Aerobic Exercises

Overall Health

The key to successful weight control and improved overall health is making physical activity a part of your daily routine. Any type of physical activity you choose to do–strenuous activities such as running or aerobic dancing or moderate-intensity activities such as walking or household work–will increase the number of calories your body uses. It’s easier than one thinks to perform numerous aerobic activities throughout the day.

Examples of mild to moderate aerobic activities:

Take a short walk around the block

Rake leaves

Play actively with the kids

Walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator

Mow the lawn

Take an activity break–get up and stretch or walk around

Park your car a little farther away from your destination

Examples of higher intensity aerobic activities:

Brisk walking

Jogging

Bicycling

Swimming

Aerobic dancing

Racket sports

Rowing

Ice or roller-skating

Cross-country or downhill skiing

Using aerobic equipment (i.e., treadmill, stationary bike)

The Difference in Aerobic Activities

The point is not to make physical activity an unwelcome chore, but to make the most of the opportunities you have to be active.

Starting Low

It is important to start at a low intensity and increase this over the following few weeks as the exercise feels easier. For example, 20 minutes of walking, jogging or a combination of walking/jogging may be sufficient to leave you rather breathless and fairly tired at the start of your program, but as the weeks go by, you may need to increase the pace or introduce jogging up some shallow hills to achieve a further increase in fitness. To continue to increase your fitness level, you will have to increase the time spent exercising aerobically to 30 minutes per session for up to five sessions per week.

Benifits of Aerobic Exercise Keeping the Beat in Aerobics Aerobics for the Heart Free Aerobic Activities