Aerobic exercise: what you need to know
What is aerobic exercise?
Aerobic exercise is continuous muscular activity that requires extra oxygen — above that used at rest — to sustain the activity. Aerobic exercise is achieved by doing continuous rhythmic movements of the large muscles of your body such as those in your arms or legs. Examples of aerobic exercise include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing, cross-country skiing, ice-skating, kayaking, roller-blading, and aerobic dance (often simply called aerobics).
Aerobic exercise is characterised by physical activity that increases your breathing — to draw more oxygen into your lungs — and increases your heart rate — to deliver more oxygen-rich blood to your working muscles.
How often should I do aerobic exercise?
For general health and fitness benefits, such as reducing your risk of heart disease and improving your stamina, it is recommended that you do some form of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on most if not all days of the week, for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. This 30-minute total can be made up of shorter 10-minute sessions, if this is better suited to your day. These short sessions will still provide health benefits, although to have a ‘training effect’ you need to do at least three 30-minute sessions of moderate intensity aerobic exercise each week.
If you are already active at this level, increasing your amount (effort and duration) of aerobic exercise can result in further gains in aerobic fitness as measured by an increased capacity of your blood to carry oxygen, and a more efficient heart that can pump more blood to your tissues per heart beat.
Maintaining your level of aerobic fitness, and the health advantages that go with it, means keeping up a regular aerobic exercise routine. Letting go of the routine will see your level of aerobic fitness drop away relatively quickly.
How hard should I do aerobic exercise?
To improve your general health and fitness, moderate intensity aerobic exercise is recommended. That is, exercising at an intensity that increases your heart rate to between 55 and 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate. This intensity of exercise should increase your breathing to a point where you are still able to talk comfortably while exercising, but not sing. It may produce a light sweat in some people.
| How to calculate your maximum heart rate |
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| Your maximum heart rate in beats per minute = 220 minus your age |
Calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age in years from 220. For someone who is 40, for example, their maximum heart rate would be 220 minus 40, which is 180 beats per minute. So, for moderate intensity exercise, this person would aim for exercise that produces a heart rate between 99 and 126 beats per minute (55 to 70 per cent of their maximum heart rate).
Measure your heart rate
An easy way to measure your heart rate is to count your pulse for 10 seconds then multiply this count by 6 to calculate your heart rate per minute. Feel your pulse by placing your index and middle finger in either of the grooves found each side of your adam’s apple, just under your jaw bone, or by placing the same 2 fingers at the base of the thumb on your opposite hand to find the pulse at your wrist. Be aware that aiming for a target heart rate when exercising is a rough guide and may not work for some people. Older people who are physically fit may have a higher maximum heart rate than a younger, weaker person and a higher maximum heart rate than that given by subtracting their age from 220.
Beta-blockers
Beta-blockers are one type of medication used to lower blood pressure as well as treat angina and certain heart rhythm disorders. They work by slowing down the rate at which the heart beats. People taking beta blockers should talk to their doctor about their planned exercise programme.
Vigorous aerobic exercise — exercising at 70 to 85 per cent of your maximum heart rate (126 to 153 beats per minute in the above example) — will result in further fitness and health gains. This intensity will mean you are breathing hard and find it difficult to talk in full sentences between breaths. If you are interested in the extra health and fitness gains of vigorous aerobic exercise, and you are healthy and already accustomed to regular moderate intensity aerobic exercise, then you could move up to 30 or more minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise on 3 or 4 days a week. This amount is in addition to the recommended minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on the remaining days of the week.
For people undertaking high-level sports training, a qualified trainer is likely to develop an individualised programme that varies from the above guidelines with regard to the intensity (how hard), the duration (how long) and the frequency (how often) of the aerobic exercise sessions.
A balanced fitness programme
For people of all fitness levels, aerobic exercise should form part of a balanced exercise programme that also includes 2 to 3 sessions per week of exercise to increase muscle strength, e.g. hand-weights training; and some stretching and flexibility work, e.g. a basic stretching routine or attending a yoga class. Needless to say, healthy eating and plenty of rest will complete a well-rounded fitness programme.
Aerobic exercise precautions
If you are aged over 40, have existing health problems or muscle, bone or joint injuries, or you have not exercised regularly in the recent past, check with your doctor before undertaking an aerobic exercise programme.
As with any form of exercise, be aware of over-exercising, either by doing aerobic exercise too hard, for too long or too often. This approach can lead to injury, and abandonment of your fitness programme. Remember to build up gradually from your current activity level, and not to progress too rapidly. If you are new to regular aerobic exercise, several weeks of low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise are usually advised before introducing more vigorous aerobic exercise sessions. When you do increase your level of aerobic exercise, increase only one component at a time — either the intensity, or the duration, or the frequency of your aerobic exercise sessions.
Last Reviewed: 21 November 2003
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