Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process.
Aerobic means requiring free oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism.Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time
Among the recognized benefits of doing regular aerobic exercise are:[citation needed]
- Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs
- Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning
- Improving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure
- Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen
- Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression, as well as increased cognitive capacity.
- Reducing the risk for diabetes. One meta-analysis has shown, from multiple conducted studies, that aerobic exercise does help lower Hb A1C levels for type 2 diabetics
In addition to the health benefits of aerobic exercise, there are numerous performance benefits:
- Increased storage of energy molecules such as fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increased endurance
- Neovascularization of the muscle sarcomeres to increase blood flow through the muscles
- Increasing speed at which aerobic metabolism is activated within muscles, allowing a greater portion of energy for intense exercise to be generated aerobically
- Improving the ability of muscles to use fats during exercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen
- Enhancing the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise
- Neurobiological effects: improvements in brain structural connections and increased gray matter density, new neuron growth, improved cognitive function (cognitive control and various forms of memory), and improvement or maintenance of mental health
Some downfalls of aerobic exercise include:
- Overuse injuries because of repetitive, high-impact exercise such as distance running.
- Is not an effective approach to building muscle.
- Only effective for fat loss when used consistently.
Both the health benefits and the training effect, require a minimum duration and frequency of exercise. Most authorities suggest at least twenty minutes performed at least three times per week
Variants of Aerobics exercise
Indoor:
- Stair climbing
- Elliptical trainer
- Indoor rower
- Stairmaster
- Stationary bicycle
- Treadmill
Outdoor
- Walking
- Cycling
- Running
- Cross-country skiing
- Cross-country running
- Nordic walking
- Inline skating
- Rowing
Indoor or outdoor
Swimming
Kickboxing
Skipping rope or jump rope
Circuit training
Jumping jacks
Jogging
Anaerobic
Anaerobic exercise is the type of exercise that enhances power and builds muscle mass. Muscles trained under anaerobic conditions develop differently, leading to greater performance in short duration, high intensity activities, which last up to about 2 minutes.
The most common form of anaerobic exercise is strength exercise. Strength exercise is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles.
There are many different methods of strength training, the most common of which are weight and resistance exercise. These two types of exercise use gravity (through weight stacks, plates or dumbells) or machines to oppose muscle contraction, and the terms can be used interchangeably.
When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength, toughness and endurance, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury resulting from weak muscles, improved cardiac function and elevated “good” HDL-cholesterol. It can also help maintain lean body mass (important for individuals attempting weight loss), decrease the risk of osteoporosis, develop coordination and balance.
Aerobic vs Anaerobic
Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression.
Strength training appears to have continuous energy-burning effects that persist for about 24 hours after the training, though they do not offer the same cardiovascular benefits of aerobic exercises. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise also work to increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart by increasing cardiac volume (aerobic exercise), or myocardial thickness (strength training).
When generalized fitness is a professional operational requirement, as for athletes, combat services, police and fire personnel, aerobic exercise alone may not provide a well-balanced exercise program. In particular, muscular strength, especially upper-body muscular strength, is usually neglected. Also, the metabolic pathways involved in anaerobic metabolism (glycolysis and lactic acid fermentation) that generate energy during high intensity, low duration tasks such as sprinting, are not exercised at peak rates. Aerobic exercise is, however, an extremely valuable component of a balanced exercise program and is good for cardiovascular health.
Aerobics notably does not increase the basal metabolic rate as much as some forms of weight-training, and may therefore be less effective at reducing obesity. However, this form of exercise also allows for longer, more frequent activity and consumes more energy when the individual is active. In addition, the metabolic activity of an individual is heightened for several hours following a bout of aerobic activity.
Not everyone benefits equally from the different types of exercise . There is tremendous variation in individual response to exercise: where most people will see a moderate increase in endurance from aerobic exercise, some individuals will as much as double their oxygen uptake, while others will never get any benefit at all from the exercise. Similarly, only a minority of people will show significant muscle growth after prolonged weight training, while a larger fraction experience improvements in strength. This is why people should experiment and try different types of physical activity, so that they can find what type they really like and what works for them.
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