Fitness – It’s All about the Right Mix
Variety and balance are the keys to holistic fitness training. If you focus only on strength training but never stretch, you’ll become stiff and inflexible over time. If you only run but never stabilize your muscles, you risk knee or back problems. And if you only do yoga without building muscle, you may become flexible and agile—but you won’t be strengthening your body.
A good and well-rounded fitness program should address all basic motor skills. That’s why it’s important to avoid one-sided strain and include a varied mix of different training types in your routine. Ideally, this mix consists of strength training, endurance training, and mobility exercises. This approach leads to long-term success and keeps you balanced both physically and mentally.
Strength Training for More Stability
Strength training—often associated with heavy weights and glistening muscles—actually has its greatest benefit in improving your posture and protecting your joints and spine. Whether at home or in the gym, strength training should always target the entire body, working all major muscle groups.
If you’re a beginner, you should initially avoid free weights due to the risk of injury and instead use machines with guided movements. Light weights with higher repetitions are more effective than maximum loads—this way, you train not only your muscles but also your cardiovascular system.
Bodyweight exercises such as squats, push-ups, or planks are even gentler on the joints and still highly effective. Tools like resistance bands or TRX systems offer gentle resistance that can be gradually increased. This helps minimize the risk of poor posture and overuse.
Endurance Training – The Heart Needs More Than Dumbbells
Endurance training is essential for strengthening the cardiovascular system. It lowers your blood pressure, strengthens your heart, and improves circulation to your organs. It also lifts your mood, reduces stress, and helps you sleep better. Not to mention: endurance training significantly boosts fat burning.
Whether it’s jogging, cycling, swimming, hiking, or dancing—you have many options. What’s most important is that you find an activity you genuinely enjoy. Only when you have fun will you stick with it long term. And only with regular, long-term endurance training will the positive cardiovascular effects appear.
For beginners especially, intensity should be carefully managed. A simple rule of thumb: you should still be able to hold a conversation while training—that corresponds to about 60–70% of your maximum heart rate. As for frequency, the rule is: moderate but consistent. Two to three sessions per week, each lasting 20 to 30 minutes, are more than enough to get started.
Mobility and Flexibility
Flexibility—alongside strength and endurance—is the often underestimated but equally important third pillar of your fitness program. Improving mobility and flexibility protects you from injuries: shortened muscles and stiff joints are more likely to lead to strains, muscle tears, or ligament injuries.
Good flexibility also enhances your strength development—because strength is always expressed within the available range of motion. This means you can activate more muscle fibers during strength training and perform endurance activities more efficiently and with less energy.
Stretching and mobility exercises aren’t just “nice to have”—they’re a must. They should be an integral part of your training plan. Yoga and Pilates are perfect complements to strength and endurance training: they not only enhance flexibility, but also body awareness, physical balance, and mental focus. What was once ridiculed is now a core element in the training routines of many elite athletes—also for building mental resilience.
Conclusion:
A good fitness routine is based on the synergistic interaction of three pillars: strength, endurance, and mobility. This synergy can be summed up as follows:
- Strength is the ability to move something.
- Endurance is the ability to do it for a long time.
- Mobility is the ability to do it correctly.