What Is Aerobic Exercise?
Has the massive world of fitness recently grabbed your interest? Perhaps, you’re in search of the ideal exercise plan for yourself? Whatever the case is, you’ll be glad to know that you’re in the right place because we’ve got just what you need!
If you’ve been involved in the fitness industry for a while, then you must’ve come across the term ‘Aerobic Exercise’ multiple times. We’re here to help you acknowledge what this means and how it proves to be an essential part of your fitness plan.
So, without further ado, let’s get straight into the topic!
What Does Aerobic Exercise Mean?
First and foremost, you must understand what aerobic exercises are in order to comprehend their role in exercise. Aerobic exercises are cardiovascular exercises that fulfill the primary purpose of making your heart pump faster. As a result, blood quickly flows through every part of your body and causes your lungs to take in oxygen at a much faster rate than usual.
Aerobic, also meaning “with oxygen”, basically highlights that your breathing determines the quantity of oxygen that reaches your muscles. As more oxygen reaches your muscles, more energy is produced by a process known as Aerobic Respiration, which involves the breakdown of stored nutrients, including fat, in the presence of oxygen.
With the help of this process, your body not only generates energy to complete physically demanding tasks but also burns fat deposited in your muscles. Different aerobic exercises come with varying intensities and can be performed for long periods of time, unlike other kinds of exercise.
How Can Aerobic Exercise Benefit You?
Now that you know what aerobic exercises are, the next step for you is to understand how these can prove to be beneficial for your health. Numerous health and fitness experts believe that aerobic exercise is arguably one of the most essential parts of your fitness routine, primarily because of the plenty of benefits that they’re associated with. As you continue to regularly perform aerobic exercises, you’ll notice a prominent increase in your strength, fitness, weight management, stamina, and mood.
While most of you might already be aware of the importance of cardio, for those who aren’t, here are some of the numerous benefits associated with aerobic exercise:
· Greater stamina and strength
· Decrease in your resting heart rate
· Effective weight loss due to the burning of fat
· Improved lung, heart, and muscle function
· Lower cholesterol level and opens up arteries
· Reduced risk of chronic disease or stroke
· Enhanced mood with lower stress, anxiety, and depression
· Increased life expectancy due to improved health
Types of Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that increases your breathing and heart rate – resulting in improved cardiovascular fitness. It helps to burn calories, build stamina and even relieve stress. And while running, walking, biking and swimming are all aerobic exercise staples, there are a few other popular activities you may want to consider adding to your routine.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the different types of aerobic exercise:
· Jumping rope: A great calorie-burning aerobic workout that doesn't require any equipment. It can be done almost anywhere and provides a total body workout.
· Step aerobics: The traditional “stepping” class where you use an adjustable platform can help get your heart rate up as you go through movements tailored to the beat of the music.
· Dancing: From zumba to hip-hop, busting a move can do wonders for your cardiovascular system. Not only will it improve your endurance but it can also be a great way to have some fun while exercising.
· Hiking: Get out into nature and enjoy the view while working up a sweat! This low-impact form of cardio is perfect for anyone looking for an outdoor adventure while still getting their cardio in.
Whether you’re a gym buff or prefer outdoor activities, there’s an aerobic exercise that fits everyone’s preferences.
How to Incorporate Aerobic Exercise Into Your Routine
Aerobic exercise is an important part of any fitness program and should be included in your routine, even if you're just starting out. The good news is that it doesn't have to take a long time or be an incredibly difficult task. All it takes is some simple steps to get you going.
Here's how you can incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine:
· Start small: Aim for a few minutes of aerobic exercise each day and work up from there. Even a five-minute walk around the block can get your heart rate up and help you burn extra calories throughout the day.
· Find activities that fit into your lifestyle: Choose activities that fit into your lifestyle, such as walking or jogging on the treadmill at home, going for a bike ride with friends, taking an aerobics class at the gym, or simply playing a game of basketball in your driveway.
· Set realistic goals: Set realistic goals and track your progress as you go along. Create mini-goals that set smaller benchmarks to help keep you motivated and working towards bigger goals.
By taking these simple steps, you'll be on the way to incorporating aerobic exercise into your routine and reaping its benefits in no time!
Simple Aerobic Exercises to Begin With
By now, you must’ve understood whether or not aerobic exercise is the right choice for you. So, let’s get started with how you can build a fitness routine consisting of aerobic exercise that would produce the optimum results for you.
Here are some examples of the most popular aerobic exercises that you can begin with.
Walking
If you want to make walking the main part of your exercise plan, then you need to complete at least 150 minutes of walking each week. This can be further broken down into 30 minutes 5 days a week. Furthermore, you may also use a fitness tracker to keep track of how many steps you’re taking every day. You can further work on it by gradually increasing your daily step count by 500 or 1,000 after every one or two weeks.
Running Or Jogging
Running and jogging are easily one of the most simple and effective aerobic exercises that could do wonders for your health. If you’re just beginning, then you can start with 20 to 30 minutes twice a week. Your running pace doesn’t need to be too fast at first; however, you can gradually increase it with every passing week.
Jump Rope
Jump rope is a fun exercise that won’t just ensure promising results in terms of health and fitness, but also make your fitness plan a little more fun. The recommended duration for this exercise is 15 to 25 minutes 3 to 5 times every week.
Swimming
If you have access to a pool, then swimming is a necessary part of your fitness plan. Swimming not only fulfills its primary purpose of raising your heartbeat but also trains each and every muscle of your body. The ideal duration would be 10 to 30 minutes 2 to 5 times every week.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During Aerobic Exercise
When doing aerobic exercises, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of common mistakes that can lead to bad habits or even injury.
Some common mistakes to avoid when doing aerobic exercise include:
1. Not warming up and cooling down properly. Warming up is important for allowing your body time to adjust while cooling down helps your body normalize after a high-intensity workout.
2. Not listening to your body and pushing yourself too hard. Make sure you’re in tune with how your body is feeling during the workout—listen if it feels too uncomfortable or if you need to take a break. Doing too much too soon can cause strain on your muscles, leading to potential injury or pain.
3. Doing the same exercise session repeatedly without changing the intensity, duration, or type of exercise. Incorporating different kinds of aerobic exercises can help improve your fitness levels and prevent boredom that may lead to burnout.
4. Failing to sufficiently hydrate and refuel with healthy snacks like fruits and nuts during exercise sessions lasting longer than 30 minutes. Proper hydration prevents dehydration and fatigue during exercise while eating healthy snacks helps keep you energized throughout the entire session!
By taking note of these tips, you can help ensure an enjoyable and safe aerobic workout experience each time!
By consistently following a fitness plan with the right aerobic exercises, you should begin to notice drastic results in no time! Although most of the listed benefits of aerobic exercise are hard to notice at first; however, they certainly are present and will become more prominent over the long run.
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Summary of What Is Aerobic Exercise
· Aerobic exercises increase your heart rate
· More Oxygen leads to more energy produced in muscles
· Numerous benefits of aerobic exercise, including improved strength, lower resting heart rate, improved life expectancy, and more
· Different types of aerobic exercise include jumping rope, step aerobics, dancing, and hiking
· In order to incorporate aerobic exercises into your daily routine, you need to start small, find exercises that you enjoy, set goals for yourself
· Walking, running or jogging, jumping rope, and swimming are the ideal aerobic exercises for beginners
