“Learn how the benefits of aerobic exercise in improving cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and flexibility help in lowering blood pressure.”Physical exercise can improve both your mental and physical health. Since aerobic exercise directly relates to lowering blood pressure that is what we will focus on. The benefits of aerobic exercise include reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, improved muscular endurance, reduced body fat and increased metabolism. Exercise pumps more blood through your veins. This increases the size of your arteries, prevents fat from clogging your arteries and helps prevent blood clots. The important idea behind cardio or aerobic exercise today, is to get up and do it if you want to reap the benefits of aerobic exercise.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines aerobic exercise as "any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature." “Aerobics” or “cardio” as some people prefer to call it is any cardiovascular activity that overloads the heart and lungs and causes them to work harder than at rest. It involves large muscle groups (namely your legs), and, most important of all - can be sustained continuously for long periods of time (at least 20 - 30 minutes and up to as much as 60 minutes). Activities like walking, jogging, bicycling, stair climbing, rowing, cross-country skiing and elliptical exercise fall into this group.
Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body:
Types of Aerobic Exercise
Benefits of Aerobic Exercise Among the recognized benefits of aerobic exercise are:
The known benefits of doing regular aerobic exercise include:
In addition to the health benefits of aerobic exercise, there are numerous performance benefits:
Aerobic Capacity 'Aerobic capacity' describes the condition of the cardio respiratory system, (the heart, lungs and blood vessels). Aerobic capacity is defined as the maximum volume of oxygen that can be consumed by one's muscles during exercise. It is a function both of one's cardio respiratory performance and of the ability of the muscles to extract the oxygen and fuel delivered to them. To measure maximal aerobic capacity, an exercise physiologist or physician will perform a VO2 max test, in which a subject will undergo progressively more strenuous exercise on a treadmill, from an easy walk through to exhaustion. The individual is typically hooked up to a respirometer to measure oxygen, and the speed is increased incrementally over a fixed duration of time. The higher a cardio respiratory endurance level, the more oxygen transported to exercising muscles, the longer exercise can be maintained without exhaustion and accordingly the faster they are able to run. The higher the aerobic capacity, the higher is the level of aerobic fitness.
Beginning in the 40s, men’s decline in aerobic capacity was greater than women’s, regardless of their reported physical activity. To counter age-related declines, they recommend that people maximize their aerobic capacity through exercise. They also found out that by participating in an exercise program, you can raise your aerobic capacity 15 percent to 25 percent, which would be equivalent to being 10–20 years younger. Over time, your aerobic capacity will decline, but at any given age someone who exercises will have a higher capacity than someone who is a couch potato.” Declining muscle strength, another factor that contributes to frailty as people age, can also be countered through strengthening exercises.
This is a must especially if you have been inactive, smoke, have high cholesterol, or are over age 45. This simple, painless procedure is usually done on a treadmill or stationary bike in your doctor’s office. While you exercise, several monitors will measure your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), and how tired you feel during the test. The stress test helps a physician find out how well your heart handles work. As your body works harder during the test, it requires more oxygen, so the heart must pump more blood. The test can show if the blood supply is reduced in the arteries that supply the heart. After the test, your doctor will be able to give you specific guidelines, including the kind and level of exercise appropriate for you.
As you go and do any aerobic exercise, you must keep some safety tips in mind in order to avoid unnecessary injuries.
Aerobic versus anaerobic exercise Aerobic exercise and fitness can be contrasted with anaerobic exercise, of which strength training and weight training are the most salient examples. The two types of exercise differ by the duration and intensity of muscular contractions involved, as well as by how energy is generated within the muscle. Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, but in its absence, fat metabolism is initiated instead. The latter is a slow process, and is accompanied by a decline in performance level. The switch to fat as fuel is a major cause of what marathon runners call "hitting the wall". Aerobics or cardiovascular exercises are fun and simple methods to reduce your blood pressure.Significant health benefits are obtained by including a moderate amount of physical exercise. Physical activity plays a positive role in preventing disease and improving overall health status. People of all ages, both male and female, benefit from regular physical activity. Regular aerobic exercise also provides significant psychological benefits and improves quality of life.
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Aerobic exercises such as cycling, walking and running focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance.
Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs