eFitnessConnection

 

Increase your heart and lung efficiency

Aerobic exercise can help you lose weight, get fit and become healthier.

 

Aerobic exercise or cardiovascular exercise is a fabulous workout that not only helps in maintaining your fitness level, but also makes your heart stronger. There are various forms of aerobics like cycling, biking, jogging, running, swimming, dancing etc.

You can carry out your aerobic workout on different machines in the gym like treadmill, stationary bike or spinning, stair-stepper etc.

There are many health benefits of aerobics, as it helps in utilizing oxygen more efficiently, therefore allowing an increased fat burning. Chances of having diabetes and other diseases are largely reduced. Aerobics also act as a great stress relieving therapy. It can also be said that it helps to maintain your overall fitness, on one hand it enables you to have a beautiful fit body and on the other hand, it ensures that your mind remains stress free.

There are several types of aerobics exercise to choose from. Just find something you enjoy doing that keeps your heart rate elevated for a continuous time period and get moving to have a healthier life.

 

 

 

Aerobic Cardiovascular Training

 

Equipment Needed:

• Appropiate foot wear (shoes designed for aerobic dance are recommended)
• Light weight, well ventilated clothing
• Spacious area or room
• Floor surface that provides cushion and stability
• Motivating music (120-135 beats per minute)
• CD-player
• Exercise CD or video tape if at home, or aerobic shows on TV
• Step for the Step Aerobics

 

Precautions

You should not do aerobics if:
You have a history of heart or respiratory problems
You have problems with your joints
You have recently had surgery, or are prone to or recovering from injury.

 

Low-Impact Aerobics

Low-impact aerobics are especially good for people who are older, overweight, or pregnant. It is also a good choice for fit people who are recovering from an injury. A low-impact class is conducted at a slow pace and is easy to do. It is good for people just starting an exercise program.

Aerobic dancing may incorporate exercises with a variety of dance forms, such as disco, jazz, and ballet that are performed to music. There is no jumping around in low-impact dance aerobics. You keep one foot on the ground at all times. It is slower paced and is easier to do than intermediate and advanced classes.

Low-impact classes give a good workout, but they are not always strenuous enough to improve the efficiency of your heart and lungs if you are already physically fit. You can tone and strengthen muscles, improve your flexibility, and burn fat. This workout will relieve stress and renew energy.

Classes should start with a warm-up and gentle stretching. It should end with a cool-down period. For 20 to 30 minutes of the routine, your heart rate should be elevated to its training rate.

Some people like to wear hand, wrist, and ankle weights to intensify their workout. These weights add extra stress to the joints. If you want to wear weights, keep your risk of injury low by keeping the weights under one pound each.

 

High-Impact Aerobics

Aerobic dance in which there are moments when the body is moved through space and both feet lose contact with the ground. High-impact aerobics uses aerobic movements such as jumping and hopping and provides great cardiovascular advantages along with good metabolic benefits. High-impact aerobics has a high reported injury incidence, particularly in the lower body.

It's probably a class to graduate to rather than start with, as you need to be quite fit to do it. It can also be hard on your joints, so this is not a good class for anyone with weaker joints. Because it's so energetic, a high-impact class will make your body release endorphins and serotonin, which will make you feel really refreshed, energised and happy afterwards!

 

Step Aerobics

Step aerobics combines low-impact and body-conditioning exercises with a raised platform or "step" to accelerate and intensify the workout to your lower body. Step aerobics is particularly beneficial for developing and strengthening the muscles in your legs, spine and hips, and also works on your co-ordination.
All stages of the class - from warm up to cool down - are likely to involve the step. Your instructor will show you the right and wrong ways to use it; the "right way" includes, for example, always stepping heel-toe when going onto or off the step, and keeping your back straight.
Be prepared for the fact that the step takes a bit of getting used to. Step aerobics can be pretty tough and you can "feel it working", and you should feel results quite quickly.

An aerobic class usually lasts about 45 minutes to one hour.

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the top