Aerobic exercise or Cardio

AEROBIC EXERCISE OR CARDIO

Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. "Aerobic" means "relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time.

When practiced in this way, examples of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise are medium to long distance running or jogging, swimming, cycling, and walking.

Aerobic exercise or Cardio

What Is Aerobic Exercise?

Simply put, aerobic exercise is also known as cardio exercise. This is because it works out your cardiovascular system, that being your heart and lungs. Cardio or aerobic exercise involves sustained activity that causes your heart and breathing rate to work at an increased rate for a prolonged period of time. Aerobic exercise also involves the pumping of oxygenated blood to the muscles that are working. This kind of exercise includes things like spinning, cycling, jogging, swimming, dancing, and other such activities.

How much aerobic exercise do you need?

Aerobic exercise is any activity that gets your blood pumping and large muscle groups working. It’s also known as cardiovascular activity. Examples of aerobic exercise include:

brisk walking
swimming
heavy cleaning or gardening
running
cycling
playing soccer

Experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week. Brisk walking or swimming are examples of moderate activity. Running or cycling are examples of vigorous activity.

But why is aerobic exercise recommended? Read on to learn about the benefits and to get tips for ways to incorporate aerobic exercise into your routine.

Benefits of aerobic exercise:

1. Improves cardiovascular health

Aerobic exercise is recommended by the American Heart Association and by most doctors to people with, or at risk for, heart disease. That’s because exercise strengthens your heart and helps it more efficiently pump blood throughout the body.

Cardiovascular exercise can also help lower blood pressure, and keep your arteries clear by raising “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lowering “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood.

If you’re specifically looking to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, aim for 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise between 3 and 4 times each week.

2. Lowers blood pressure

Cardiovascular exercise may help you manage symptoms of high blood pressure. That’s because exercise can help lower blood pressure. Here are other ways to lower blood pressure without medicine.

3. Helps regulate blood sugar

Regular physical activity helps regulate insulin levels and lower blood sugar, all while keeping body weight in check. In a study on people with type 2 diabetes, researchers found that any form of movement, either aerobic or anaerobic, may have these effects.

4. Reduces asthma symptoms

Aerobic exercise can help people with asthma lessen both the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. You should still talk to your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine if you have asthma, however. They may recommend specific activities or precautions to help keep you safe while working out.

5. Reduces chronic pain

If you have chronic back pain, cardiovascular exercise — specifically low-impact activities, like swimming or aqua aerobics — may help you get back muscle function and endurance. Exercise can also help you lose weight, which may further reduce chronic back pain.

6. Controlling Your Weight

It is shown that aerobic exercise is one of the most effective ways of controlling your weight. In fact, it may be the very best way to lose weight. Daily aerobic exercise at a slightly increased heart rate or energy exertion level, for a period of 30 to 60 minutes per day, will burn a significant number of calories.

Combined with a good diet this can go a very long way in helping you lose weight, weight that can be the cause of various health issues. If you are overweight and are tired of looking the way you look and feeling the way you do, aerobic exercise is definitely a great option to go with.

7. Increases Your Metabolism

The next reason as to why you should do aerobic workouts on a daily basis is because it will help to increase your metabolism or metabolic rate. Your metabolic rate determines how fast your body processes calories. These calories can come from sugar, fat, or protein. As you may know, calories, when they go unused, will cause you to gain weight in places that you rather wouldn’t.

Aerobic exercise not only burns calories, but it causes your body’s metabolic function to strengthen as well. The faster your body burns calories, the less weight you will gain, the more weight you will lose, and in the end, it will help you maintain a healthy weight level.

Aerobic capacity

Aerobic capacity describes the functional capacity of the cardio respiratory system, (the heart, lungs and blood vessels). Aerobic capacity refers to the maximum amount of oxygen consumed by the body during intense exercises, in a given time frame. It is a function both of cardio respiratory performance and the maximum ability to remove and use oxygen from circulating blood. To measure maximal aerobic capacity, an exercise physiologist or physician will perform a VO2 max test, in which a subject will undergo progressively more strenuous exercise on a treadmill, from an easy walk through to exhaustion. The individual is typically connected to a respirometer to measure oxygen consumption, and the speed is increased incrementally over a fixed duration of time. The higher the measured cardio respiratory endurance level, the more oxygen has been transported to and used by exercising muscles, and the higher the level of intensity at which the individual can exercise. More simply put, the higher the aerobic capacity, the higher the level of aerobic fitness. The Cooper and multi-stage fitness tests can also be used to assess functional aerobic capacity for particular jobs or activities.

