Exercising for longer periods of times requires your body to consume more oxygen and is frequently referred to as aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise helps make your heart stronger by increasing the need for oxygen by the muscles. According to the Cleveland Clinic, aerobic exercise helps make your cardiovascular system more healthy and work more efficiently, lowers your blood pressure and even increases the amount of "good" cholesterol in the body. Be sure to check with your doctor to ensure that you're healthy enough for these activities.
Cycling
Cycling helps stimulate your oxygen usage by increasing the amount of blood needed by your muscles, and does so without any unnecessary strain on your muscles and joints, according to cycling enthusiast Ken Kifer. Unlike running, you can cycle without worrying about damage to your knees, ankles or other joints. There is some discussion about the length and duration of your cycling exercise program to gain the best health benefits, but most people agree that working out three days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes can help improve your health. In addition, you even help protect the environment by cycling instead of driving, cutting down on pollution and the production of greenhouse gasses.
Running
Jogging and running have been called "the best form of aerobics (sic) execise" to lose weight and burn calories by the fitness page at NaturalHomeRemedies.com because it relies heavily on the heart and cardiovascular system. Running helps improve your endurance, alleviates stress and helps you clean out impurities in your body through your sweat. As an added benefit, you may discover that as you are running, your body may produce endorphins to give you what is known as a "runner's high." By running regularly as little as three times a week you may see a decrease in fat on your body, improved energy levels and even better checkups by your doctor.
Swimming
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), swimming is ranked as the third most popular sport in the country. It is an activity that forces your entire body to work hard to push itself through the water, making it an extremely beneficial exercise program. Like cycling, swimming is a great exercise for the sedentary or older person because it works your body hard without any pounding stresses on the body, making it beneficial for people who are overweight, injured or suffering from osteoporosis. Like other aerobic exercises, swimming can help reduce the levels of fat on your body, lower your chances of getting serious disease, cardiovascular problems or other illnesses as a result of inactivity. If you need even more reason to take up swimming as an aerobic activity, the CDC notes that "swimmers have about half the risk of death compared with inactive people."
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