Aerobic exercise is a physical activity that uses your body's large muscle groups. It increases your heart rate and how much oxygen your body uses. Aerobic exercise is important to help maintain optimal heart health and lower the risk of developing inflammatory conditions that affect your entire body. Aerobic means “with oxygen,” so aerobic exercise is any physical activity that involves increased amounts of oxygen throughout your body. As you exercise, your muscles require increased oxygen to contract for a prolonged period.
Your heart rate will increase as you pump more oxygen-carrying blood throughout the body to supply more oxygen to your muscles. Your breathing rate will also increase to bring more oxygen into the body and the bloodstream. Another name for aerobic exercise is cardiovascular exercise.
If you suffer from any chronic cardiovascular conditions, then aerobic exercise may help you. There is a long list of benefits associated with cardiovascular training, and they include improving heart function, lowering resting heart rate, improving lung function, improving circulation, decreasing high blood pressure, and more.
If you're an athlete, you may also benefit from aerobic training. Aerobic training can help increase your stamina, fitness, and strength. It can also help you control your weight so you can stay leaner.
Some questions that we will be answering in this session are, "How do I start an aerobic training program?" and "Should I start an aerobic exercise program if I have pre-existing health conditions?"