Aerobic Exercise in your Personal Fitness Training Solution

Excellent forms of aerobic activity

Fast walking or power walking

The least expensive and least complicated form of aerobic exercise is fast walking, or what is sometimes called power walking.  This involves merely getting dressed for the weather outside, putting on sturdy shoes and walking fast and hard enough to get your breathing into gear.

If you have trouble accelerating your pulse and respiration rates, just pick up the pace or find a long steep hill.  It won't be long until you are breathing heavily enough to achieve an aerobic effect.

You will also find it both beneficial and enjoyable to go on long, less-intense relaxing walks, particular if you take along that someonespecial in you life.

Running / jogging

If you haven't already then you will soon discover why running is one of the world's most popular and widely used forms of aerobic exercise.

It is very important to warn up properly before taking a run.  You should always begin and end each jogging session with stretching.  Stretching increases muscular flexibility and reduce the chance of injury.

If you haven't been physically active, it's also important to break in slowly and gradually in order to prevent overuse injuries from occurring.  Even an out-of-shape person can jog for 8 to 10 minutes comfortably the first time out.  Once you have done this wait a few days and do 10 to 15 minutes the next time.   Gradually increase the length of each run until your are averaging about 30 minutes each session.

Swimming

Since swimming involves both the arms and legs it provides strong aerobic benefits but has one major drawback; it requires one of the largest pieces of equipment needed for any work out—a pool.

In water you weigh only about one tenth as much as on land so swimming puts much less stress on the joints. This is particular important if you are overweight, recovering from an injury or suffer from back pain. You can vary your workouts by using a paddleboard to focus on just your legs or arms.

Begin similar to running with the same type of progression to a 30 minute session.  Thirty minutes of swimming will give you almost 20 minutes in the aerobic target zone.  This will provide you with considerable aerobic effect, particular when you combine it with walking, running or aerobic dance classes.

Cycling

If there are a lot of open fields, parks, or hills nearby where you live then try mountain or off-road bikes.  They are relatively inexpensive, much safer than riding on highways and provide excellent cardiovascular benefits with low-impact to your joints and are just plain fun.

Stationary bikes provide the same aerobic effect but indoors where there the weather conditions are always good and every Gym offer spin classes.   Spinning offers a challenge to the individual requirements of all ages and fitness levels and unlike traditional aerobic classes, spinning has no complex moves just, as the instructor reminds you, pure sweat!

Aerobic dance

What better way to get fit and have fun at the same time than aerobic dance. Classes in aerobic dance offer choreograph movements or routines performed to salsa, jazz and hip-hop to name a few and are usually offered at all levels of intensity form low-impact to high-impact.

Dancing on the wrong type of floor can lead to injury. High-impact classes should not be taken on concrete or tile flooring. These types of floors are too hard. A surface that is too soft may cause ankle sprains. Hard wood is the absolute best for dancing.

Aerobic dance classes usually last about a hour with a warm up and cool down session at the start and end to protect from injury and increase flexibility.  There are few things more satisfying than mastering the movements of a dance sequence and then expressing that routine with mind, body and soul to a great piece of music!

Aerobic step

Step classes are excellent form of aerobics. They provide the same aerobic effect as aerobic dance but with less impact. The routines are not as difficult to learn and can be a lot of fun if the instructor is good.

If your are having trouble with a class, switch instructors as many times as it takes to find one who gives the type of class that most benefits you and you most enjoy.

Cardiovascular exercise machines at the gym

The electronic cardiovascular machines provide information like the time of workout, estimated distance traveled and the handheld ones even provide heart rate readings as well as giving the operator a number of programs choices and manual settings.

An advantage is that you can have a great workout in a nice controlled environment. The treadmill allows you to walk or jog at a variation of speeds. Elliptical trainers provide another low-impact way of attaining the aerobic effect without as much chance of an injury.