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Aerobics and health benefits? Aerobics or aerobic exercises basically refer to the process of physical conditioning which is designed to improve respiratory and circulatory efficiency. The word ‘aerobics’ itself means ‘with oxygen’. This involves intense and sustained exercise such as swimming, cycling, and jogging etc.

Boxing exercises provide you with a full body workout because they work most of the bodys physiological systems.

Any activity that keeps you moving at a sustained level of exertion can be a cardio workout: walking, running, jogging, mountain bicycling, hiking, calisthenics, and aerobic dancing are only a few. You want to build up to a higher level of exercise that you can maintain for at least 20 minutes at least three times a week.

Specialized resistance exercises in a boxing workout help your musculoskeletal system become stronger. These workouts are more than 60 % anaerobic, so that you get a cardio workout as well.

In the gym it’s also very common to see people on machines but not reaching the required intensity level. If your body can handle level 10 and you are gong at level 3 it’s going to struggle to really make gains in fitness and health. However, do not be mistaken that level 3 is useless. It’s still exponentially more beneficial than the person who never does any aerobic training, but more often than not will not get you the results you desire.

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Hula hooping

Yep, a $3 hula hoop. Twirling the hula hoop around your waist is one of the best aerobic exercises for the abdomen. It is great for toning and shaping the waist and hips. All you need to do is hula hoop 10 minutes a day and You will be moving closer to getting a belly dancer’s type of body.

Weight lifting

The real key to lose fat is to combine weight lifting with aerobic exercises. If you do too much cardio you are able to lose muscle although this does not happen occasionally.

Weigh lifting helps you to build muscles and the more muscles you have the faster your metabolism works and the more stubborn body fat You will burn.

Aerobics Exercises are ways to improve coordination, mobility and muscle strength along with a number of other things such as psychological and physiological well-being. This form of exercise provide a large host of benefits such as improving your over-all fitness, burning of calories, lowering your susceptibility against developing cardiac arrests and other forms of heart problems. It also increases your mobility, muscle endurance, body postures, decreases stress and alleviate self-esteem by assisting you manage your weight properly.

The term aerobics means “with oxygen”. While performing aerobic exercises your heart, lungs, and blood vessels respond to your physical activity by increasing the oxygen available to your muscles. These exercises must use big muscle groups, and the activity must be sustained for a period of time.

• Strengthens heart so it can pump more oxygen-rich blood to your tissues with every beat.

• Improves fitness. As you develop your aerobic stamina you are able to increase your intensity and duration. And recovery time decreases.

• Decreases  the risk of certain cancers.

• Increases your resistance to fatigue.

• Improves your mood and reduces depression and anxiety.

• Improves the quality of your sleep.

• Increases good (HDL) cholesterol.

• Assists control and reduce body fat.

Heart rates and target zones for aerobic exercise

For general guidelines used in deciding your maximum heart rate and target heart rate ranges, refer to the chart below.

Age….Max.heart rate(beats/minute)…Target range(beats/minute)

20-24________________200______________120-150

25-29________________195______________117-146

30-34________________190______________114-142

35-39________________185______________111-139

40-44________________180______________108-135

45-49________________174______________105-131

50-54________________170______________102-127

55-59________________165______________ 99-123

60-64________________160_______________96-120

65-69________________155_______________93-116

70 and older___________150_______________90-113

Aerobics can stand on its own or be part of a weight training program which includes body exercises, flexibility exercises, and weight training. There are many exercises you can do without going to the gym and without weights. You can use your own body weight as the resistance and get a great workout in the process. Aerobics and body weight exercises can also supplement a weight training program.

Here are some tips that go for body weight exercises as well as exercises using weighted resistance. Before you move on to using weights in your resistance training be certain you are aware of these tips.

1. Before any high intensity training, do a low intensity warm up for 5 minutes that makes you sweat. Before lifting weights do a warm up lift for 1-3 sets

2. Do not throw your body around. Do not let momentum control the movement. You should be able to pause at any spot in the motion and prove control.

3. Concentrate on what you are doing at the moment. Do not have conversation during a set. Losing focus leads to lack of form, which can lead to injury.

4. Learn and practice proper form for a few weeks before adding resistance. Increase weight and intensity in small, gradual steps. Never more directly into intensive training on an exercise you aren’t familiar with.

