Skip to main content

Weight-LOss : Aerobic Exercise for Weight Loss Can Be Fun

The word aerobic literally means "with oxygen" or "in the presence of oxygen." Aerobic exercise is any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously for a long period of time and is rhythmic in nature. Aerobic exercises utilize oxygen as the major fuel for sustaining activity for relatively long periods.

In general, aerobic exercises are those activities that require large muscle work, elevate the heart rate to between 60 percent and 80 percent of maximal heart rate, are continuous in nature and are of 15 to 60 minutes in duration. An aerobically fit individual can work longer, more vigorously and achieve a quicker recovery at the end of the aerobic session.

Aerobic exercises fall in two categories:

Low to Moderate Impact aerobics - These include walking, swimming, stair climbing, step classes, light water aerobics, rowing and cross-country skiing. Nearly anyone in reasonable health can engage in some low- to moderate-impact exercise. Brisk walking burns more calories than jogging for the same distance because it takes more time to walk than jog that distance and poses less risk for injury to muscle and bone.

High-Impact aerobics - Activities that belong to this group include running, dance exercise, tennis, racquetball and squash. High-impact aerobics should be performed on alternate days. People who are overweight, elderly, out of condition or have an injury or other medical problem should do them even less frequently and only with clearance from their doctor.

Here are some of the many aerobic exercises you can do and because of the variety you have to choose from, it can not only take the bordum out of doing it, it can make doing it downright fun as well.

1. Walking

Walking is a popular form of exercise because it requires little in terms of equipment or facilities. Walking an extra 20 minutes each day will burn off 7 pounds of body fat per year. Longer, moderately-paced daily walks are best for losing weight.

2. Jogging/Running

In jogging or running, an individual is able to cover greater distances in a shorter period of time. Therefore, greater numbers of calories can be burned per time spent.

3. Choreographed Aerobic Exercise

Choreographed aerobic dance is a very popular form of exercise throughout the world. Aerobic dance helps in toning up the muscles of the body and many people find it fun to do as well.

4. Step Aerobics

Step aerobics incorporates the use of a step or bench typically about one foot wide and three feet long and about six inches high. Instructors use many moves that require participants to step up and down from the platform. This way, the activity will not be boring and tiring, but will be lively and motivating.

5. Water Aerobics

Water aerobics incorporates a variety of movements from both swimming and land aerobics to develop vigorous routines that are aerobic in nature. It utilizes the resistance to movement that water creates to elevate heart rates and also helps you if balancing yourself on land is difficult. It is a good way to lose weight.

6. Swimming

Swimming is a very popular form of regular exercise. Due to the resistance of water, the amount of energy required to swim a certain distance is greater than that needed to run or walk the same distance. In other words, swimming can burn more calories than running per time spent.

7. Stationary Cycling/Bicycling

Stationary cycling or bicycling are excellent forms of aerobic exercise when done continuously. Like swimming, cycling is a non weight bearing activity that builds muscular endurance and strength and improved flexibility of selected muscles of the legs and thighs.

8. Jumping Rope

Jumping rope can be a great aerobic workout as long as it is performed at a slow to moderate pace and is done continuously for a relatively long period of time (15 minutes or more).

The key to effective weight loss is through use of a healthy exercise program which is performed on a regular basis while following a healthy dieting & nutritional plan. Aerobic exercise is good for weight loss because it uses more calories than other activities and helps raise your metabolic rate.

This helps your body burn calories at a faster rate. It is an effective way to lose fat only if you are motivated enough to do it frequently. Aerobics only burns fat during the workout itself. So if you want encouraging results you need to be able to exercise daily and for longer periods.

Jim O'Neill gives you tons of valuable information on the subjects of weight loss, fitness, and nutrition to make it easy for you to live a healthy lifestyle. Sign up now for his free 7 part mini e-course at: http://www.mrgymfitness.com/minicourse.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_O'Neill

Comments

Anonymous said…
Do you think bird flu is going to be a problem ?

I heard it would hit USA & Canada this fall.

Is there anything to the bird flu panic ?
J said…
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a Idiot Proof Diet site. It pretty much covers dieting related things.

Come and check it out if you get time ;)
Anonymous said…
Hi! I could have sworn I've been to this site before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it's new to me.
Nonetheless, I'm definitely glad I found it and I'll be book-marking and checking back frequently!


my web-site :: http://slimlipoplusdiet.com

Popular posts from this blog

Credit card debt catches up with Britons

By Cesar G. Soriano, USA TODAY USAToday.com - London : "This Christmas season, the hottest-selling gifts in Europe are pricey American products such as iPods, the Xbox 360 and celebrity-inspired fashions. That kind of shopping has led to a very American problem: credit card debt." Nationwide, 34% of Britons say they will use credit cards or store cards to pay for their holiday purchases this year. And one in five say they are still paying off their gifts from last Christmas, according to a December poll by Zopa, an online lending agency. "The UK has adopted the American habit of credit with vigor, and consequently consumers are rapidly getting in over their heads," says Steve Rhode, president of Myvesta.org, a non-profit, debt-relief group. In August, U.S.-based Myvesta opened an office in Britain to deal with the growing number of Britons in debt. The number of people filing for bankruptcy or insolvency in England and Wales rose 46% from 2004 to 2005 to a record, a

Learn What is Search Engine Optimization & How to Optimize Your Website For Search Engines

SEO is an action from a webmaster/owner of the website to optimize the website for search engines, to receive maximum traffic and increase ranking in the search engine result pages(SERPs). There are different types of SEO. Some are very specific, trying to dominate very targeted audience, and some are for targeting wide and general audience. Search Engine Optimization is quite long process, and it requires from a webmaster constant testing and tracking, to see what works and what doesn't. If you are a webmaster, then it's vital to know SEO, because it's a free, effective and clever way to get traffic to your website. There are many guides available on SEO, so you can read them and learn, if you want to be an expert. Why Does A Website Needs SEO? Most of the websites on the Internet get their main traffic from search engines, like Google, Yahoo & MSN. If you website cannot be located by search engines, or your content is not indexed in their database, then you are missin

Google Trends: Building Links with the Correct Keywords Makes All the Difference

The most important part of SEO is building great links to your content. The most common mistake is targeting the wrong keywords. The question at hand is, how do I choose my keywords? I have a great suggestion that should help you out. Google trends is a great help with choosing what you should target. Google trends will show you how much traffic a search term in Google is getting. The power is not in knowing how much traffic it gets, but how much traffic it gets relative to a similar term. Because you get no hard numbers you must remember to keep everything relative. I like to do a common search with every query so I know how much traffic I get relative to the keyword I learn about. For example, if I want to write an article for an article website, I may try to test Free Content, and Free Articles. To compare these two searches I separate them with a comma and hit search. Then I see that Free Articles is very close to Free Content. I can also choose to add a third keyword if I would li