stimulus-to-fatigue ratio.

4. Boat Pose

Boat Pose is a difficult yoga exercise that requires both strength and flexibility. It strengthens the core muscles, particularly the deep abdominal muscles and obliques. It also strengthens the hip flexors, quads, adductors and upper back. It can also help alleviate lower back pain.

This pose is best done after a warm-up, such as Sun Salutations. It is important to practice this pose slowly and carefully to prevent injury. If you are unable to straighten your legs, try keeping them bent at the knees with your shins parallel to the floor.

This adjustment can be helpful for beginners as they build strength and allows them to see the benefits of boat pose. It can also be used for individuals with a psoas major muscle injury.

5. Calf Raises

Calf raises target the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, which are crucial in walking, running, jumping, changing direction, sprinting, and even standing up straight, Russolillo explains. They also help prevent injuries by improving balance, posture and overall lower body strength.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart on a flat surface and raise up onto the balls of your feet, allowing your heels to come off the ground and contracting your calves. Slowly lower down and repeat.

To increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can add weight or do the movement on a raised surface like a step. You can also perform single leg calf raises for a challenge that requires better core and balance control. Aim to do several sets of 10-15 reps. The amount of sets and reps varies based on your fitness level.

6. Planks

The plank is a powerful core exercise that also strengthens the shoulders and hips. It can help improve posture and reduce back pain, which is a common complaint in athletes.

Because of its isometric nature, planks build muscle endurance. This can help you maintain good posture on long runs, walks and bike rides.

Start by lying on the floor with your legs and feet stacked together, then prop yourself up on your elbows. Contract your core to stiffen the spine and lift your hips and knees off the ground, forming a straight line from your shoulders down to your heels.

If this is too hard, try the tabletop plank with your knees bent and raised to take pressure off of the feet. Then move up to the full plank when you can do it comfortably. The goal is to hold the position for one minute.

7. Squats

Squats target multiple lower body and core muscles at once. They improve mobility and can help to increase bone and joint health. They also work the glutes, hamstrings (back of the thigh), and calves.

In addition to working the legs and core, squats strengthen your back, and they help improve balance and posture. They also help prevent injuries by strengthening the ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues in your knees, hips, and ankles.

Once you have mastered the basic squat, try adding variations like pistol squats, back squats, and even a cement block squat to boost your strength. All of these exercises will help you maintain your fitness level. However, it is important to talk to your doctor before you begin a new exercise routine. They can tell you whether it is safe for your age and health status.

8. Leg Lifts

Leg lifts may not be the fanciest or most exciting exercise in the gym, but they're among its uncut gems. This compound core-focused movement strengthens the abdominal muscles as well as your hip flexors. "Leg lifts are one of the most underrated exercises in terms of the results they deliver," says Noah Neiman, a strength coach and personal trainer at Rumble Boxing in New York City.

Lower your legs until they hover a few inches above the ground, but never so low that your back arches. This allows you to target your abs with greater intensity.

As your core and legs get stronger, you can start to lower your legs even further—but be careful not to go too far or you risk injury. To make the move more challenging, try holding a dumbbell or medicine ball between your feet, or wrap ankle weights around your legs.

9. Abdominal Exercises

Having strong ab muscles not only helps you look better, but also prevents lower back injuries and strengthens your posture. Many workout routines that involve lifting, like squats and lunges, work the core muscles as well.

Other exercises, like the captain's chair and plank, isolate your core muscles. For the latter, lie on the floor with your body pressed into the ground, as if doing a pushup from your elbows.

Exercises that target your core muscles help tighten your stomach muscles, including the oblique muscles along your side. They also train your core to stay still and support movement, such as rotational exercises such as the wood chop or Russian twists. Most abdominal exercises require only your own body weight and an exercise mat. Those that require equipment can be used in the gym or at home.

10. Yoga

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned exerciser, any physical activity that raises your heart rate for an extended period of time is good for the cardiovascular system. Endurance, or aerobic, exercises include brisk walking, swimming, biking and running. Strength, or resistance training, exercises strengthen your muscles. Abdominal, or core, exercises improve flexibility and balance. Examples include yoga, Pilates and tai chi.

Yoga combines physical postures and breathing exercises with relaxation techniques, stress management and meditation. It has been shown to increase flexibility, strengthen the back and abdomen, boost immunity, improve sleep and help manage weight. While traditionally associated with religious beliefs, yoga can now be practiced by people of any faith. Typical hatha yoga emphasizes poses and breathwork, but also offers spiritual benefits. Iyengar yoga is more focused on precise body alignment and uses blocks and straps to keep you in position for longer.