Exercise is a critical component of good health
Especially as you age.
- Sleep better
- lose weight
- gain weight
- or maintain weight, depending on your needs.
- Improve your resistance to fight infections Lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes
- Help your brain work better, making you smarter.
Weight loss is a powerful motivator that can get people to start exercising.
- A reduced risk of cancer
- Less back pain
- Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
- A natural treatment for depression
- A reduced risk of high blood pressure
Find the right level of exercise for you by the way you feel after a workout.
You should feel GOOD after you exercise.
If you feel exhausted, nauseous, shaky or otherwise are in pain, you have done something that did not help your body. And, very possibly, you have overdone it or violated some other principle that was not good for your body at that time.
So trust your body and listen to the gentle -- and sometimes not so gentle -- feedback it gives you. Likewise, if you feel like you’ve hardly broken a sweat, you may need to increase your exertion level.
Aerobic, Anaerobic....what is the difference?
"Aerobic means 'with oxygen" any exercise where you are able to maintain a controlled breath is aerobic. A controlled breath doesn't necessarily mean you are doing an easy workout - you can have an elevated heart rate and a heavy breath and still be in control. These are exercises that you can maintain for an extended period of time (10 minutes or more). When you are doing aerobic exercise your body is using oxygen to produce energy (ATP). This is a very efficient and effective way to produce energy for the body and is a great way to burn calories.
"Anaerobic means 'without oxygen". This means that you are gasping for breath and unable to maintain the effort for more than 45 seconds to a minute. Anaerobic exercises can include such exercises such as sprinting - but for those just getting back into exercise even fast walking can send you into an anaerobic state. When you are exercising anaerobically you are no longer using oxygen to produce energy (ATP). You are now using glucose stored in your muscles. One of the results of anaerobic exercise is lactic acid build-up in the muscles which ultimately makes you stop the exercise. Although anaerobic exercises do have their place - for those of you who are really focused on weight loss these types of exercises are not necessarily a major focus for you.
Try exercising with burst of 30 to 60 seconds of anaerobic!
