7 Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
What Is Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise benefits are unlike any other regular physical activity benefits. Unlike anaerobic exercise, aerobic exercise is any physical activity exercise that promotes the circulation of oxygen throughout the body over a period of time. Improving your oxygen circulation will result in your heart pumping a little faster (increased heart rate) and will make you breathe harder. It’s good for you. Like really really good. And what’s even better is, aerobic exercise is highly accessible. There are many different types of physical activity exercise that can be considered aerobic. You can enjoy aerobic exercise in your living room, in the gym, on the pavement, and in the pool. And—better yet—you will reap a ton of health benefits. We want to outline those for you right here.
Health Benefits Of Aerobic Exercise
1 | Improve Heart Health
Your heart is one of the essential organs in your body that you need to keep healthy. With heart disease as the number one cause of death in the United States, it is crucial to focus on keeping your heart health in tip-top shape. Aerobic exercise helps to improve the circulation of blood flow throughout your body and enhances the strength of your cardiac output. Hopkins Medicine suggests aerobic exercise at least five days a week for 30 minutes a day.
2 | Maintain Healthy Body Weight
Getting to and maintaining your goal body weight will rely heavily on the foods you eat and putting nutrition at the forefront of your health routine. But, one thing that will aid in the process of maintaining or reducing weight is aerobic exercise. One study in the Journal of Applied Physiology split over 200 participants into three categories: aerobic exercise, aerobic and resistance training, and resistance training alone. While all three of these groups produced results (resistance training providing more lean muscle mass and muscle strength), aerobic physical fitness conditioning proved best at reducing body mass and body fat. So, balance is key when it comes to physical fitness. But, be sure to have aerobic exercise as a staple of your exercise training routine.
3 | Improve Mood
According to Psychiatry.org, nearly 1 in 5 people experience mental illness. Many of these suffering from depression and anxiety and other illnesses that impact your daily mood. In one study, aerobic exercise reduced the symptoms of depression in participants at a higher rate than those who did not get assigned to complete aerobic exercises. There is even evidence that as little as 5 minutes of aerobic exercise can help to elevate your mood. That means that a quick walk around the block could be the difference between a bad day or just a bad few minutes. But—to be clear—any physical exercise is good for your mood.
4 | Improve Confidence
You know what? When we feel better, we tend to put our best foot forward, walk a little taller, and face our day with more confidence. Once you start to feel those muscles define, and you break your first PR (personal record), your self-confidence will begin to improve. This tends to carry over into everyday life, making you better at work, more present for your family, and happier overall. Bonus? When you start to feel more confident, you may begin to want to make healthier choices. Instead of thinking of your health as a chore, it will be something you look forward to improving.
5 | Improve Memory
The Journal Comprehensive Physiology outlines the evidence that aerobic activity helps to diminish the loss of brain tissue during aging and enhances cognition. Aerobic fitness helps to improve our memory and keep it longer as you age.
6 | You Get Stronger
Sometimes what we want from a cardio workout is this—to get stronger. And, if you are practicing regular aerobic exercise, you will. It is one of the most significant benefits of adding aerobics into your regular exercise routine. Your muscles and ligaments will strengthen, helping you to walk further, lift heavier, and keep your body composition and posture and stability intact as you age.
7 | Make Friends
Many group exercise classes are built around aerobic exercise. At Chuze Fitness, you can enjoy aerobic exercise in classes like Zumba, AquaFit, Buns and Belly, Cardio Kickboxing, Indoor Cycling, and more. All of these classes allow you to get fit with a community of people around you working toward the same goal. You may find your new best friend or workout buddy in this class. And, our instructors will be so excited to meet you to help you along your health journey.
If you would like to add aerobic exercise to your routine, but you aren’t sure where to start, try out one of the group exercise classes above, or ask someone on our team for help. You can focus on aerobic exercise training at any of our locations. Come on in, give it a try, and enjoy all of these fantastic benefits.
We look forward to getting to know you!