Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, improves the body’s oxygen consumption and its use in generating energy (metabolism).

But maximal aerobic power starts to fall steadily from middle age, decreasing by around 5 ml/[kg.min] every decade.

When it falls below aound18 ml in men and 15 ml in women, it becomes difficult to do very much at all without severe fatigue.

In a typical sedentary man, the maximal aerobic power will have fallen to around 25 mil/[kg.min] by the age of 60, almost half of what it was at the age of 20.

But the evidence shows that regular aerobic exercise can slow or reverse the inexorable decline, even in later life.

Research shows that relatively high intensity aerobic exercise over a relatively long period boosted maximal aerobic power by 25%, equivalent to a gain of 6 ml/ [kg.min], or 10 to 12 biological years.

“There seems good evidence that the conservation of maximal oxygen intake increases the likelihood that the healthy elderly person will retain functional independence,” says the author.

The other positive spin-offs of aerobic exercise are reduced risks of serious disease, faster recovery after injury or illness, and reduced risks of falls because of the maintenance of muscle power, balance, and coordination.

Maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond can delay biological ageing by up to 12 years and prolong independence during old age, concludes an analysis published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

For example, running a long distance at a moderate pace is an aerobic exercise, but sprinting is not.

Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or doubles tennis, with their more frequent breaks, may not be..

For more information about the topic Aerobic exercise, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Anaerobic exercise — Anaerobic exercise comprises brief, strength-based activities, such as sprinting or bodybuilding, whereas aerobic exercise is centered around .

General fitness training — General fitness training works towards broad goals of overall health and well-being, rather than narrow goals of sport competition, larger muscles or .

Lactic acid — Lactic acid, also known as milk acid or 2-hydroxypropanoic acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemical processes. During.

Physical exercise — Physical exercise is the performance of some activity in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health. It is often directed.

Whether you are running, cycling, paddling, performing aerobics routines or using cardio machines, the traditional method for monitoring exercise intensity is to measure heart rate. For the purpose of general fitness improvement, this allows you to determine whether you are working within your aerobic training zone – the intensity that most effectively improves the cardiovascular system without becoming uncomfortable and causing premature fatigue.

However, few people are good at checking heart-rates: they either cannot find their pulse quickly enough to get an accurate reading, or they make any of a number of pulse-taking errors. Also, in order to take a pulse, exercisers generally have to slow down or stop which disrupts their workout.

The other option is to use a heart-rate monitor, but such equipment can be expensive and uncomfortable.

Fortunately, there is an easier, less expensive way to monitor exercise intensity – by simply listening to your breathing.

LOWER AEROBIC ZONE RANGE

You can determine the lower level of your aerobic training zone (that level of intensity is often called the aerobic threshold) by listening to your breathing – when it becomes audible, you have entered the aerobic training zone.

UPPER AEROBIC ZONE RANGE

When are you working too hard? When you are breathing so hard you can no longer carry on a conversation without gasping. This shows that you have passed out of your aerobic training zone and crossed the lactate threshold. You are now in the anaerobic training zone – a level of intensity that results in the buildup, in your bloodstream, of lactic acid and other fatigue-producing by-products of energy metabolism.

BREATHING STUDY

Robert Goode, a respiratory physiologist at the University of Toronto, has confirmed the effectiveness of using breathing to estimate exercise intensity. He performed a study in which 30 subjects pedaled stationary bicycles while heart rates and respiration levels were monitored.

Their heart rates were checked when they were first able to hear themselves breathing. He found that this point corresponded to the lower range of intensity for improving cardiovascular fitness (the aerobic threshold). Even better, this threshold changed depending on the age of the subject – a phenomenon that we know occurs as people age. For example, the aerobic threshold corresponded to about 110 beats per minute for a 65 year-old, and 150 beats per minute for a 20-year old.

Other studies have shown that the lactate threshold corresponds to the level of exercise intensity that causes you to gasp when breathing. The lactate threshold is upper range of the aerobic threshold.

CONCLUSION

If you want to exercise aerobically, work hard enough so you can hear your breathing, but not so hard that you cannot speak without gasping.

REFERENCES

1. Joe Taylor (Editor), Heavy breathing. Active Living, May 1997.

2. Phyllis Gorney Cooper (RN, MN), Editor, for the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, Aerobics: Theory and Practice, HDL Publishing, 1987.

3. Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update, 2008.