|
Personal Aerobic Exercise Program
Welcome to the
Aerobic Exercise Program!
All of the guess work has been taken out of exercise program and specific
weekly exercise goals have been developed just for you. You can pick
from a variety of exercises such as: walking,
jogging,
swimming,
cycling,
and cross
training in a gym. Based on your level of fitness and exercise preference
you can then pick the program best suited for you. Not only do we provide
specific recommendations for duration and frequency of exercise but
you can also find distance goals in our program. We also include numerous
exercise tools such as the target heart rate calculator, activity calculator,
and more. Don't wait another day to start the 12-week exercise program!
Before beginning
any of our training programs please take a few minutes to read the following
information. Before
beginning any exercise program please consult with your physician.
What is aerobic
or cardiovascular exercise?
One of the main components of a fitness program is aerobic or cardiovascular
exercise. Aerobic and cardiovascular will be used interchangeably throughout
the program. Aerobic exercise means with air. Your body needs more oxygen
when you exercise which your lungs get through the air that you breathe.
Think of oxygen
as the gas that you put in your car. You do not need nearly as much
gas when your car is sitting at a stoplight compared to driving a car
in the Indianapolis 500. Aerobic exercise is important in weight maintenance
because you burn calories through continuously exercising at a moderate
pace. Aerobic exercise generally involves using your big muscles including
your back, chest, legs, and butt. Walking, jogging, running, swimming,
bicycling, rowing, and stair climbing count as aerobic exercise. Movements
that use smaller muscle groups like the wrists do no not count as aerobic
exercise do not count.
What are the
benefits of regular cardiovascular exercise?
The main benefit of cardiovascular training is that it strengthens
your heart muscle and improves the efficiency of the heart, lungs, and
circulatory system. However, there are numerous benefits to aerobic
training. For example, if you regularly engage in aerobic exercise you
can:
- Burn calories and body fat, while increasing or maintaining lean body mass
- Relieve stress and body tension
- Strengthen immune system
- Reduce blood cholesterol
- Raise HDL cholesterol or "good" cholesterol
- Reduce blood pressure
- Reduce the risk of heart disease
- Improve body's ability to use oxygen
- Sleep better
- Increase strength and energy levels
- Improve self confidence
- Improve physical appearance
- Reduce risk of osteoporosis (except swimming)
- Counteract the effects of aging
- Improve your body's metabolic efficiency
- Improve blood sugar control for people with diabetes
- Live longer
|
Warm-up
The warm-up functions to slowly increase your heart rate while warming
up your muscles for the exercise that you are about to perform.
If you do not warm-up you will fatigue more easily. It's a good
idea to choose a warm-up that utilizes the same muscles that you
will be using during your workout. If you are new to exercise make
sure that you warm up a little longer. Often time's people skip
their warm-up but this is setting you up for an injury. A proper
warm-up helps to prevent injuries since it makes your muscles and
joints more pliable and less likely to tear. A good rule of thumb
is warming up for about 5-15 minutes of easy aerobic exercise.
Cool-down
Keep moving! The cool-down functions to slowly decrease your heart
rate while redirecting blood flow back to normal. Your cool-down
should last between 5 to 10 minutes. If you are jogging, just walk
for another 5 minutes. If you are cycling, cycle slowly for about
5 minutes. Ultimately, the goal of the cool-down is to continue
moving after your aerobic conditioning to prevent the blood from
pooling in your lower extremities. Stopping too quickly can also
place undue stress on your heart.
Stretching
Stretching is another key component for fitness; however, the best
time to stretch is after you have warmed your muscles up. Stretching
is very important in maintaining flexibility. As we age, our tendons
begin to get tighter and shorter so stretching helps you to move
about more easily.
What is the best cardiovascular exercise? The one you will enjoy and do!
Return to Introduction to Exercise
|
