A kind of movement of the body, which enhances the intake of oxygen and the pumpingof the heart, is called aerobic exercise. Rhythmic movements and even light dancingcan also be grouped under this.
There has always been a debate on the advantages or disadvantages of aerobics overweight training or vice versa. The fact remains that they are quite different inthe type of exercise and also in the use of different energy burning sources ofthe body. They also completely differ in the health benefits they bring to the body. | | A comparison of both these forms of exercise is made here for careful decision making.
Aerobic exercise uses the body's aerobic energy system, which utilizesoxygen, to convert the carbohydrates, fat and protein, into energy. These exercisesneed to be sustained without fatigue for longer than 5 min in order to be consideredaerobic or they should reach 60–70% of your target heart rate (which normally ismeasured by subtracting your age from 220 (220–age) or when you are slightly breathless.However, you can still talk to the person, next to you—this can also be called afat burning zone).
|  | They must be sustained for a minimum of 20 min for the body to receive
any benefit from the exercise. Forms of aerobic exercise include
walking,jogging, running, aerobic classes, cycling, swimming, rowing,
cross-country skiing,and some sports such as tennis, basketball and
soccer. When aerobics is followed with a consistent schedule at
sufficient intensity to elevate the heart rate it is expected to produce
the following benefits:
| - Increase longevity.
- Improvement in respiratory system.
- Increases nutrient and oxygen supply, while toxins and waste products are quicklyremoved from the body.
- Minimizing the Cardiovascular disease risk.
- Maintains the blood lipid profile.
- Control of blood glucose levels.
- Reduces body weight and body fat.
|  | Weight training requires no oxygen and so is termed
anaerobic.In this form of exercise, chemical energy is burned in short
spurts of activity unlike in aerobics, which is sustained exercise. This
involves lifting weights that target specific muscle groups. The amount
of weight would be gradually increased,causing the muscles to grow
stronger in response to the higher demand. In this case the requirement
of protein will be high for the growth of muscles and hence
proteins need to be incorporated into the diet. Weight training offers
the following health benefits:
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- Enhances metabolic rate and burns more calories.
- Improves bone density.
- Improves body composition with lean muscle mass.
- Enhances muscle definition.
- Stronger connective tissue and joint stability.
|  | | A combination of weight training and aerobics is often advised in a weight lossprogram. Both these types of exercise are complementary to each other. For maximumbenefit to the body; these routines require to be implemented with careful planning.This can provide longer and healthier life and help prevent and manage chronic healthconditions. Scientific studies carried out on women have recorded that a combinedregime of aerobics and weight training has beneficial effects on bone mineral densityand fitness parameters particularly in young women. Advertisements often promoteone over the other, but both the exercises offer a net result of increased energyand ability to perform well physically, as well as mentally. | | The energy expenditure for the two modes of training cannot be easily compared.Aerobic training may be more effective in increasing peak oxygen consumption becauseaerobic training, by definition, stimulates more oxygen consumption than the anaerobictraining.
Aerobic training also results in greater utilization of fat stores and greater energyexpenditure than anaerobic training. Increasing the time period for weight trainingrelative to aerobic training, however, can equalize energy expenditure. Weight trainingpreserves lean tissue relative to aerobic exercise in Obese people, which is a majoradvantage. |  | | | Aerobics is the best way to burn excess stores of body fat. Hence it might be preferredto do the aerobic workout in the morning, on an empty stomach. This ensures thatthe aerobic energy is used up to burn the stored fat. For a more effective program,the time between an aerobic workout and a weight lifting workout, is to be wellspaced. A high protein meal will also help to replenish the proteins lost in themuscles. In addition to these, factors such as age, the intensity of the workoutand the length of the workout also need to be addressed.
Aerobics followed by a weight-training program, enables the latter to be of greaterintensity and for longer periods before fatigue overcomes you.
Weight training involves a simple rule of weights for natural movement and trainmany muscles at once. Aerobic exercise, however, carries the opposite rule of beingcomplex. Some of the most effective aerobic workouts involve high-impact force which,over time, can lead to joint injury. Machines will often buffer such high impacts.A bicycle, for example, is a machine that enables us to perform aerobic activitythrough pedaling off the ground, and protecting our joints from the high impactwe would experience if our feet were allowed to repetitively pound a hard surface.Low-impact activity, however, usually means low-intensity.
Low-impact exercise therefore will often fail to achieve the same level of benefitas higher-impact exercise, and must be performed for longer durations to get anybenefit at all. | | | The latest development in aerobic machines has enabled the fusion of low-impactand high intensity aerobic training. You are able to train intensely and effectivelywithout jeopardizing the integrity of your joints. This is a solution to the high-impactdilemma of aerobics.
These regimes can be made more interesting with a variety ofaerobic workouts along with different weight based exercises for a group of muscles.This will also minimize the risk of stress injury to joints or Ligaments from repeateduse. A sense of enjoyment should be created and benefits of these should be experienced. |  |
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