Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Aerobic Exercise?BenefitsExamplesHow Much Aerobic Exercise?How to Get Started
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Aerobic Exercise?
Benefits
Examples
How Much Aerobic Exercise?
How to Get Started
Aerobic exercise involves physical activity that increases your breathing and heart rate to fuel your body with oxygen-rich blood. Aerobic exercise helps strengthen your heart muscle, improves your lung function, and increases circulation and healthy blood flow throughout your body. Learn the benefits of aerobic exercise, examples, and how to get started.
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“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.
With aerobic exercise, cells undergo cellular respiration, in which oxygen and other molecules are converted intoadenosine triphosphate(ATP), the primary energy source for cells.
Your heart rate will increase to 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.
Because aerobic exercise requires increased functioning of your heart and lungs or cardiovascular system, aerobic exercise is often called cardiovascular exercise, or “cardio.”
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Benefits of Cardio
Cardio, or aerobic exercise, is extremely beneficial for maintaining the healthy functioning of your entire body. Regular cardiovascular exercise can:
Do cardio workouts help lose belly fat?Aerobic exercise is good for weight loss as it increases your energy expenditure as your heart and lungs have to work harder to supply your exercising muscles with oxygenated blood. This increased workload burns more calories and helps to break down fat tissue, which can help you lose weight, including belly fat.Calories burned with aerobic exercise will vary based on your weight, individual fitness level, exercise intensity, and duration of physical activity.
Do cardio workouts help lose belly fat?
Aerobic exercise is good for weight loss as it increases your energy expenditure as your heart and lungs have to work harder to supply your exercising muscles with oxygenated blood. This increased workload burns more calories and helps to break down fat tissue, which can help you lose weight, including belly fat.Calories burned with aerobic exercise will vary based on your weight, individual fitness level, exercise intensity, and duration of physical activity.
Aerobic exercise is good for weight loss as it increases your energy expenditure as your heart and lungs have to work harder to supply your exercising muscles with oxygenated blood. This increased workload burns more calories and helps to break down fat tissue, which can help you lose weight, including belly fat.
Calories burned with aerobic exercise will vary based on your weight, individual fitness level, exercise intensity, and duration of physical activity.
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Examples of Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercisesare generally any exercises that get your body moving for a prolonged period, such as:
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Aerobic Exercises to Do at Home
For many people, exercising at home can be a convenient and effective way to get moving. You essentially have the freedom to work out when you want to. While it has its advantages, there may be distractions and it might be more challenging to stay motivated.
Aerobic exercises you can perform at home include:
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Aerobic Exercises to Do at a Gym
By joining a gym, you can access a variety of exercise equipment and receive guidance from fitness trainers. However, some drawbacks include membership fees and limited locations and hours.
Aerobic exercises you can do at the gym include:
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Aerobic Exercise Classes
One benefit of working out in a group setting is that it may help increase your motivation. Many people may also find the classes to be fun.
However, like the gym, there are costs to consider. Additionally, there may be less flexibility and a lack of personalization. Nonetheless, there are a variety of classes to choose from.
Cardio or aerobics classes may include:
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How Much Aerobic Exercise Should You Do?
Adults should participate in one of the following physical activity durations each week to promote optimal heart health and lower the risk of developingatheroscleroticcardiovascular disease (ASCVD):
Exercise intensity is grouped into the following categories:
Talk TestThe “talk test” can be used to measure the intensity of your physical activity. If you are participating in a moderate-intensity activity, you should be able to talk but not sing during the activity. If you are participating in a vigorous-intensity activity, you should not be able to say more than a few words without needing to pause to take a breath.
Talk Test
The “talk test” can be used to measure the intensity of your physical activity. If you are participating in a moderate-intensity activity, you should be able to talk but not sing during the activity. If you are participating in a vigorous-intensity activity, you should not be able to say more than a few words without needing to pause to take a breath.
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Sedentary individuals should start slowly and gradually increase exercise intensity, duration, and frequency. This allows the heart, lungs, and muscles to acclimate to the change in physical activity. For those new to exercise, aerobic exercise can be divided into 10-minute sessions to help make exercise more doable and achievable.
