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Faizan
Sure, gyms give you instant access to almost any type of exercise equipment you can imagine -- but you can also obtain a solid aerobic workout at home. If you're sure you'll use it regularly, buying a home exercise machine such as a treadmill or elliptical trainer will save you a lot of money on gym fees over time. Or you can design a machine-free aerobic workout at home.
Defining the Workout
Aerobics doesn't only mean bouncing around to upbeat music. At its core, an aerobic workout is anything that gets and keeps the large muscles in your body -- usually your legs and glutes, sometimes your chest and back too -- moving rhythmically for an extended period of time. So anything from marching in place to jumping rope, or turning up your favorite music and dancing like mad, can count as aerobic exercise.
How Much Is Enough
If you keep it up for at least 10 minutes at a stretch, that exercise will count toward the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for physical activity: at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts. Doubling that amount will get you even faster benefits, not to mention a jump on any weight-loss goals.
Build Your Own Workout
You can create your own aerobics workout using just a few principles. Start with a five- to 10-minute warm-up; this should be a gentle version of whatever you have planned for your full-on workout. Then ramp up the intensity with exercises like ski jumps, jumping jacks, starburst jumps, shadowboxing, butt kicks and alternating lunges. Remember, the most important thing in an aerobics workout is that you keep moving. Gauge your intensity by how out of breath you are: If you can speak normally but not sing, it's a moderate workout. If you can only get a few words out at a time, it's vigorous. Once you've hit your time goal, cool down with five to 10 minutes of gentle activity.
Stay on Track
Don't just wander into your workout room and expect to come up with a workout on the fly. Instead, plan what sort of exercise you'll do and for how long; remember that the more specific your goals or workout plans are, the easier they are to keep. If you don't want to worry about planning your workouts, turn to exercise DVDs or streaming online workouts for inspiration instead. High-intensity home workouts such as step aerobics, cardio kickboxing and dance aerobics are all just a click away.
Aerobic Equipment Choices
If you get tired of calisthenics workouts and exercise DVDs but don't have the space or money for a full-fledged cardio machine, you have several small, inexpensive options to choose from. Consider getting boxing gloves to make shadowboxing more of a cardio workout, a jump rope, a rebounder or an aerobic step. The latter is also useful for some strength training exercises and can even double as a weight bench in a pinch.
Defining the Workout
Aerobics doesn't only mean bouncing around to upbeat music. At its core, an aerobic workout is anything that gets and keeps the large muscles in your body -- usually your legs and glutes, sometimes your chest and back too -- moving rhythmically for an extended period of time. So anything from marching in place to jumping rope, or turning up your favorite music and dancing like mad, can count as aerobic exercise.
How Much Is Enough
If you keep it up for at least 10 minutes at a stretch, that exercise will count toward the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for physical activity: at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts. Doubling that amount will get you even faster benefits, not to mention a jump on any weight-loss goals.
You can create your own aerobics workout using just a few principles. Start with a five- to 10-minute warm-up; this should be a gentle version of whatever you have planned for your full-on workout. Then ramp up the intensity with exercises like ski jumps, jumping jacks, starburst jumps, shadowboxing, butt kicks and alternating lunges. Remember, the most important thing in an aerobics workout is that you keep moving. Gauge your intensity by how out of breath you are: If you can speak normally but not sing, it's a moderate workout. If you can only get a few words out at a time, it's vigorous. Once you've hit your time goal, cool down with five to 10 minutes of gentle activity.
Stay on Track
Don't just wander into your workout room and expect to come up with a workout on the fly. Instead, plan what sort of exercise you'll do and for how long; remember that the more specific your goals or workout plans are, the easier they are to keep. If you don't want to worry about planning your workouts, turn to exercise DVDs or streaming online workouts for inspiration instead. High-intensity home workouts such as step aerobics, cardio kickboxing and dance aerobics are all just a click away.
Aerobic Equipment Choices
If you get tired of calisthenics workouts and exercise DVDs but don't have the space or money for a full-fledged cardio machine, you have several small, inexpensive options to choose from. Consider getting boxing gloves to make shadowboxing more of a cardio workout, a jump rope, a rebounder or an aerobic step. The latter is also useful for some strength training exercises and can even double as a weight bench in a pinch.
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