Aerobic training – designed to increase the body’s endurance, tone up, strengthen the cardiovascular system and burn fat. Typical aerobic workouts are running, walking, cycling, active games, etc. Aerobic workouts differ in duration (constant muscle work should last at least 5 minutes), and the exercises are dynamic and repetitive.

Why is aerobic exercise necessary?
Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn calories. That is, aerobic training helps to burn fat and at the same time maintain (if not performed in too large volumes) muscle mass.

In a more specific language, aerobic exercise is characterized by an increase in heart rate to a level of 90% of the maximum. The easiest way to determine your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. In general, note the following for yourself: if, while doing aerobic training, you are not able to speak without swallowing additional air, then you are training too intensively, but if you do not notice any changes in your breathing rate, then you are working with insufficient activity.

Aerobic activity lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of heart failure, improves lung function and helps to overcome stressful conditions in the body.
The main reason for performing aerobic exercise in the gym is fat burning.

How to choose your intensity level and what kind of aerobics is the best?
High-intensity aerobic work loads both the muscles and the heart. These are such types of exercise as running, step, dancing, etc. By maintaining a constant pace, you can control your heart rate at the required level, burn fat, and strengthen your cardiovascular system.

Which machine to choose for aerobic exercise? It all depends on your preferences.

The most famous aerobic exercise machine is the treadmill. The treadmill is usually used for walking or running.

Usually walking is movement at speeds up to 7-10 km / h, and movement at a higher speed is already running.

Among those who come to me for training for the first time, the vast majority do not like to run. There is nothing wrong with this. Walking, subject to certain rules, can be just as effective as running.

And the effectiveness of aerobic training directly depends on the load threshold, beyond which positive changes begin in the body.

A possible situation is when the required level of load for a person is 12 km / h, and he categorically does not like to run or cannot, for example, because of problems in the joints. What to do in this case?

Walk up the hill! Increasing the incline angle of the treadmill by 2 degrees is equivalent to increasing the speed by 1 km/h.

Therefore, for such a person, it can be recommended to walk at a speed of 6 km / h and an angle of inclination of 12 degrees.

However, there is one caveat. Many people, changing the angle of inclination on the track, begin to hold on to the handrails. The effectiveness of the exercise from this is reduced.

Many people prefer to exercise on an exercise bike or stepper. These are cardio machines that allow you to set a low to medium level of aerobic activity, which is preferred by muscle building clients. In addition, they, like a treadmill, allow you to change the angle of application of the load. I advise you to avoid aerobic exercises, in which the main load falls on the hands. They consume much fewer calories than when working, where the legs are mainly loaded, plus the cardiovascular system is much less involved in the work.

If we talk about the three types of aerobic trainers mentioned above, then working on an exercise bike least of all loads the knees and ankles and has the most direct effect on the quadriceps. The lowest level of exercise intensity can be maintained while walking at a moderate pace on a treadmill. This type of aerobic exercise is the least “hit” on the muscles. Well, the most intensive work is done on a stepper. Whether you’re climbing or running up stairs, a 54kg woman burns an average of 40 calories per 100 steps, and an 80kg man burns 45 calories while doing the same job. A significant part of the load when working on the stepper falls on the gluteal muscles. And in general, each type of load affects the body in different ways, which is why professional athletes perform all sorts of aerobic loads in preparation for competitions, manipulating the duration of classes, as well as the intensity of training.

How much aerobic exercise is needed?
If you a beginner or just haven’t done aerobic training for several months, your first cardio workout should not last longer than 15 minutes. When you reach a certain degree of endurance, you can gradually increase the duration of aerobic activities up to 20-60 minutes, depending on the goals that you set for yourself and the frequency of aerobic training. As a rule, aerobic training begins to give a fat-burning effect when the duration of classes is at least 20 minutes. Therefore, shorter aerobic workouts are preferred for maintaining a stable weight, and longer ones for burning fat.

Whenever you start aerobic training and increase the duration of aerobic sessions, do it smoothly and gradually. How often should you do aerobics and how long should the sessions be? It depends on your goals, the overall intensity of the load and the training scheme as a whole. In order to maintain the percentage of fat at some stable level or slightly lower it, 60 to 90 minutes of aerobic exercise per week is enough. You can spread all this time between 2-3 workouts, depending on your level of endurance, as well as how your body reacts to the aerobic exercises performed.

To burn fat as fast as the pros do when preparing for a competition, you need 2 to 5 hours of aerobic exercise per week. Thus, the duration of each aerobic workout will be from 40 to 60 minutes. Some athletes do two 40-minute or even two 60-minute aerobic workouts every day in the last weeks before a competition. However! These sessions should not be done at the expense of basic strength training. If you теряете вес и мышечные объемы слишком быстро, аэробную нагрузку необходимо уменьшить. One appearance of marathon runners should make you think that only aerobics will not give you the opportunity to achieve your dream figure. At the same time, it is quite difficult to achieve really good relief due to one weight training. And if the fat “leaves” too slowly, it is worth gradually increasing the duration of aerobic training while tightening the diet.

Do you need to warm up before a workout?
start aerobic training at a fast pace means putting unnecessary and dangerous stress on the muscles and heart. Therefore, get involved in the work gradually. Before you start walking, stretch, before you start jogging, walk, before running at full strength, jog. A five-minute warm-up before starting aerobics is simply necessary for both muscles and the heart. Gradually increase the pace of work until you reach the desired heart rate. At the end of an aerobic workout, also slowly reduce the pace of work. A 3-5 minute smooth hitch will have a beneficial effect on lowering the heart rate to a normal level.

What time to do aerobics?
If your goal is to burn fat, then the best time for aerobic exercise is in the morning, before breakfast. When you wake up before you eat, your body’s glycogen stores are depleted, so your body will turn to fat for energy. However, for many, doing aerobics in the morning on an empty stomach is inconvenient or simply unacceptable for one reason or another, so aerobic training is often done in the afternoon or evening as the final part of strength training. It is believed that it is better to refrain from aerobic activities on the days when you train your leg muscles. Prolonged endurance work supplemented with heavy squats or leg presses can easily lead to overtraining.

Security measures
The main problem of low-intensity aerobic training is overheating of the body and excessive stress on the cardiovascular system. Make sure you drink enough water and electrolytes before and during aerobic exercise, and don’t wear too warm clothing. Think carefully before doing an aerobic session in the heat, or before you once again increase the duration of aerobic training. At the first sign of any discomfort or shortness of breath, stop training immediately!

Conclusion
Aerobics must be present in most training programs. Aerobic exercise is just as good for feeling better as it is for burning fat. Try to learn how to best incorporate aerobic exercise into your training program based on your body type, goals, and overall training regimen.