Shorter durations of physical activity of 10 minutes or less can be just as beneficial as longer durations greater than 10 minutes, as long as the total duration of exercise throughout the week remains the same. Fifteen 10-minute exercise sessions divided throughout the week, for example, can have similar benefits as five 30-minute sessions.
If you cannot meet these recommendations, it is typically better to participate in some form of exercise rather than no exercise unless your healthcare provider advises you to avoid physical activity for medical concerns.
Risks of Aerobic ExerciseWhile there are many benefits to aerobic exercise, risks may include musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains, strains, bone fractures, joint pain, muscle cramps, or soreness. Other risks may includearrhythmias,heart attack,rhabdomyolysis,bronchoconstriction, andsudden cardiac death.Always consult with your healthcare provider before beginning or increasing any exercise program to ensure that your heart, lungs, and blood vessels are healthy enough to support the increased demands of aerobic exercise.
Risks of Aerobic Exercise
While there are many benefits to aerobic exercise, risks may include musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains, strains, bone fractures, joint pain, muscle cramps, or soreness. Other risks may includearrhythmias,heart attack,rhabdomyolysis,bronchoconstriction, andsudden cardiac death.Always consult with your healthcare provider before beginning or increasing any exercise program to ensure that your heart, lungs, and blood vessels are healthy enough to support the increased demands of aerobic exercise.
While there are many benefits to aerobic exercise, risks may include musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains, strains, bone fractures, joint pain, muscle cramps, or soreness. Other risks may includearrhythmias,heart attack,rhabdomyolysis,bronchoconstriction, andsudden cardiac death.
Always consult with your healthcare provider before beginning or increasing any exercise program to ensure that your heart, lungs, and blood vessels are healthy enough to support the increased demands of aerobic exercise.
Summary
Aerobic exercise requires increased oxygen to supply working muscles, which causes your heart rate and breathing to increase. Aerobic exercise, also called “cardio,” involves physical activity performed over a prolonged period. Aerobic exercise includes walking, hiking, running, dancing, bicycling, and playing sports.
This type of exercise helps to improve your heart and lung function, increase circulation, and decrease elevated levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation. When beginning or increasing your aerobic exercise, start slow and gradually increase over time. But, first, make sure your healthcare provider clears you.
Aerobic exercise is important to help maintain optimal heart health and lower the risk of developing inflammatory conditions that affect your entire body. Start off slowly and gradually increase your physical activity intensity, frequency, and duration to allow your body to adapt to the new activity.
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5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Geographic.Cellular respiration.Patel H, Alkhawam H, Madanieh R, Shah N, Kosmas CE, Vittorio TJ.Aerobicvsanaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system.World J Cardiol. 2017;9(2):134-138. doi:10.4330/wjc.v9.i2.134Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al.2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring physical activity intensity.Peterson DM.The benefits and risks of aerobic exercise.UpToDate.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Geographic.Cellular respiration.Patel H, Alkhawam H, Madanieh R, Shah N, Kosmas CE, Vittorio TJ.Aerobicvsanaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system.World J Cardiol. 2017;9(2):134-138. doi:10.4330/wjc.v9.i2.134Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al.2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring physical activity intensity.Peterson DM.The benefits and risks of aerobic exercise.UpToDate.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Geographic.Cellular respiration.Patel H, Alkhawam H, Madanieh R, Shah N, Kosmas CE, Vittorio TJ.Aerobicvsanaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system.World J Cardiol. 2017;9(2):134-138. doi:10.4330/wjc.v9.i2.134Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al.2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring physical activity intensity.Peterson DM.The benefits and risks of aerobic exercise.UpToDate.
National Geographic.Cellular respiration.
Patel H, Alkhawam H, Madanieh R, Shah N, Kosmas CE, Vittorio TJ.Aerobicvsanaerobic exercise training effects on the cardiovascular system.World J Cardiol. 2017;9(2):134-138. doi:10.4330/wjc.v9.i2.134
Arnett DK, Blumenthal RS, Albert MA, et al.2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring physical activity intensity.
Peterson DM.The benefits and risks of aerobic exercise.UpToDate.
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