YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health (Summer 2016) | Page 13

PAUL BROWN
Paul is an exercise adherence expert who recently returned from a global
adventure with his family, where they undertook 50 Sports in 50 Weeks. To
find out more visit 50sports.org

SURVIVAL GUIDE
EMBRACE THE EXERCISE TRIAD
AND START THE NEW YEAR, FIT!

Exercise adherence expert Paul Brown explains the exercise triad and
how it can ensure your new year is kickstarted the right way.

n so many facets of life you’ll find the
essential ingredients come in threes,
or a ‘triad’ as it is also sometimes
called. Chances are when your life is out of
balance it’s because one of the three is
missing or is disproportionate to the others.

I

In exercise, the big three are typically 1)
strength/resistance training, 2) aerobic/
cardiovascular conditioning and 3) stretching.
While additional activities such as relaxation will
also contribute to a well-rounded program, it’s
safe to consider the big three (your ‘exercise
triad’) as an essential framework that you can
effectively build any active lifestyle around.
Once again, strength and cardio training should
form the bulk of your exercise effort, with
stretching a key part (but proportionately less)
of your overall time investment.
Many of us celebrate the warmer months by
supplementing our gym-based activities with
outdoor pursuits, such as cycling, walking,
running or swimming, which are all excellent
for your cardiovascular fitness and great
ways to boost your energy levels and burn
calories. If you are someone who likes to do
this, keep in mind that it’s important to
continue your resistance/strength training
program as well. This is because this element
is necessary in order to maintain muscular/
skeletal conditioning (i.e., looking and feeling

strong), as well as enhancing your posture. The right
resistance program can also keep your body at its
optimal fat burning capacity, via an elevated
metabolic rate.
What you may not be aware of is that if you fall into
the trap of doing all cardio activities and
no weight training, then you can
actually lose many of these health
benefits and go backwards in your
fitness goals, despite your consistent
pattern of exercise.
It is possible to get these