12 Reasons to do aerobic exercise.

When I used to hear the words “aerobic exercise” I used to imagine a group of women jumping together and performing to music.  I once tried to join a class much to my despair and the trainer’s.  I must say that I am very good at dancing but for some reason I just couldn’t follow an aerobic class.  I think because deep down it was so pointless and boring that my body refused to follow.

Instead of pursuing the silly aerobic classes I went into calmer classes such as Yoga, stretching and Pilates.  Now, I was good at that! However, I was still needing to achieve cardiovascular fitness.  This is when I learned that aerobic exercise does not necessarily mean an aerobic class.  Aerobic exercise is any kind of exercise that increases your pulse rate making you slightly breathless.  Thus, there are many forms of aerobics exercise, the most common being jogging, swimming, cycling and running. 

Why aerobic exercise? 

1. Because it increases cardiovascular fitness which means that your heart muscle becomes stronger and pumps the blood around your body more efficiently.
2. Regular exercise improves circulation, which in turn benefits your skin.  That is why when you exercise you turn red.  When your heart rate increases it also increases the volume of blood and the amount of oxygen in your body multiplies, feeding the small capillaries in the skin.
3. Exercise helps to clean the body from inside out by increasing the elimination of toxins through sweat. Sweating also helps to lubricate the skin.
4. Aerobic exercise protects against certain diseases –including coronary  heart disease.
5. Aerobic exercise increases the mineral content of your bones, thus preventing osteoporosis.
6. It burns fat while building muscle.
7. It gives more flexibility to the joints, preventing stiffness. 
8. Aerobic exercise increases your BMR (basal metabolic rate) which means that your body burns more calories even when it is at rest.
9. I have heard that Aerobic exercise also suppresses appetite, but unfortunately this is not my case.  After a session of aerobic exercise I am hungrier than ever, but I usually drink water and eat fruit to avoid regaining any loss calories.
10. Aerobic exercise reduces blood pressure and cholesterol
11. Aerobic exercise relaxes you and makes you sleep better.  We all know this, after a good session of “bed exercise” you sleep like an angel. 
12. Aerobic exercise is a natural antidepressant.

Now that you are convinced to start doing some aerobic exercise, but do not know where to start my advice would be to choose an activity and start gradually.  Do not do too much at the start because it is likely that you will go off it and never do it again.  Try to gradually incorporate aerobic exercise into your lifestyle. 

Try an aerobic class at your local gym to see if it suits you. It didn’t work for me, but many people find the discipline of going to a weekly class helps them to stick to it. There is also the advantage of peer support.

Increase your overall daily activity; take the dog for walk at a fast pace with a long stride and proper deep breathing and you will be burning around 80 calories for every 20 minutes. Mowing the lawn and gardening also counts as aerobic exercise as you would be burning around 120 calories for each 20 minutes.

Ride a bicycle instead of driving everywhere. Cycling is very fashionable at the moment, with petrol prices rising and environmental issues being top in government’s agendas, more and more people are turning to cycling as a means of transport. Riding a bicycle is an excellent aerobic exercise. Little and often is best, 20 minutes cycling will burn approximately 160 calories.

Dancing non stop is good too and easy to incorporate into your weekend agenda.

Swimming is a good choice for summer. 20 to 30 minutes a week is ideal, you would burn around 140 calories per session.

Whatever activity you choose, remember to end it with a few minutes stretching.  A revitalizing stretch at the end of your exercise session will leave you feeling full of energy and ready for having more fun!