How To Do Aerobic Exercise

If you want to improve your health and look and feel great at the same time, try engaging in some aerobic exercise. Aerobic activity is defined as exercise that raises your heart rate to an optimal level for your age and maintains this rate for a minimum of 20 minutes at a time. Aerobic activity can be anything from walking briskly, dancing, and jumping rope to running or participating in an aerobics exercise class in a gym. 

The benefits of aerobic exercise are numerous. These include strengthening the heart and lungs, improving your ability to use oxygen, reducing your resting heart rate (which is your pulse when you are not exercising) and lowering your blood pressure. Other positive changes you will notice over time include an improvement in energy and endurance levels, a faster metabolism, and weight loss or maintenance. In addition, engaging in a regular aerobic activity can help you to reduce stress and improve your mood, too. If you want to begin an aerobic exercise routine, it is important to understand how to calculate your target heart rate so you can be sure you are working your body effectively and getting the full cardiovascular benefits.

Determining Your Target Heart Rate:
To calculate your target heart rate, follow these steps.

1. Start by calculating your maximum heart rate. Subtract your current age from the number 220. So if you are 30 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 190.

Your target heart rate depends on your age and fitness goals, but generally is between 60 to 80 percent of this maximum number. For a 30 year old, your target rate would be between 114 and 152.

The next step is to determine if you are working within your target range. You do this by checking your pulse during the workout.  Here is how to accomplish this:

1. Stop exercising briefly and check your pulse either on your neck or your wrist. While you check, continue moving your legs or walking to keep your heart rate elevated.

If you choose your neck, place the tips of your second and third fingers against the blood vessel to either side of your Adam's apple. If you prefer to use your wrist, put the same fingers on the inside of your wrist.

In either spot, feel for the throbbing of your pulse and use a clock or watch with a second hand to count how many pulses you feel for a 10-second period.

Multiply that number by six. The result will be your working heart rate or pulse for one minute.

Now compare this number to your targeted range. At first, work your heart rate up to 60 percent of the maximum, and gradually elevate it to about 80 percent over time.

How to Get Started:

1. Exercise takes a real commitment. Select an aerobic activity - or several activities - that you enjoy and be prepared to stick to the exercise for the long haul.

Some possible choices include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping, rowing, cross-country skiing and playing racquetball.

Determine your exercise goals. Are you simply looking to get in shape and build up your endurance, or do you have other goals, such as training for a marathon?

Remember to build up gradually. If you do too much too soon, you may burn out and lose your momentum. Start slowly and work your way up to your full potential.

Always begin your workout with a warm-up period of at least five to 10 minutes. You might try walking, slow jogging, or arm or leg lifts.

Remember to always cool down for five to 10 minutes afterward, letting your heart rate gradually return to normal. You could do slow walking or low-intensity exercise.

Plan to engage in at least three 20-minute sessions of aerobic exercise a week.

Results take time. Don't expect to see or feel a difference over night, but realize that you will gain many benefits over time if you make aerobic exercise a regular part of your life.

Don't feel like you have to limit yourself to one activity. You can engage in a variety of different approaches to get results, as long as they allow you to reach your target heart rate.

Select comfortable clothes that will allow you to move well, and pick supportive footwear appropriate for the activity.

Caution:

• If you are over 35 and have been inactive for a while, check with your physician before starting a new exercise program.
• If you experience any pain when you exercise, stop immediately and if necessary, seek medical attention.

Quick Tips:

• Select exercises that fill several requirements at the same time. For instance, swimming provides not only cardiovascular benefits but also develops your arms, shoulders and chest muscles.
• Remember that while high intensity exercise can pose a minimal risk, not exercising is more dangerous to your health.

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What Is the Easiest Aerobic Exercise to Lose a Pound?

Losing weight is far from easy, but designing a weight loss program around the most basic and simple aerobic exercise of all -- walking -- helps make it a bit simpler. It seems like an ineffective weight loss strategy, but walking can actually help you burn fat and promote cardiovascular health, no matter your fitness level. By following the right routine, walking can help you lose a pound of bodyweight within as little as two weeks, especially if you eat healthily.

Walking as an Exercise

When using walking as a way to lose weight, it’s important to increase the intensity a bit. A good walking speed to target is between 3 and 4 mph. At this pace, you’ll be able to increase your heart rate, speed up your metabolism and burn an increased number of calories. A 160-pound person burns about 317 calories per hour walking at 3 mph or 374 calories walking at 4 mph. The best part about using walking as a weight loss strategy is that it’s an aerobic exercise that just about anyone can do.

Weight Loss by the Numbers

Your body naturally burns calories throughout the day, even while at rest. This is known as your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. The key to losing weight is to decrease your caloric intake and/or burn an increased number of calories to create a BMR calorie deficit. For example, if your BMR is 2,000 calories, anything below that figure would create a calorie deficit and promote weight loss. To lose one pound, you have to create a deficit of 3,500 calories and walking can help you achieve this goal over a period of weeks. A goal of burning 350 calories per day through walking can get you to 3,500 calories within just 10 days.

Fat Burning Zone

The so-called fat burning zone is a way to describe an exercise intensity level that promotes the highest percentage of fat burning vs. carbohydrate calorie burning. Walking falls right into the fat burning zone. To ensure you’re walking at the right intensity to burn the highest percentage of fat, you should monitor your heart rate while you walk. It should fall between 60 and 75 percent of your maximum heart rate, or MHR. Your MHR is 220 minus your age in years. For example, a 35-year-old’s MHR is 185 beats per minute, or BPM. His fat-burning zone would then be 111 BPM to 139 BPM.

Walking Schedule

Walking is an easy aerobic exercise that doesn’t put an excessive amount of stress on muscles for most people, so it’s a workout that you can use five to seven days per week as part of a weight loss plan. The more you exercise, the quicker you can reach your one-pound weight loss goal. Try to set aside 60 minutes for each workout and make it part of your daily routine. If you feel pain in your joints, feet or muscles, take a day off. Also be sure to use comfortable walking shoes, and always stretch for a few minutes before going out for a walk.
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