Exercising aerobically means to exercise with oxygen, increasing your heart rate for 15 minutes or longer, says the University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point. Regular aerobic exercise will give you more stamina and energy, lower fatigue, improve sleep patterns, brighten your mood, help you lose weight and decrease disease risk. You can choose from a wide variety of aerobic workouts to keep you motivated.
Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is a staple exercise among boxers and martial artists. It helps develop fast footwork and gives a good aerobic workout. You can jump with knees high, feet barely off the ground or with alternating feet. You can try double jumps or super fast jumps, or just jump at a leisurely pace. Jumping rope takes some practice to become proficient. To find the right rope, step on the middle of the rope with both feet. The handles should reach to the middle of your chest, says Georgia State University.
Swimming
Swimming is an exercise for your total body and gives a very effective aerobic workout. The resistance of the water, plus both upper and lower body working at the same time, will elevate your heart rate quickly. Different strokes include the freestyle or front crawl, butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke. Mixing in all of them will work a wider range of muscles. To keep your swimming workout organized, swim a set number of laps or for a specific amount of time.
Bike Riding
Both road cycling and off-road mountain biking work the large muscles of the legs and increase your heart rate. Bike riding can be done outside, or inside with a stationary bike. Riding a bike is good for interval training, where you give maximum effort for a short distance, followed by a coasting recovery, then repeat. Choose hilly terrain if you want to challenge your heart, lungs and legs even more.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing on a heavy bag, or as part of a routine in a fitness class, will give you a challenging aerobic workout. In either format, you perform kicks, punches and different combinations of the two in rapid succession. Training with kickboxing on a bag may stress your muscles more than hitting an imaginary opponent. Some techniques usually performed include roundhouse, front and side kicks, jabs, hook punches, straight punches, elbows and knees.
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