5. Don’t hold your breath. Particularly during very hard workouts. If you were using weights and passed out you might be severely injured. Be certain to always breath out during the most challenging phase of the work out. Breath through your nose and mouth.

6. Never continue an exercise if you experience pain. Pain is not the same thing as muscular discomfort. The motto “no pain – no gain” has done a great deal of damage to athletes. Typically poor form is responsible for the pain. Learn, and fix the problem.

Want to use aerobic exercise to keep healthy? So did I, and so do I! But when I first came upon the idea of aerobic exercise the only option was jogging, although I think ‘aerobics’ or really aerobic dancing was just coming in. Not for me. So I joined the band of people who went around jogging up and down the road.

I learned that you needed to exercise every other day from the original exponents of the idea of aerobic exercise, and so that’s what I did. I used to be quite good at doing it every couple of days, except when travelling on business or on holiday.

Jogging for group fitness for a while -

Then I stopped doing it for a while, and took it up when I realized I was getting out of shape. Eventually, I got fed up with jogging. It is not much fun. Now if you are a really long distance runner, you get a kick from running – it’s a natural high. But I can’t say I got that.

Then, I heard that you can damage your joints, specifically the knees, with too much jogging on concrete, so I gave it up – except at times of stress when I found the exercise helped calm me down! Of course, if you can jog on grass or heathland that will be OK, specifically if you don’t do it too much.

Then I started swimming regularly

Later I tried swimming. Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise you can take, as it exercises almost every muscle in the body – and is definitely aerobic. I found I soon got bored with pounding up and down the pool, probably because I am not a good swimmer and use too much energy doing it.

So I gave that up, too! Next came cycling, and when I started I was living in a very hilly area, so you couldn’t go more that a mile without coming to a steep hill and getting your heart beat up suitably. Despite those hills I enjoyed cycling – always have I suppose, ever since my first proper bike gave me some real freedom at thirteen years old.

So now I cycle every two days. Although it’s fairly flat where I live there just enough hills for this to qualify as aerobic exercise. I enjoy it, and it keeps me fit. Of course you need some other exercise as well – and this could be walking occasional swimming or whatever.

So, to keep fit do some aerobic exercise. Try one you think You will enjoy, and if that doesn’t work, attempt another. Cycling, power walking – preferably in a hilly area – jogging, swimming, roller blading, many sports and lots of other forms of exercise qualify as aerobic. The minimum according to the experts is that you exercise for eight minutes with your heart beat up about 40%. You can achieve the same result with a lower increase for a longer period, so choose something that you enjoy as your form of aerobic exercise.

If you’re anything like me and enjoy the swimming pool, then water aerobic exercise is for you. It is simply a great way to get a workout and has become well-liked among people of all shapes and sizes and of all ages as well.

The benefits of water aerobic exercise are achieved with relative ease and you can increase the challenges to the activity with water exercise equipment, too.

Hydro-Tone offers a variety of water exercise equipment that’ll help its users maximize their water aerobic workout. This unique company has designed workout equipment that works with natural water resistance. The product helps you use your full range of motion while providing extra resistance from the water itself.

Many people opt to go to water aerobic exercise for their workouts if they experience pain in their joints when engaged in regular land workout routines. Aerobic activity may be very hard on your joints. Using water aerobic fitness programs will help you reap the benefits of a regular land workout without the damage to sensitive joints.

However, some people opt to incorporate an water aerobic workout into their land-based workout regime. Cross-training is idea for advanced person as well as those building up their fitness routine to a more difficult level of activity. The water aerobic exercise will help strengthen joints to help your land-based workout and the activity also helps you avoid injury as well.

Water aerobic exercise routines are commonly associated with the elderly or the morbidly obese but anyone benefits from the training. Adding water exercise equipment to your water aerobic exercise fitness program will help you progress as you would through just about any land-based workout. The water-based workout also helps your joints strengthen enough to take the punishment many land-based workout dishes out.

If you are a workout enthusiast who wants to strengthen joints, tone muscles and burn fat then you may want to consider adding an water aerobic exercise routine into your fitness regimen. You will find yourself surrounded by people of all different fitness levels and abilities but You will also find yourself burning fat, building lean muscle mass and strengthening joints.