The degree to which aerobic capacity can be improved by exercise varies very widely in the human population: while the average response to training is an approximately 17% increase in VO2max, in any population there are "high responders" who may as much as double their capacity, and "low responders" who will see little or no benefit from training. Studies indicate that approximately 10% of otherwise healthy individuals cannot improve their aerobic capacity with exercise at all. The degree of an individual's responsiveness is highly heritable, suggesting that this trait is genetically determined.

aerobic exercise or cardio

Alternatives

Higher intensity exercise, such as High-intensity interval training (HIIT), increases the resting metabolic rate (RMR) in the 24 hours following high intensity exercise, ultimately burning more calories than lower intensity exercise; low intensity exercise burns more calories during the exercise, due to the increased duration, but fewer afterwards.

Commercial success

Aerobic exercise has long been a popular approach to achieving weight loss and physical fitness, often taking a commercial form.

In the 1970s Judi Sheppard Missett helped create the market for commercial aerobics with her Jazzerciseprogram
In the 1980s Richard Simmons hosted an aerobic exercise show on television, and also released a series of exercise videos
In the 1990s Billy Blanks's Tae Bo helped popularize cardio-boxing workouts that incorporated martial arts movements

Aerobic exercise or Cardio

Varieties:

Indoor

Outdoor

Indoor or outdoor

Common aerobics injuries

Aerobics is associated with a significant number of sports injuries. Injuries generally fall into two groups:

Traumatic injuries – these occur as a result of a fall, twist or similar accident and most often involve the ankle or knee.
Overuse injuries – these usually develop gradually, often as a result of a change in the amount or intensity of aerobics, or due to a training error. Shin pain is the most common overuse injury, while foot and knee overuse injuries are also common.

Back injuries may also be caused, or aggravated by, aerobic exercise.

Preventing aerobics injuries

To prevent injury you should:

(a) be prepared

(b) use good technique and practices

(c) wear the right gear

(d) check the environment

(e) know yourself and the sport.

(a) Prepare for aerobics

Remember to:

Warm up, stretch and cool down.
Consult your doctor for a heart and lung assessment before starting an aerobics program if you are aged over 40.
Have a musculo skeletal assessment performed by a sports medicine professional before commencing aerobics if you have suffered an injury in the past.
Start your class at a moderate pace, to allow you to warm up adequately.

(b) Use good technique and practices during aerobics

Good technique and practices can help prevent injuries. Suggestions include:

Use the good technique emphasised by your instructors.
Start all aerobics sessions with a gentle warm-up and stretching.
All beginners’ classes should have a second instructor available to move among the group and correct any faults. This is also important when learning new techniques.
Seek advice from your instructor about how to improve or correct your technique if you have injuries that may be related to poor technique.

(c) Wear the right gear

Make sure you:

Wear footwear specifically designed for aerobics. Good fit, stability, secure lacing and good forefoot cushioning are important features of an aerobics shoe.
Choose clothing that fits well and has good moisture transfer properties.
Consider a sports bra to improve comfort. Individual fit is very important.

(d) Check the environment

Choosing an appropriate venue is important. It’s a good idea to:

Choose a class run by instructors who are registered with Kinect Australia or Fitness Australia.
Make sure aerobics areas are well lit.
Check that the temperature in the aerobics area is maintained at a moderate level, with good ventilation.
Use facilities with a floor suited to aerobics. Sprung wooden floors or padded carpet over concrete are best.
Check that all implements and equipment used in classes are maintained in good condition.
Make sure cool, fresh water is readily available.
Check that the music is clear and at a comfortable volume.

(e) Know yourself and aerobics techniques

Suggestions include:

Choose activities that are suited to your fitness level.
Know and use the right techniques.

Know how to use the equipment properly and safely.

aerobic exercise or cardio

Respond promptly to aerobics injuries

If you or someone else is injured:

Seek prompt attention from qualified first aid personnel. First aid facilities should be available at all fitness centres.
Get prompt attention for all traumatic injuries.
Have injuries that do not respond quickly to first aid measures assessed by a sports medicine professional, preferably a doctor, to ensure an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Don’t wait until pain is severe. Overuse injuries, especially to the shin, are common in aerobics. They often cause only mild discomfort at first, but frequently get worse. They can be caused by many factors and an early full assessment is important for recovery.

Where to get help:

Your doctor
Sports physician
Physiotherapist
Exercise physiologist

Things to remember

Aerobics and fitness classes involve the movement of large muscle groups in continuous rhythmic activity to music.
Aerobics is associated with a significant number of sports injuries. Injuries are generally traumatic injuries and overuse injuries.
Using the right techniques and equipment can help prevent injury.

MOUNTAIN BIKING ,SPORT OF RIDING BICYCLES AND FOR FITNESS

CYCLING OR BIKING, A HEALTHY EXERCISE

Dance a wonderful exercise for fitness

BENEFITS OF SWIMMING IN EVERYDAY LIFE

I hope that all of you will gain a lot of knowledge and benefits about aerobic exercise or cardio.