Exercise Right for your Body Type
Are you satisfied with the results of your exercise regime? Do you feel your exercise is optimal for you? Does your body respond the way you want?
Whether your goal is toning, body building, weight loss, or improved fitness and stamina, you expect a certain result from the time you invest in exercise. It can be frustrating to find that hours spent sweating in the gym or on the track don’t produce the same results for you that others enjoy. So why does your body respond to exercise differently from others?
Much like diet, the optimal exercise plan for you depends on your body type. The type of exercise, frequency, and best time of day to exercise all vary by body type. The physical results that can be realistically expected are also dependent upon which body type you have.
Choose Your Exercise Goals
What are your exercise goals? Exercise can serve a variety of purposes – and having realistic, achievable goals will support a successful exercise plan.
Weight Management – exercise is traditionally associated with weight loss or management, which is generally true for most body types.
Health & Fitness – the health benefits of exercise vary significantly by body type. For the Eye body type and Intestinal body type, exercise aids digestion. Exercise activates the immune system – especially for Lymph, Medulla, Nervous System and Thymus types. For the Blood body type, it increases vascular integrity.
Physique & Toning – If you’re a Lymph, Adrenal or Stomach body type, you’ll find that your muscular system easily responds to traditional exercise plans to produce a proportioned, athletic physique. Hypothalamus and Thymus types are tall and slender with long, lean muscles that easily tone but don’t bulk up – especially the calves.
Others have a naturally soft musculature that makes muscle definition difficult to attain – including Eye, Heart, Intestinal, Skin and Spleen. Even with toned muscles, some body types have a persistent soft layer that hides torso definition and abs. This is most prevalent with Gallbladder, Pancreas, Pituitary and Skin body types.
Emotional / Social – for most body types, physical activity helps to release stress and clear the mind – especially for Adrenal, Blood, Eye, Intestinal, Kidney, Medulla, Nervous System, Spleen and Thalamus body types. Social or group activities are the best type of exercise for Heart, Skin and Nervous System body types. Heavy exercise or weight lifting is contra indicated for them, and the primary benefit of exercise for them is emotional.
Best Time of Day to Exercise
It may not surprise you that there’s an optimal time of day to exercise; but it may surprise you to learn that it varies by body type. Each body type has a different metabolism pattern, and has enough reserve energy for productive exercise at different times of the day.
Adrenal body types do best exercising after 5:00 PM, as this helps them to release the extra adrenaline built up from the stress of the day. Lymph body types are best exercising first thing in the morning, to get everything moving. Intestinal body types do best exercising between 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM when their energy is highest, or they may become exhausted. Pineal body types exercise best before 3:00 PM for the same reason.
For Thalamus and Gallbladder types, normal chores and activities throughout the day provide sufficient exercise as well as a sense of accomplishment. Medulla body types are better off exercising later in the day, as morning exercise results in fatigue by mid-afternoon. Pineal body types are the opposite, as they have more energy for productive exercise before 3:00 PM.
Best Type of Exercise
More pain = more gain, right? Not necessarily. Not all body types are built for heavy, high impact exercise and weight lifting programs. Adrenal, Gonadal, Lymph and Stomach types can handle heavy exercise.
Low impact exercises, such as walking or swimming, are the most beneficial form of exercise for Blood and Intestinal types, which can easily be physically stressed by intense workouts, leading to digestive or other issues.
Vigorous exercises targeting specific areas of the body are especially beneficial to some. Kick boxing can be great for Eye and Lung body types, as they benefit well from vigorous lower-body activities, both physically and through the release of stressful emotions.
Other important considerations vary by body type. Balanced, Gonadal, Pineal and Thymus types have a strong need for sunlight, so outdoors exercise is best for them. Movement is important for Adrenal and Lymph types, so stationary exercise is not optimal. Hypothalamus is best using recreational activities or sports for exercise, because if it’s not fun they won’t make it a priority.
Optimizing Your Exercise Program
Planning the best exercise program starts with your personal goals and your body type. When you set your own standards based upon your body type, success becomes realistic and achievable!
