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Aerobic exercise can do more than just keep your weight down. Any exercise that moves large muscle groups in a rhythmic and constant way benefits your cardiovascular system, including your lungs and heart.
Vigorous movement will make you breathe deeper and faster, oxygenating your blood at a more rapid rate.
Blood flow is enhanced by your accelerated heart rate. Capillaries (small blood vessels) dilate, carry more oxygen into your muscles and remove lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and other toxins.
Your risk for disorders like some cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and stroke will decrease with regular aerobic exercise. Your HDL (good) cholesterol levels go up and your LDL cholesterol levels come down, leaving you with healthier arteries.
More endorphins, which are natural painkillers, are created which also elevates your mood, leading to less anxiety and tension, and your immune system responds favorably so that you are less likely to get sick.
As you perform aerobic exercises on a regular basis, your muscles will be strengthened. According to the Mayo Clinic, half an hour or more of aerobics done three times a week may protect cognitive alertness and clarity as you age.
Research published in the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has indicated that following an aerobic program for a year can cause the hippocampus to grow larger in size. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that normally gets smaller in later years. A smaller hippocampus means poorer memory.
Half of the people participating in the study took part in aerobic exercise, walking for 40 minutes at a time, three days a week. The other group took part in a program involving weights and stretching.
The aerobics group experienced an increase in the hippocampus. The left hippocampus increased by 2.12 percent. The right hippocampus increased by 1.97 percent.
The weights and stretching participants actually had a reduction in hippocampus size, by 1.4 percent in the left hippocampus, and by 1.43 percent in the right hippocampus.
After a year, the aerobics group had better spatial memory, as well as higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a chemical that is associated with memory and the ability to learn.
You don't have to be a superstar physically to be able to benefit from aerobic exercise. If you're just starting out on your fitness journey, it's preferable to keep those first forays short and non-taxing. A five minute walk once or twice a day is an excellent way to begin. Gradually increase to a half hour walk per day and you are on your way.
Walking isn't the only form of aerobics of course. For outside activities, consider biking, jogging, swimming and cross-country skiing. Indoor exercise might involve dancing, elliptical training, rowing or stair climbing, or a stationary bike.
You can monitor your heart rate by taking your radial pulse (at the wrist) or your carotid pulse (at the neck). You could also use a heart rate monitor during your exercise session.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website recommended that eventually your goal might be 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity every day.
Jody Smith is a freelance writer for EmpowHER.com.
Sources:
Aerobic exercise: Top 10 reasons to get physical
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aerobic-exercise/EP00002
Aerobic Exercise
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00194
Aerobic exercise can increase brain size, keeping you mentally sharp
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/31/news/la-heb-exercise-hippocampus-20110131
