Tag Archives: Exercise

How Should I Exercise?

Posted on by
7,733
EXERCISE

Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

There are a number of misconceptions about exercise and what types are the best for you. In fact, the answers vary and are dependent on the individual and his or her goals. Is your goal fat reduction, cardiovascular improvement, event training, or general overall health?  You need to answer this first question before you design your ideal exercise routine.

One of the biggest misconceptions about fitness is that it takes vast amounts of time to get or stay fit. If your fitness program is properly designed, it will give you the results you want in the minimum time possible because it will be focused precisely and exclusively on your objectives.

There are two TYPES of exercise: aerobic and anaerobic exercise. The most effective, time-efficient exercise program possible involves a combination of aerobic exercise and anaerobic isolation exercises for intensive, concentrated work on individual areas of the body.

Aerobic exercise is activity that intensifies your breathing and elevates your heart rate. To be most effective, aerobic exercise must be performed at the proper pace, elevating your heart rate to its optimal zone, for a prescribed period of time. It has been determined that a minimum of 12 minutes is required for aerobic exercise to produce any training effect.

Aerobic exercise strengthens your cardiorespiratory system. It’s also one of the best methods around for eliminating unwanted fat from your body while improving muscle tone.

Anaerobic exercise generally involves repeated short bursts of intense effort that momentarily push your heart rate above the aerobic level. In response, muscles become more defined and stronger, which is generally the goal. Weight lifting is the most common form of this type of anaerobic exercise.

A form of exercise that is popular with organizations such as the military, sports teams and many school physical education classes is calisthenics. Calisthenics are a form of exercise consisting of a variety of simple movements that increase your strength and flexibility using only your body weight for resistance. Calisthenics can benefit both muscular and cardiovascular fitness when performed vigorously and with variety. They can also be done just about anywhere because you don’t need any special equipment.

How do you know if your routine is working for you? The mirror is actually a very simple and accurate indicator of your overall body shape. The scale cannot take into account the distribution of weight, and that distribution is the key to your appearance. Muscle outweighs fat by about 2 to 1. If you remove fat from your body and improve muscle tone at the same time, you may actually see a net gain in weight on your scale, but your mirror will show a stronger, trimmer, and more attractive you!