Not to be confused solely with jumping around to music wearing spandex, "aerobic training" encompasses all physical activity that affects the cardiopulmonary system. Vigorous exercise such as running, cycling and swimming increases the uptake of oxygen into the bloodstream and increases the strength and capacity of both the heart and lungs. Potential benefits include optimum resting heart rate, a healthy level of blood pressure and lower risk of developing diabetes, or diseases of the heart and lungs.
What is Aerobic?
The literal meaning of aerobic is "to live in air." However, in 1968 Dr. Kenneth Cooper added an "s" to the word and created the familiar term aerobics, to encapsulate his research into the effects of exercise. His definition of aerobic activity focused on physical exercise producing improvements in the respiratory and circulatory systems. Aerobic benefits occur when the body is working between 40 percent and 80 percent of its age-related maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate, known as MHR, is calculated as follows: 220 - age = MHR.
Heart Action
During aerobic activity, the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each stroke increases, as does the number of beats the heart performs each minute. This is an involuntary reaction to satisfy the need for oxygenated blood and nutrients demanded by skeletal muscles. Because the heart is a muscle, it responds to training in the same way all muscles do, therefore progressive training will increase the volume of blood moved and power of each contraction.
Chemical Reactions
Oxygen in the lungs moves into the tiny blood vessels called capillaries and into the blood. It is then attracted to a chemical called hemoglobin. As this "oxygenated" blood travels around the body, it releases the oxygen into the cells of the muscles. Aerobic activity doesn't increase the amount of hemoglobin in the body, but what it does is encourage the hemoglobin to release more of the oxygen it is carrying rather than returning it to the lungs to be breathed out.
Aerobic Activity for Weight Control
For many people, the reason they do aerobic exercise is weight control. However, the calories burned while active are only part of the benefits. Dr. William Kraus of Duke University Medical Center established strong evidence that "long-term exercise training can lead to both short and long-term improvements in carbohydrate metabolism." This means that a person who performs frequent aerobic exercise will process carbohydrates more effectively during and after exercise.
Training Guidance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests exercising moderately for 150 minutes a week, such as doing activities like walking fast, water aerobics, riding a bike on level ground and pushing a lawn mower, or performing more vigorous aerobic activity for 75 minutes a week. Examples include jogging and running, swimming laps and playing a competitive sport.
Aerobic exercise is beneficial for most people, however, there are some existing conditions that affect your ability to exercise, so always consult your doctor before changing activity levels.
