You’re at the gym doing a cardio workout and reading the machine for the calories you burned. However jumping on the treadmill, bike or stair climber means so much more then just burning calories, or being bored to get the job done.
You get one body, and taking care if it should be your priority or you can’t do a very good job caring for others. Just like the airplane safety drill, put on your oxygen mask first then help others.
So what exactly are the Benefits of Aerobic Exercise?
According to Sparkpeople.com “Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lungs (which make up the cardiovascular system). During exercise, your muscles demand more oxygen-rich blood and give off more carbon dioxide and other waste products. As a result, your heart has to beat faster to keep up. When you follow a consistent aerobic exercise plan, your heart grows stronger so it can meet the muscles' demands without as much effort. Everyone, regardless of their weight, age, or gender, can benefit from aerobic exercise.”
4 Training Methods
“There are various types of training methods, depending on personal preference. Use each of the methods periodically to add variety to your workouts.”
- Continuous trainingis the most common method of aerobic exercise. It involves sustaining one exercise intensity for several minutes 20-60 minutes (or more for long-distance training) at a time.
- Interval traininginvolves alternating between higher and lower intensity intervals throughout one workout. Learn more about the basics of Interval Training, and an advanced form known as High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
- Circuit traininguses a series of exercise stations (which could also include strength training stations), with relatively brief rest intervals between each station. The purpose is to keep the heart rate elevated near the aerobic level for a variety of exercises. Learn more about circuit training.
- Cross-trainingbasically means participating in a variety of different forms of aerobic exercise, either within each session (for example, biking for 15 minutes and then running for 15 minutes) or day-to-day (for example, running 2 days a week, cycling 2 days a week, and swimming 1 day a week). It’s a good idea to cross-train to prevent plateaus and overuse injuries and boost your overall fitness level.
Next time you’re tempted to do the same old thing at the gym or home, think about these other exciting ways to get the benefits of aerobic training. Your heart will thank you for it!
More on Sparkpeople.com and Fitness classes in your local area Image: Ambro
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Comments
GREAT ARTICLE
I agree--this is an excellent piece! Personally, I do HIIT and cross-training to turn up the intensity in my aerobic workouts and also to avoid repetitive stress injury :) But, at the end of the day, ANY exercise is better than sittin' on the couch!!
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