Working out in water is an activity that can be accomplished any time of year. You can get some fresh air and exercise outdoors in the summer without breaking a sweat and you can have a nice, warm workout in the winter months by visiting your nearest gym.

There are so many benefits to adding this kind of exercise into your regular workout routine. I encourage you to give this wonderful program a try. Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise there is, but water aerobic exercise takes it to a whole new level.

Without a doubt, one of the most popular and most beneficial fitness plans is aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is one of the key ingredients to a healthy body. While weight training is helpful in sculpting a great figure, aerobic exercise is the cornerstone to any workout and it is the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. Not only can group fitness help you stay in shape, these exercises can also help your physical well being.

People who have diabetes benefit from aerobic exercise. The workout helps keep blood sugar levels on target. Simply taking a brisk walk three times each week will decrease your blood sugar levels significantly. This will help you avoid complications caused by diabetes over the course of time. Such complications include heart disease and kidney failure.

Your heart will thank you, too. Healthful aerobic exercise will strengthen your heart muscle and this helps the muscle to pump more blood with each heartbeat. The benefit of this is your heart does not have to work as hard to get the same amount of blood through your system. The less blood that flows with each pump, the more beats per minute required to get the job done.

This improved blood flow benefits all part of your body as well. Good circulation is a boon to every inch, providing oxygen and nutrients to the cells. A strong heart provides the blood flow necessary to keep the body well-fed. It also insures that the body gets enough oxygen to help it function to its greatest capacity.

Your mood will also improve if you engage in consistent aerobic exercise. This type of exercise helps elevate your mood and it helps give your body the energy it needs to complete daily activities with ease. Aerobic exercise is also a great way to relieve stress and anxiety.

Many women worry about osteoporosis as they get older. The signs of osteoporosis can become obvious in the early 30’s in many women. Adding weight bearing aerobic exercise into your weekly routine can help your body build strong bones. One of the most popular weight bearing exercises around today is walking.

Person who suffer from conditions like arthritis will benefit from low-impact or no-impact aerobic exercises like swimming and water aerobics. These kinds of workouts are very good to your joints. Many believe that these activities actually improve their mobility in the long run.

Of course, these benefits are of great interest to all of us, but there are many people who simply use group fitness to lose weight, which works great. By eating a more healthy diet and beginning an group fitness program, you can begin to get on the road to great health!

Some people use aerobic exercise as a warm up exercise before they move on to their real workout such as lifting weights, using dumbbells and stuff like that. What they don’t realize is that doing these other exercises without combining it with some sort of aerobic exercise they will not be able to get the full benefits such as the muscle strength required to lift those dumbbells or other heavy weights. Lifting weights without using regular aerobic exercise may also affect the flexibility of your body. Aerobic Activities are usually geared to strengthen muscle and endurance and also improve flexibility for better body movement. Without these three important attributes You will not be able to benefit fully from any exercise program you chose.

In weight training which is basically a form of isotonic exercise (meaning same, strength, distance), the muscles are used to push up or pull the weights, whether they’re dumbbells or barbells and may be altered to meet the required amount of weight that you may require and are easy to grip. Some forms of weight training exercises do not use isotonic exercises because the muscle force varies as the joint moves through the motion, but the force remains constant.

There are two basic types of exercises, strength training Exercises and aerobic exercises. Aerobic Activities increases your heart rate through rapid movement of big muscles. The two type of aerobic exercises are: Weight-bearing – such as walking jogging or skipping, this sort of exercise is where muscles will work against the force of gravity. The other is Non-weight-bearing – gravity is non existent in this type of exercise, these are exercises such as swimming or riding a bike. Strength training exercises are used mainly to increase the tone, power and efficiency of the muscles by toning isolated muscles against resistance.

When you compare different exercises with aerobic exercise you find that aerobic exercises offer a wider range of exercise to suit your specific needs, unlike other exercises that are basically designed for one particular purpose. Additionally aerobic exercises may be used in the treatment of a wide range of aliments such as heart problems, diabetes and arthritis to name a few. So to elaborate on the topic of aerobic exercises versus the rest, it would be fair to say that aerobic exercises stands out way in front of other exercises, and are practiced worldwide.

Aerobics, also known as cardio vascular exercises, are excellent for the health and should be regularly done as a part of a healthy life because studies show that aerobics help to enhance the energy level, increase metabolism and also helps in weight loss, if done along with a proper balanced diet.

