Aerobic exercise is any type of exercise that gets the heart pumping and gets you breathing harder. When you give your heart and lungs this kind of workout regularly, they get stronger and are better at getting oxygen in the form of oxygen-carrying blood cells to all parts of your body.
If you play team sports, you're probably getting at least 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity on practice days.
Some team sports that give you a great aerobic workout are basketball , soccer , lacrosse , hockey, and rowing. But if you don't play team sports, don't worry — there are plenty of ways to get aerobic exercise. These include biking , running, swimming , dancing, in-line skating, tennis , cross-country skiing, hiking, and walking quickly. The heart isn't the only muscle to benefit from regular exercise. The other muscles in your body enjoy exercise too.
When you use your muscles, they become stronger. Strong muscles are also a plus because they support your joints and help prevent injuries. Muscle also use more energy than fat does, so building your muscles will help you burn more calories and maintain a healthy weight.
You don't have to lift weights to make your muscles and bones stronger. Different types of exercise strengthen different muscle groups, for example:.
Strengthening the heart and other muscles isn't the only important goal of exercise. Exercise can also help the body stay flexible, meaning that your muscles and joints stretch and bend easily. Being flexible may also help improve a person's sports performance. Some activities, like dance or martial arts, require great flexibility.
Regular exercise has been shown to improve your health significantly 1. Its primary benefits include helping you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight and muscle mass and reducing your risk for chronic diseases 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. Additionally, research has shown that exercise can lift your mood, boost your mental health, help you sleep better , and even enhance your sex life 6 , 7 , 8.
It can also help you maintain good energy levels 9. Exercise can help to improve mental function, reduce your risk for chronic disease and manage your weight. The activities above can be done individually or combined. The important thing is to do what works best for you and to have fun with it.
Common types of exercise include aerobic, strength, calisthenics, HIIT, boot camps, flexibility, and stability. You can do them individually or combined.
An early checkup can detect any health problems or conditions that could put you at risk for an injury during exercise. It can also help you optimize your workout, making it easier for you and your personal trainer, if you choose to work with one, to understand your limitations and create an exercise plan tailored to your particular needs. Once you decide to start exercising regularly, try to create a plan that includes attainable steps and goals.
One way to do this is to start with a plan of easy steps to follow. Then you can continue building on it as your fitness level improves. For example, if your goal is to finish a 5-kilometer run , you can start by building a plan that includes shorter runs.
Once you can finish those short runs, increase the distance until you can run the whole 5 kilometers in one session. Starting with small achievable goals will increase your chances of success and keep you motivated every step of the way. Before you start working out, get a health check-up and make a plan with realistic goals.
Then, make exercise a habit by incorporating it into your daily routine. It seems to be easier for people to maintain an exercise routine in the long term if they make it a habit and do it regularly 9.
A review of studies concluded that replacing an unhealthy behavior with a new healthier habit is an excellent approach to maintaining it in the long term 9. Furthermore, making a schedule or exercising at the same time every day are good ways to sustain your routine and make it last. For example, you can make exercise a habit by planning to work out right after work every day or first thing in the morning.
Read more: Health Check: how much physical activity is enough in older age? Understanding the effect a sedentary lifestyle has on your health often hits home only after a serious event such as hearing bad news from your doctor.
Surviving a serious illness as a result of an inactive lifestyle, such as a heart attack or stroke, can also be frightening enough to provide a great deal of motivation. Then you need to keep motivated enough to stick with your exercise program. You can track your training or fitness level and set some achievable goals to keep going. Finding the time and effort to fit exercise into your daily routine is challenging. Read more: Time scarcity is a slippery slope to inactivity.
One way to get around these barriers might be to attend a group exercise session or join a sports club.
If you find exercise boring, you can encourage a friend to join you or join an exercise group to make it enjoyable. If you played sport in your youth, that might provide an option. Having a friend to exercise with or team mates to support you gives a sense of commitment so that you have to be there and will be challenged if you fail to show up.
There are many YouTube videos of safe routines that you can follow and adjust as you get fitter. And rather than improving muscle strength with weights at the gym, you can fill milk bottles with water instead.
You might be thinking about starting aerobic exercise like the cardio workout above, or walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. All need oxygen to provide energy over several minutes or longer. Good for you! You're only five steps away from a healthier lifestyle. Starting a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight — and even improve your sleep habits and self-esteem.
And there's more good news. You can start a fitness program in only five steps. You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress.
To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and body composition, consider recording:. It's easy to say that you'll exercise every day. But you'll need a plan. As you design your fitness program, keep these points in mind:.
Create a balanced routine. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week.
Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week.
Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions. You'll probably start with athletic shoes. Be sure to pick shoes designed for the activity you have in mind.
For example, running shoes are lighter in weight than cross-training shoes, which are more supportive. If you're planning to invest in exercise equipment, choose something that's practical, enjoyable and easy to use. You may want to try out certain types of equipment at a fitness center before investing in your own equipment.
You might consider using fitness apps for smart devices or other activity tracking devices, such as ones that can track your distance, track calories burned or monitor your heart rate. Retake your personal fitness assessment six weeks after you start your program and then again every few months. You may notice that you need to increase the amount of time you exercise in order to continue improving.
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