Exercise is of great importance to the quality of our life. The best exercise program is one that includes aerobic activity for a period of twenty to thirty minutes on a daily or every-other-day basis. There are many benefits of exercise, which outweigh the risks.
A Concise List Of Benefits
- Improved heart
- Improved breathing actions
- Increased muscular strength and endurance
- Buildup of lean body mass
- Decreased body fat
- Improved range of motion, flexibility of arms and legs
- Lowered triglycerides and cholesterol
- Increased high-density lipoproteins (HDLs—the “good guys”), decreased low-density lipoproteins (LDLs—the “bad guys”).
- Improved blood-pressure control
- Decreased depression
- Increased pain threshold
- Improved self-image and self-esteem
- Most important, a sense of well-being is achieved and enhanced
Some Good Aerobic Exercises
Here’s a list of the most effective aerobic exercises, taking into account the various factors contributing to your health.
- Swimming
- Walking
- Rowing
- Biking
- Dancing
- Skiing
Skiing is the most effective of all aerobic exercises. Notice that jogging and other high-impact or “severe” aerobics have not been placed on this list.
Finding Your Range
For an exercise to be aerobic, the heart rate must be at least 50 percent above the resting heart rate. The ceiling level is 75 to 80 percent. The ideal range is between 50 and 75 percent (various books give different figures, the common target range recommended is from 60 to 80 percent).
To determine your target zone or ideal range, first subtract your age from 220. Then multiply this number by 60 percent or another number, depending on a recommendation by your healthcare professional to obtain your threshold level.
Multiplying the same number by 80 percent will give you your ceiling level. You should aim to maintain your heart rate in this “ideal” range for twenty to thirty minutes.
To feel your heartbeat, place your second and third fingers on the inner side of your wrist or on your neck about three inches below the bottom of your ear.
Since you are unable to determine your heart rate every minute unless you have a monitor in place, you can gain a rough estimate of how hard you are exercising by using the “Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion”.
The scale goes from six to twenty. Less than six means sleep or a resting state, while twenty means activity to the point of fatigue.
Seven is very, very light activity, nine is light, and eleven is somewhat light. Nineteen is very, very hard, seventeen is very hard, fifteen is hard, and thirteen is somewhat hard. You would try to exercise in the range of twelve to sixteen, or the aerobic-intensity level.
Anaerobic Exercises
Activities such as weight lifting, gymnastics, and some other sports-related activities such as wrestling are isokinetic exercises. This type of exercise uses glycogen or stored glucose as the major source of fuel.
Activities of this type are intermittent, of short duration, and usually quite intense. These exercises activities are called anaerobic exercise activities.
This is when the person does not increase oxygen intake much over usual levels, unlike in aerobic exercise.
Anaerobic activities do not offer as much benefit to the person who has diabetes, and in fact, they may raise the blood pressure to the point of putting the body at risk.
Time For A Walk
Walking is one of the healthiest exercises you can do that will improve and maintain your body’s health. Walking can make us feel better and improve how we feel.
When you open any health magazine you can always bet that there is an article explaining the thousands of benefits that you receive by incorporating walking into your daily schedule.
Health experts have categorized walking as the best exercise that you can do and receive the quickest results. Research has shown that you feel an improvement in your body’s health both mentally and physically immediately—often within 30 minutes!
With that kind of discovery, it is time to get up and go for a walk! Make walking your first priority. You cannot use the excuse that I am not in shape to walk because I have seen eighty year-olds walking daily in my neighborhood!
Walking Is Great For Bonding Too
Be a mentor! Put your kids on the right track by showing them how great walking can be for you. Walking can show your kids healthy ways to manage stress. Your kids can most likely tell when you are feeling overwhelmed or tense.
How you deal with those feelings sends them a powerful message. Maybe you have your own exercise you like to do on a regular basis. That’s great! Just try incorporating walking to your current exercise program!
Walking is great for your health. It releases stress and if you are interested in losing weight then look no further, walking is one of the best exercises you can do to lose weight.
You can even use this time to bond with your children and get to know them better. It is a great exercise for bonding because you can talk to each other while you exercise. You cannot hold a conversation with aerobics, but you can with walking!
Try walking for 30 minutes each day. You will notice the positive changes. When others in your family see how you use walking as a tool to manage stress, improve your health and lose weight, they are most likely to follow suit.
