Exercise Selection for General Fitness PART 2


~600 Words ; ~5 minute read

Carrying on from part 1 on the topic of exercise selection for general fitness, we will next talk about the goals of general fitness and what exercises we can pick from to achieve those goals in a safe and efficient manner.
Although fitness goals differ from person to person, it is safe to say the goals of increasing general fitness are as follows:

1) Improve body composition via increasing muscle mass (for functionality and aesthetics) and decreasing body fat (for aesthetics and overall cardiovascular/joint health, reducing the risk of disease and mortality)

2) Increase cardiovascular endurance (the general population wants to get tired less easily, walk and run for longer distances, be able to go hiking, etc)

3) Fix posture and muscle imbalances (reduce current soreness and pain, reduce risk of acquiring lower back, shoulder and knee pain in the future)

4) Build a good muscle and movement foundation (which allows people to do what they want to do with their body, play the sports they want to play)

5) Increase confidence and self-efficacy (body re-composition/physique changes and the elimination of debilitating pain often comes with an increased feeling of self-confidence and self-efficacy; the driver behind motivation and habits, and an indicator of future success)


Types of Exercise Modalities and Their Benefits:

Resistance Training Exercises (Barbells, Dumbbells, Kettlebells)

  1. Allows for performing exercises in a full range of motion
  2. Very effective in increasing muscle mass and neuromuscular efficiency (the body's ability to recruit the correct muscles in order to produce force and stabilize structures of the body)
  3. Allows the trainee to easily track progress (if the weight on the barbell or dumbbell is increasing, you're most likely getting stronger, gaining more muscle; making progress!)
  4. Resistance training exercises often requires the trainee to use several different muscles and move several joints to perform the movements, this is very effective for ingraining proper motor patterns and learning to use your body as a whole. It is also great for hypertrophy gains and expending calories (for body recomposition purposes)

Cardiovascular Exercises (Running, Swimming, Cycling, Hiking, etc)

  1. Little to no equipment needed, convenient
  2. Improve muscular endurance (light loaded repetitive tasks in your daily life will be easier to perform)
  3. Effective in increasing cardiovascular endurance (walking to the bus stop won't get you feeling like you just ran a marathon anymore!)
  4. Better cardiovascular health, reduced risk of disease (decreased heart rate, blood pressure, LDL + total cholesterol)
  5. Sets a cardiovascular endurance foundation needed in order to perform resistance training exercises and/or play sports

Body-weight Exercises

  1. Little equipment needed, body-weight exercises can be done virtually anywhere there is open space
  2. Depending on previous exercise experience and current bodyweight, it can be a good introduction to resistance training exercises
  3. Improves body kinesthetic awareness (where your limbs are in space, where they are relative to other parts of your body)
  4. Often used as stability and isometric exercises for the core muscles (rectus abdominis, diaphragm, transverse abdominis)

Stability/Resistance Band Exercises (Resistance bands, Bosu ball, Exercise Stability Ball)

  1. Increases muscle and joint stabilization
  2. Often used as an exercise modality to rehabilitate muscular or joint injuries 
  3. Can be used to work the core muscles


As we covered in Part 1, the benefits of these exercise modalities are not exclusive. There is definitely a degree of crossover (eg: Resistance training with short rest times will give benefits similar to cardiovascular training).

In PART 3 of this series, we will put everything together and learn how to design an efficient exercise program.