Aerobic Exercise Games

Aerobic exercise games may enhance your motivation to participate in regular aerobic exercise. Dr. Luisito, a psychiatrist at Bright Horizons in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, says, "People tend to maintain changes made to their life if they enjoy the changes." Aerobic exercise games may provide you an enjoyable option for increasing the amount of physical activity you get daily.

Exercise Recommendations

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that all health adults under the age of 65 participate in at least 30 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise on five days of the week. Exercise does not have to take place for 30 minutes straight to count toward your daily total. Any bout of moderately intense exercise that lasts for at least 10 minutes counts toward your total. However, for the best fat-burning potential, you need to exercise for a minimum of 12 minutes at a moderate intensity, according to Penn State University. As your fitness level increases, gradually move from three 10- to 12-minute exercise sessions to one 30-minute exercise session on most days of the week.

Interactive Video Games

Interactive video games found in arcades, some fitness facilities and for game systems such as Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox allow for short bursts of aerobic exercise. Sometimes these games can act as a springboard to participation in the actual sport, such as football or tennis. However, for the games to have the advantages of other aerobic activities, they need to increase your heart rate and breathing rate to a point where you can no longer sing, according to Patricia Peirce, a professor of Exercise and Rehabilitative Sciences at Slippery Rock University. Peirce says that the best games incorporate full-body movement.

Sports

Many active sports, such as basketball, swimming, tennis, hockey and soccer, provide the same benefits as any other 30-minute workout. The type of sport you participate in determines your exercise intensity and the number of calories you burn. The Mayo Clinic reports that tennis burns up to 872 calories per hour, volleyball burns up to 463 , basketball burns up to 872 , swimming burns up to 763 and running at 8 mph burns up to 1,472. Sports also give you the ability to build friendships while increasing your endurance, improving your health and building lean muscle tissue.

Backyard Games

Backyard games often give you the ability to get an aerobic workout. As long as the activity lasts for more than 10 minutes and increases your heart rate and your breathing rate to a point where you can talk, but not sing, it counts toward your aerobic workout for the day. Even playing fetch with your dog, chasing your kids around the yard or playing a game of kickball, football or soccer with your kids and friends can count as an aerobic exercise game.