|
|
|
What is Aerobic Exercise?
|
Published on: 07/12/ 2008 | By: Zachery Hatfield
| Rating: Unrated | Total Views: 68
|
About The Author: N/A
Website URL: N/A
Click Here to Write a Review
|
| Go Back | Tell A Friend | Print Article |
|
|
Aerobic exercise literally means that your body is using oxygen. Aerobic exercise increases both your heart rate and your pulmonary rate as opposed to strength training which should be done slowly and deliberately to improve the strength and power of specific muscle groups. As more and more people discover the benefits of their cardiovascular response to aerobic exercise, the popularity of exercise options that involve this sort of workout increases as well.
The combination of a healthy lifestyle, well-balanced diet and exercise can increase both your lifespan and your quality of life by participating in this form of exercise on a regular basis. Activities that produce an aerobic workout include walking, jogging, running, swimming, rowing, aerobic classes and tennis to name a few. The list is very extensive – and really, if its an activity that increases your heart rate and your rate of breathing then it is a form of aerobic exercise.
The point behind all aerobic exercise is to get the body moving and to keep it moving. Our bodies were designed for movement and work. The more we move and work the better we get at it. The less we move and work the harder it is to do daily tasks like bringing in the groceries, carrying the baby, or climbing the stairs.
And each time we perform an activity that increases the heart rate there is a cardiovascular response. Initially the cells of the body demand more oxygen to do the increased work. The oxygen is used to burn energy and supply the cells with energy to perform the work. The more efficient the cells and the lungs the easier the breathing will be with the same amount of work. And the cells and pulmonary system become more efficient with practice.
Increasing the amount of oxygen that is needed by the cells increases the depth of breathing and the rate the heart must beat in order to pump the blood around the body to the cells. As a person exercises the body also relaxes the blood vessels so that more blood can flow through the arteries and veins to reach the cells.
One of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise is the hormones that are released to relax the vessels and decrease blood pressure. With consistent exercise this benefit lasts throughout the day and isn’t limited to just the workout.
Vessels throughout the body relax, including the vessels surrounding the heart, and provide them with the oxygen and fuel needed to work harder. However, there is a threshold beyond which the body can’t get enough oxygen to burn and it begins to work anaerobically. This is called the anaerobic threshold. Athletes are able to work anaerobically for a short time and as their efficiency increases the amount of time they are able to maintain performance with decreased oxygen also increases.
By improving the anaerobic threshold athletes also become more efficient in their performance, sometimes making the difference between winning and losing a race.
The efficiency of the cardiovascular response to aerobic exercise can be evaluated using several criteria. Athletes may measure their resting heart rate to determine the efficiency of their cardiovascular system while at rest – an indicator of how strong the heart muscle has become. They may also measure how quickly their heart rate and breathing rate decreases after a workout. Both of these indicators will help the athlete determine the efficiency of their cardiovascular system and how ‘in shape’ they may be.
The relationship between cardiovascular response to aerobic exercise is a good indicator of overall fitness but not a good indicator of overall health. The combination of a balanced diet, fitness, sleep and good lifestyle choices help the individual to have good overall health. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
