Stretching or Weight training?
Posted by: vedu
23rd Nov 2021 10:00am
For overall fitness do you prefer stretching such as yoga or weight training?
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Comments 3
AdelaideM
I think variety is key when it comes to exercise.
Studies show that doing a few High Intensity Interval Training sessions a week can be hugely beneficial - but not more than that or you start doing damage. I think the same goes for weight training and stretching exercises - if you try and do hours of yoga a day, your muscles are going to fatigue and you risk injury. Equally, if you try and lift heavy weights every day, you risk tearing something, but there are benefits of doing both sorts of exercise, too!
For overall fitness, a mix of stretching exercises, cardio exercises and weight training is going to give you the most well balanced health and fitness.
jtmorri
Low intensity stretching keeps me strong, fit and maintains my figure. Everyday chores and gardening involve a lot of stretching, which I do often. Weight training damages muscle fibre, which it then builds up to repair to gain muscle mass. I'm not looking to gain muscle mass.
kidwithsmurf
In my opinion, for overall fitness you do not need weight training. This is because if you want to gain muscle quickly you should do weight training. But for overall fitness, if you watch what you eat, do things like yoga, walking, running, swimming etc you will maintain an overall healthy and fit body. This is provided you do yoga, walking, running etc for an hour or two per day.
So, whether you choose stretching, yoga, running, walking etc or weight training depends on the goal that you're trying to achieve. Don't get me wrong, weight training can still give you overall fitness but it is not required unless you want to gain muscle. If you don't want muscle do walking, yoga, pushups, running etc and watch your diet and you'll remain fit and healthy.
I say that overall fitness doesn't have to come from weight training as I used to eat one or two meals a day and walk everywhere whilst doing as many pushups as I could in my spare time. I never had any fat on me and could do what I wanted. Thus, it's all about what you class as overall fitness and whether you are looking to gain muscle or not as to which you should do.