You've probably heard people using terms like cardio and aerobic exercise. Actually, these terms mean the same thing: sustained physical activity. Aerobic exercise can range from a pleasant walk to intensive athletic training. According to the Mayo Clinic, aerobic exercise provides many benefits and can enhance both your physical health and sense of well-being.
Identification
Aerobic exercise is physical activity that is continuous and vigorous enough to force your heart and breathing rates to increase. The aerobic exercises most commonly mentioned are walking, jobbing, swimming, and cycling. However, many other activities, such as tennis, basketball, and hiking are also forms of aerobic exercise. Exercise that does not sustain an increase in your breathing rate is not considered aerobic, although it may still have benefits.
Effects
When you start an aerobic workout, your muscles begin working harder and require more oxygen. Your blood flow increases to carry extra oxygen taken in by your lungs to those muscles. Your muscle tissues use the oxygen to burn glucose or fat and produce the energy they need to perform the exercise workout.
Benefits
As the Mayo Clinic website points out, the list of documented benefits of aerobic exercise is extensive. Aerobic activity helps you lose or maintain weight. You increase your resistance to viral infections and lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. You will notice increased stamina. Aerobic exercise can help manage many existing health conditions, like high blood pressure. You can relieve stress with aerobic exercise; and chances are you will live longer. As you grow older, you will be able to remain independent and active longer with a regular program of aerobic exercise.
Duration
A good program of aerobic exercise should involve at least 30 minutes of continuous exercise five or more days each week. Starting out, you might need to do shorter workouts and limit them to three days a week until your physical fitness level is up to the demands of a full aerobic exercise routine. Thirty minutes is not a limit. You can do much more if you build up gradually. For example, marathon runners routinely run one to two hours or more several days each week.
Intensity
How vigorously you exercise matters. A good rule of thumb is that if you are unable to talk normally while exercising, you are pushing too hard and should ease off. You can track your exercise intensity more accurately by using target heart rate, or THR. Your THR is a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Estimate maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220 or for women, 226. For beginners, THR should be 50 to 60 percent of maximum for several weeks. Then gradually increase to 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you go over 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, you are getting into the intensity ranges used for serious endurance training. That's fine, but you should wait about six months before trying to exercise at that level. Otherwise, you risk injury.
Member Comments