Aerobic Workouts

 

Aerobic workouts are an effective way to control your weight, exercise your heart, strengthen your muscles and just make you feel healthier. It can also help you live a longer, healthier life and enhance your well being. Aerobic workouts are any exercise that helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. This is done by increasing your heart rate and breathing harder for an extended period of time. Regular aerobic activity can increase your ability to take in and transport that oxygen improving your aerobic capacity. A regular aerobic routine gives your heart the kind of workout that helps it do a better job of delivering oxygen to all your organs. It makes your heart more efficient and stronger. When you raise your heart rate your body begins to used stored carbohydrates and fatty acids for energy. That boosts your mood, helps you with weight loss and can even lower your blood sugar levels. Aerobic activity makes you feel better about yourself so you can enjoy life more. It can also help increase your stamina and even help you manage stress. A session of exercise and cardiovascular fitness can help you relax after a stressful day at work and help you sleep better at night. When you exercise, the brain releases endorphins that put you in a better mood so you feel good. As we get older, if you maintain a regular aerobic exercise routine your muscles will stay stronger and help you avoid fractures and falls. This helps keep you independent for a longer period of time. People who exercise on a regular basis live longer than those who don't. If you think aerobic activity has to be expensive, think again. If you don't belong to a gym or have a exercise machine at home, try taking a brisk walk, swimming laps, riding a bicycle or even go out dancing. Any activity that raises the heart rate for at least 20 minutes is considered aerobic. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Exercise can help you live longer, stay healthier and feel great. The benefits of regular aerobic workouts are not just good for weight loss but good for your body, your mind and even your soul.

 

Being physically fit is having the ability to perform your daily activities with ease, while having enough energy in reserve to perform an unexpected task such as running after a child. The physically fit have healthy hearts, blood vessels, lungs and muscles that enable them to fully enjoy active lifestyles

The four components of physical fitness are:
1. aerobic endurance (often called "cardio")
2. strength
3. flexibility
4. maintaining or improving body composition

By improving aerobic endurance and muscular strength, body composition improvements will occur in time. The first three components are considered the "pillars of fitness". Performing aerobic, strength training and flexibility exercises constitute a well-rounded physical fitness program.

The term "Aerobics" was coined by Kenneth Cooper, M.D. and it is the title of his popular book that was published in the late 1960s. 'Aerobic' literally means "with oxygen" and it refers to a group of exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and cross-country skiing. Aerobic exercises use large muscle groups continuously for fairly long periods of time.

Regular aerobic exercise confers the following health benefits:

 

• Reduction in blood pressure
• Increased HDL, the "good cholesterol"
• Decreased total cholesterol
• Decreased body fat stores
• Increased physical working capacity
• Improved sensitivity to insulin
• Increased heart function