No, today we are not talking about slapping on a pair of fluro leggings, fluffing up our hair and sliding in to a pair of leg warmers. Today we’re talking about something much bigger – Aerobic Exercise
Also known as cardio exercise and not a fad from the 80s. Aerobic exercise raises your heart beat and makes you sweat and breathe a bit harder.
Aerobic exercise helps train the cardiovascular system, heart and lungs to help deliver oxygen quicker and more efficiently through out the body.
The increase in oxygen is highly beneficial as it helps improve things such as mental health, physical health and endurance!
The best thing about aerobic exercise is that it’s for everyone. You don’t have to be an athletic god to incorporate this into your lifestyle. Aerobic exercise has a light to moderate intensity depending on your fitness level and what your body requires. You only need to do it 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 5 times a week to see results.
Some popular aerobic exercises include;
- Walking
- Running
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Aerobic dance
So what are the benefits of aerobic exercise?
Overall Health
You can really benefit from incorporating aerobic exercise into your life as it can improve the way you live. It can help improve your;
Immune system
Regular aerobic exercise can help strengthen your immune system to fight away those pesky winter colds! Exercise helps with blood circulation, which pushes our white blood cells (WBC) around. WBCs are the fighters of the immune system and by increasing circulation in the body, they can detect illnesses earlier than before.
Endurance
As you exercise more, your body will begin to build endurance. You will not only be able to increase the intensity of your exercise in length and strength, but you will find other activities in life easier too! You will find yourself less tired and ready to go go go!
Cardiovascular fitness
Your cardiovascular system is made up of your heart, blood vessels (eg arteries, veins and capillaries). These things all help transport blood throughout the body. By engaging in aerobic exercise, you will help your cardiovascular system by increasing your capacity to send blood (hence oxygen) to the muscles and increase your heart’s pumping chambers. Strengthening these parts of your body will make activities much easier because it won’t have to work as hard to push blood around!
Lifestyle
Aerobic exercise definitely has a lot of physical benefits but it also can have a large impact on mental health. The increased levels of oxygen in your body will help with things such as;
Anxiety, stress and depression
We all live fast paced and busy lives and things don’t always go to plan. This causes stress and anxiety, which often leads to uneasy breathing or hyperventilation. We are always told to take a big breath in and out when we are dealing with a stressful situation because our brain needs oxygen to function and think rationally. This is why aerobic exercise will help reduce stress and anxiety levels as it trains our body to breathe steadily and increase oxygen intake. Exercise also helps release feel-good endorphin’s that will help with depression.
Social life
Aerobic exercise can also be very beneficial for your social life! Because aerobic activities have a low level of intensity, it’s easy to get a friend on board and enjoy exercising together! Why not meet a friend for a walk instead of a coffee or join a dance class.
Reduce Chance of Disease
High blood pressure
High blood pressure is very common but can be easily managed with regular exercise! Aerobic exercise can help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).
Heart disease
Aerobic exercise not only helps lower blood pressure, which reduces the strain on the heart but it does other things to help prevent heart disease. It also helps blood circulation that prevents blood clots, which can often lead to a heart attack and/ or stroke. Regular exercise helps burn calories, which helps maintain a healthy weight and help strengthen your heart.
Bone and muscle health
As we age we risk getting osteoporosis, which is excessive thinning as you age, but this can be reduced by regular weight bearing aerobic exercise brisk walking.
Aerobic exercise is also known to help lessen pain caused by fibromyalgia or chronic low back pain. This is due to the increase in oxygen supply to the muscles and the growth of tiny blood vessels in muscle tissue.
So why not make a change and start improving your health now! If you have concerns about your physical health, please contact us on (03) 9369 9766.
