Determining The Right Aerobic Workout For You

Aerobic workouts are one of the most popular methods that people choose to increase their general levels of physical fitness. There are many different ways that people can go about implementing aerobic workouts into their lifestyle. Choosing the right aerobic workout is all about evaluating your fitness goals and deciding which workout you are most likely to enjoy and follow for an extended period of time.

Choosing the correct aerobic workout puts you in a much better position to be successful in meeting your physical fitness goals. Choosing the wrong aerobic workout may put you at much great risk for failing in your efforts to increase your general levels of fitness.

While researching the various aerobic workouts that are currently available, it is important to remember that aerobic exercises are unlikely to meet all of your physical fitness needs. For this reason, you will want to consider several different forms of exercise and incorporate a variety of exercise types into your overall workout routine.

For example, you may determine that your primary aerobic activity is outdoor bike riding. From there, you will want to add some form of resistance training and possibly a Yoga or Pilates routine as well. The aerobic activity will target your cardiovascular system (i.e. your heart), the strength training exercises will target the development of lean muscle tissue, and the Yoga or Pilates routine will target lengthening your soft tissue and centering your mind.

Differences in Aerobic Workouts

The difference in aerobic workouts often refers to levels of intensity and duration. Working at different levels of intensity and for different lengths of time will bring about different results. Intensity levels generally refer to one’s heart rate as represented by a percentage relative to their maximum heart rate. For example, if someone had a maximum heart rate of 200 and an aerobic workout called for an intensity level of seventy percent, then one would try to maintain a heart rate of 140 for a certain period of time.

Most workouts are either broken down into intervals or are intended to be carried out all at once. Usually, high intensity workouts will be broken down into intervals and will involve shorter durations. Whether you are using a high intensity short duration, low intensity long duration, or some combination of the two, there will be different advantages and disadvantages. The goal of this category and the corresponding pages is to outline the various aerobic workouts that are commonly employed and explain the various advantages and disadvantages that are inherent to them.

Aerobic Training Categories

On the following pages, you will find all of the major categories of aerobic training. Choosing a category depends largely on your specific physical fitness goals. The major reasons that people often use aerobic training are:

1. Bodily toning through fat loss


2. Flexibility


3. Increased mood or reduction in stress and tension


4. Improvement in self esteem


5. Dancing


6. Physical defense


7. Reduction in the chance of serious, health related illnesses

Choose the aerobic exercise type that best fits your current physical fitness goals and that you enjoy performing. For example, if you enjoy dancing, you may want to incorporate dancing into your regular aerobic training routine.

Doing so can maintain interest and motivation as well as strengthen your ability to participate in such an activity. On another level, you may have a simple goal such as losing weight. Almost every category of aerobics training will meet such a blanket goal.

Many people use aerobics to prepare for a sporting event. In this way, you should choose the category that best matches the movements performed during that sport.

For example, if you are preparing to play softball, using an aerobic activity that incorporates running (such as jogging or running) will likely be a good choice to prepare. Adding some strength training such as weight lifting or strength training will address nearly every physical activity associated with softball or baseball.

Sometimes people choose aerobic training categories for variety or cross training. By using two different categories, you may find that your workout is much less likely to become dull or boring. In addition, you can address the maximum amount of issues with a single workout plan. Doing so can produce rapid results and improve confidence and motivation. As an example, a few cross training examples are provided here:

• Running - Swimming


• Biking - Yoga


• Pilates - Martial Arts


• Various Sports - Interval Training


• Flexibility - Boot Camp


• Jogging - Muscle Toning

Which Category is the Right One?

In short, every category. Never become too obsessed with choosing the perfect category for your aerobic training as such a category does not exist. Try multiple approaches to aerobic training and pick the one that feels the best to you. To do this, you may ask yourself a few questions about each category. If the answer is "Yes" to most of the following questions, you may have found a category that best suits your needs. SalsaSisters.lt - Salsa pamokos Vilniuje Salsos šokiai

1. Am I meeting my fitness goals?


2. Does participating in this activity make me feel good?


3. Is the activity fun?


4. Can I participate in this activity regularly?


5. Have I begun to notice any physical benefits?


6. Have I begun to notice any mental benefits?


7. Do I feel like my chosen category comes naturally to me?


8. Do I currently feel like I can continue participating in the activity in the long run?

Many aerobic exercise types often negate targeting upper body strength and muscular development and fail to condition your body for many of the needs that it will encounter in day to day life. However, this is not to say that regularly performing an aerobic activity is not of vital importance.

Regularly performing an aerobic activity is the single best way to improve your overall cardiovascular health and endurance. It is a good idea to implement an aerobic exercise in addition to other forms of physical activity. This will ensure that you are receiving enough physical activity to remain physically fit and healthy.