But doing aerobic exercises might not be practically possible by many people due to various reasons like certain medical conditions that might prevent them from undergoing jogging or walking. Sometimes weather also plays a spoilsport. In such circumstances, aerobics activity equipment may be of great help to regularly follow these cardiovascular activities.

A treadmill or a stair climber is the foremost aerobic equipment that is commonly used by most of the people. Treadmill may be practiced at any time of the day whenever it is convenient and may be practiced at home. Almost all types of treadmills have shock absorption and but it lowers the strain to the ankles, knees and lower back of the users.

If people can afford to spend a little on equipment, the recumbent exercise bikes would as much useful since they are quite comfortable. There are many different models and types in these bikes and come in different ranges of prices too. Exercise bikes do not involve jerky procedures as other equipment do and are perfect for indoor exercising and help to reduce obesity.

Elliptical fitness equipment is aerobic equipment that is becoming increasingly well-liked among health conscious people around the world. Additionally known as elliptical trainer, elliptical fitness equipment provides low impact on the muscles in the body as it uses arms and leg movements simultaneously. Elliptical fitness equipment helps to work all the muscles at the same time.

Aerobics equipment requires a person to work at least thrice a day and a consistent routine is essential. Exercise bikes are also well-liked aerobic equipment that are specifically useful for home use with a lot of varieties. In addition to upright exercise bikes, of late, there are upper body workouts that have recumbent seats to support the lower back and leave the hands and arms free, so that the upper body may be used for exercises.

Those who suffer from knee problem and unable to do running or cycling exercises can opt for rowing machines which are available in many models from light weight folding models to heavier rigid designs. In addition to aerobic benefits, rowing machines are also very good in strengthening arms, back, shoulders and abdomen muscles.

There are scores of aerobic equipment in the market to perform cardio vascular exercises and all it needs is, the motivation and consistency to do exercises regularly, coupled with a healthy balanced diet.

This refers to a particular form of exercise which can either help or even improve the consumption of oxygen by the body. The word Aerobic means “an association with oxygen”, and involves the use of oxygen in the body’s metabolic process by which energy is generated.

In general, Aerobic Exercises are associated with a level of exertion that tends to be low, and over longer periods of time. A warm up period should precede any aerobic session for best results. This should then be followed by 15-20 minutes of either moderate or ranging through to intense exercise which utilises large muscle groups. The session would end with a short period of cooling down.

Historical Development

The theory of aerobic exercise was created by Dr Cooper, an exercise physiologist, and Col. Potts, a physical therapist, both of the United States Air Force. Dr. Cooper, who was himself a keen exercise enthusiast, could not understand why some people with excellent muscular strength were still unable to give good performances with tasks such as long-distance running, swimming, and cycling.

In order to measure the work done by the exerciser, he used a bike ergometer, which consists of a stationary bike fitted with a system of measuring the amount of energy expended. He began by measuring the performance achieved using this apparatus in terms of an individual’s ability to use oxygen. The results of his work, which were published in 1968, included different types of exercise programs.

Around that time in the United States, there was growing concern, in certain quarters, at the increasing weakness and inactivity in the general population, coupled with a lack of suitable exercise. His research results became the yardstick for most group exercise programs which are focused on an individual’s oxygen-consumption.

Comparison

When a high level of activity is achieved, sugars are converted into energy and it’s this process that forms the basis of anaerobic exercise. This type of exercise is helpful for athletes to generate power when they’re involved in non-endurance sports. It’s also used by body builders to build up muscle mass. Muscles trained under such conditions develop in a different way. Such exercise can help performance over short periods of time.

Conversely, Aerobic exercise involves less intense activities over a longer time periods. Examples of such activities include cycling, swimming, running and walking. In each case, a huge volume of oxygen is needed in order to generate the required amount of energy needed for exercise over such prolonged periods.

Weight training and weight training are good examples of Anaerobic exercise.

These two forms of exercise differ not only in terms of the time involved and level of intensity of the muscular contractions involved, but also by the way in which the energy is produced within the muscle itself.

During Aerobic exercise, glucose is broken down, using oxygen within the bloodstream, to generate energy. In the absence of these carbohydrates, such as glucose, fat is produced instead. Fat lowers an individual’s level of performance since it takes a long time for it to be formed.

