What is Aerobic Exercise and Why should I do it?
What Is Aerobics / Toning ?
A great workout
to burn fat, tone up and improve aerobic Fitness.
What is involved?
The class lasts 1 hour. We
start a 5-min aerobic warm up followed by 25 min aerobics,25 min toning,
and 5 minutes stretching.
The purpose of the warm up is to slowly warm up the muscles, increase
body temperature, heart rate and mobilize joints to prevent injury.
The 25 minute aerobic session is extremely effective in burning fat,
increasing muscle tone an improving cardiovascular fitness. It consists
of aerobics moves – jogging, skipping, side steps, hops, grapevines … to
name but a few, all put together into fun routines to music. These
routines constantly change so you will never get bored.
And don’t worry, if you are not coordinated, we take it slowly to start
and keep adding to the routines until you become an expert!
During the 25 minute toning session we do exercise that tone every part
of your body - legs, butt, tummy, back, shoulders, arms and core. We use hand
weights, dyna bands, ankle weights and mats. There are a large range of
weights (0.5 kg pairs up to 5 kg pairs) allowing for continual
progression.
We finish the session with 5 minutes of stretching. This returns the
muscles to their pre-exercise length thus preventing injury. At this
stage you will feel so energized, you could take on the world !
Body fat and weight monitoring is provided free after class.
Benefits of an Aerobic/Toning workout:
It’s a fun and very effective workout that will: -
√
Burn fat
√
Tone the entire body
√
Increase cardiovascular fitness (see below
for more details)
√
Increase resistance to fatigue
√
Decrease tension and aid in
sleeping
√
Increase general stamina
√ Increase bone strength
√ Improve
mood, reduce depression and anxiety
What if I am a
beginner?
You can take the class at your pace. You can do moves at low or high
intensity. Make it easier by taking smaller steps, keeping your feet
closer to the ground, not bringing your arms as high over head or
leaving them out all together. There are opportunities for water breaks.
You can take breaks as you wish.
Cardiovascular
Benefits
Aerobic exercise
conditions the heart and lungs by increasing the oxygen available to the
body and by enabling the heart to use oxygen more efficiently. Exercise
alone cannot prevent or cure heart disease. It is only one factor in a
total program of risk reduction; examples of other factors are high
blood pressure, cigarette smoking and high cholesterol level.
Definition of Aerobics:
Using the same large
muscle group, rhythmically, for a period of 15 to 20 minutes or longer
while maintaining 60-80% of your maximum heart rate.
Think of aerobic
activity as being long in duration yet medium in intensity. Aerobic
activities include: walking, biking, jogging, swimming, aerobic classes
and cross-country skiing. Anaerobic activity is short in duration and
high in intensity. Anaerobic activities include: racquetball, downhill
skiing, weight lifting, sprinting, softball, soccer and football.
Aerobic means with
air or oxygen. You should be able to carry on a short conversation while
doing aerobic exercise. If you are gasping for air while talking, you
are probably working anaerobically. When you work anaerobically, you
will tire faster and are more likely to experience sore muscles after
exercise is over.
Avoid the
Aerobic Curve
The aerobic curve
occurs when you begin exercising, increase your intensity level, hit the
high point and gradually decrease your intensity level. The goal when
exercising aerobically is to hit your target heart rate and maintain it
for the entire exercise session. This works the heart muscle more
effectively and burns more calories. Think of riding a bike, running or
swimming - you start, hit your pace (or target zone), then you maintain
your pace until the cool down. As your heart becomes conditioned, you
will have to work harder to reach the target zone. Less conditioned
athletes will reach their target zones quickly because their heart
muscle isn't used to the workload.
Exercise Frequency
Fitness is an
ongoing process and requires consistent reinforcement. The world healthy
organization advises we do 1 hour of exercise every day to maintain
health benefits. This can be accumulated throughout the day e.g. walking
ot work, taking the stairs instead of the lift, talking a lunch walk,
etc.
To maintain your current level of fitness you should do aerobic exercise
at least 2 times a week. To increase your level of fitness, you should
be exercising 3-4 times per week. Try to combine aerobic, resistance
(using weights or body weight) and stretching during your workout for
maximal benefits.
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