The potential variations are endless, but here are the underlying principles.
Aerobic exercise increases metabolic rate, burns fat and improves cardiac function.
Anaerobic exercise pushes beyond pure aerobics increasing metabolic rate, building endurance, enhancing power and further improving cardiac health (in those who are healthy enough to tolerate this).
When one performs aerobic exercise for up to about 30 minutes, one taps into purely aerobic mechanisms (as a generalization). Beyond the 30 minutes one starts tapping into anaerobic metabolism which is a more efficient calorie burner.
Weight training: as a topic can be overwhelming. In an oversimplified summary:
Lower weight/more repetition: builds some muscle, builds endurance, burns calories to a lesser degree, increases muscle metabolism.
Higher weight/few repetition: builds muscle, builds strength, builds power, ultimately enhances the long term metabolic rate.
Aerobic sessions should be at least 30 minutes long, but 45 – 60 minutes will allow one to accomplish more.
Weight training sessions should include enough work to fatigue at least 4 major muscle groups.
You can combine aerobics and weight training through calisthenics…. Call these mixed sessions. I call them boot camp exercises.
Abdominal strengthening should be viewed as its own category and should (my opinion) done at every workout.
Aerobic workouts should be vigorous enough to get the heartrate up to at least 130 and no more than 160 for 25 minutes or longer. You get more cardiac and metabolic benefit from an aerobic workout if the intensity is varied throughout the session (It also makes them less boring). Straining for a few minutes at a higher intensity makes a lower level exertion seem easier. In this way a medium intensity that seemed hard, done after a few minutes of a really hard exertion, now seems easier…. You end up tolerating a higher average intensity by the end of the session. Not a bad way to progress your workouts.
Aerobics: At least three sessions a week, though 4 – 5 are the ultimate goal.
Walking: Walk for 30 minutes at a medium pace (2.5 miles/hour).
When this gets too easy, add two to five minute intervals of walking as fast as you can. Once you can do 3 five minute intervals at a speed pace in a 30 minute walk, increase the length of the walk. You can also use three levels of intensity, in the same way ( for example: 3 minutes warm up, slow pace, 5 minutes medium pace, 2 minutes fast pace, 3 minutes medium pace, 2 minutes slow pace, 5 minutes fast pace 3 minutes medium pace, 2 minutes slow pace).
A 30 minute speed walk with no slow intervals is a good “medium to hard” aerobic workout when you don’t have a lot of time. This would be a session where you do not vary the intensity, but keep it high the whole time, but for a shorter workout time. This is a good thing to do at least once a week. When 30 minutes at your highest intensity gets too easy, you’ll need to find something to do that is harder than walking ( ie run, bike, swim or join a gym to have access to other aerobic equipment)
For any other type of aerobic workout, the same system of varying intensity can be applied.
Add calisthenics to a walk: Add 30 second to 2 minute intervals of lunging steps, or broad jumps or skips. Walk backwards for segments, jog, or sprint.
An excellent way to build functional power and endurance is to interrupt an aerobic walk with 2-3 minutes of abdominal crunches, pushups, or other stationary calisthenics.