Conversely, Anaerobic exercise relates to the initial warm-up exercise, or to any short burst of intense exertion, in which the glycogen is consumed without oxygen, and is a far less efficient process.

The third annual Prostate Cancer Symposium may not seem a likely place to hear about aerobic or resistance exercise. However, there was an interesting report proving the value of resistance and aerobic exercise on those undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

Usually, you may expect that it would be better to rest and preserve your strength to fight the cancer. But, scientists found that by doing either aerobic or resistance exercise significantly improves both the aerobic capacity and decreases fatigue. Fatigue is one of the major negative results of radiation therapy.

Roanne Segal, M.D., of the Univ. of Ottawa in Ontario and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Center and her team divided 121 men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer into three groups. One group was the control. There was no change in their schedule. One group was given an aerobic exercise program and the third group was given a resistance exercise program. The research study  lasted twenty six weeks.

Her research team enrolled the 121 men in the 26 week study to determine whether exercise could improve overall quality of life. The men’s mean age was 66. The men were receiving active radiation doses totaling 66 to 76 Gray.

During the published study, there were five negative events. One man in the aerobic exercise group had a heart attack during exercise. Another had a fainting spell. In the resistance exercise group, one man had chest pain, one had a urinary obstruction and another had nerve root compression. These incidents do not detract from the positive effects of the exercise. Further, there is no way to directly connect the incidents to the exercise.

The aerobic and resistance exercise groups were found to have improved aerobic capacity and reduced fatigue. In addition the resistance group was found to have significantly improved upper and lower muscle endurance and reduced body fat.

The effect of the research study  showed that there were no detrimental effects of exercise training on prostate specific antigen, testosterone, or hemoglobin compared with the control group.

This information was distributed courtesy of he Prostate Cancer Symposium, A Multidisciplinary Approach is co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Ontology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and the Society of Urologic Oncology.

Presentation title: Resistance or Aerobic Activity in Men Receiving Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: a Randomized Trial. Abstract 113

There have also been findings suggestive that aerobic exercise can prevent prostate cancer.

Interest in physical activity as a means for primary prevention of cancer is increasing as the evidence for a protective effect is rapidly collecting. One recent study stated that when participants exercised aerobically for ~60 minutes a day for 11 days, IGF-1 was lowered by 20% and serum insulin lowered by 25 percent. However, to date all the studies that have examined the effect of physical activity as a primary means of reducing prostate cancer have been conducted in Caucasians. Thus, the purpose of this proposal is to determine if 11 days of aerobic exercise will have a positive effect on serum factors that are known to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer in African American men.

When it comes to physical exercises, the first image that flashes across our minds is that of a hefty body builder with loads of muscles all over. That might be the general impression of what exercising and working out has to do to the body, but they do a lot more that what meets the eye, quite literally. They not only firm the body up but also make the internal organs function better. The foremost among such exercises are the aerobic activities.

Aerobic Exercises are meant to let body gather more oxygen. The term ‘aerobic’ itself stands for ‘with oxygen’. Consequently, aerobic exercises are those exercises that aren’t aimed at building muscles but are meant to make them more supple and flexible. Besides, they increase the oxygen supply to the cells, thereby increasing their functional ability.

Aerobics involve repetitive rhythmic and vigorous movement of the body, which enhances energy consumption of the body. The cells start burning a greater amount of oxygen to keep up with the activity, which makes the lungs work harder to ingest oxygen and the heart works faster to supply oxygen to the cells through blood. These two vital organs get stronger and healthier in the process. The blood vessels are also toned up and come in better shape. Since the blood flows faster and more forcefully, the collected lipids are washed away. It’s also been found that aerobics promote the growth of the HDL, which is considered to be good cholesterol, as it takes bad cholesterol back to the liver.

Experts opine that a balanced diet and regular exercise is the only viable defense against cholesterol build up. They also feel that weight training, which is primarily for muscle building is not for everyone and may also result in muscle injuries. Hence, aerobics is the right kind of exercise that does all the good to the body without causing any danger of muscle injuries. Besides, aerobics can be performed by the young and old alike. You need not be strong enough to lift dumbbells. Be good enough to stand on your feet and move your body. So as long as you do it right, it serves you as well as any other exercise regimen.