Aerobics: 40 Minutes To A Healthier Lifestyle

Aerobics means, with oxygen, and aerobic fitness consists of physical exercise, strength training and stretching. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes to 1 hour of moderately intense physical activity a day.

In addition to controlling body weight, aerobic activity has numerous health benefits.

Aerobic fitness can help to maintain good blood pressure levels, allows the heart to pump more effectively, decreases bad cholesterol while improving the good, and by reducing the systemic inflammation can lower the chance of having heart disease.

Diabetes is another disease that can be controlled through exercise. By allowing glucose to metabolize in the body, normal blood sugar levels are maintained. For people with Type 2 diabetes, physical activity raises tissue sensitivity to insulin, and produces more glucose to be released from the blood stream and into cells, decreasing glucose in the blood.

Incorporating exercise into a daily routing reduces obesity by controlling weight, helps to reduce and control body fat, and improves body muscle strength and flexibility.

Although exercise can help prevent many diseases, it can also be beneficial on a daily basis. Aerobic exercise improves the over all quality of life by releasing endorphins, which are happy hormones, into the blood. This improves mood and energy levels, reduces depression and fatigue, can eliminate the feelings of stress and anxiety
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In order to get the most benefits out of aerobic exercise, it is important to get the heart within target heart range. This is done by the calculated age method. Starting with the number 220, age is subtracted and that number is multiplied by 70 percent. Although this method is not totally accurate since people are at different levels of fitness ability, it does give a safe starting point. The American Heart Association recommends a range between 50 percent and 75 percent of maximum heart rate. Exercising at a target heart rate is the best way to get the most out of daily exercise and reap its benefits.

Aerobics came about when a physician named Dr. Kenneth Cooper developed a series of exercises used to prevent coronary artery disease. Dr. Cooper authored a book in 1968 called Aerobics, that detailed his exercises which included running, swimming, bicycling and walking.

Jackie Sorenson started aerobic dance in 1968 where dance routines were performed in a class to improve cardiovascular fitness.

Howard and Karen Schwartz started a gymnastic like sports in 1983 called sportaerobics. By the year 2002, sportaerobics had gone through many changes to become gymnastique discipline which is what we know it as today. It is a competition where 6 athletes compete in 105 second gymnastic routines and are judged based on their artistic performance and technical merit.