15 KEY AEROBIC EXERCISES FOR All FITNESS LEVELS

Are you looking forward to finding an exercise suitable for everyone to ensure a better lifestyle? Multiple experts have agreed upon the importance of aerobic exercises and how it is the best to maintain good health. 

Aerobic exercises are quite common among all age groups as they cover all fitness levels and can produce results as per the requirement. They not only help maintain physical fitness but also enhance mental health. 

Simply, if we look into children’s fitness, research conducted at Shri JJT University, India, on Aerobic Exercises: Types and its Benefit for Children shows that it is important for a child to be involved in any aerobic activity. Meanwhile, the United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends 60 minutes around 2-4 times every week. 

On the other hand, if we just talk about the fitness of a student, research conducted on The Effect of Aerobic Exercises on Students’ Physical Fitness shows that aerobic exercises are more likely to improve the physical fitness of the students if they do thrice a week for 40-60 minutes. Similarly, the advantages of aerobic exercises for older people are well-known. It doesn’t only help them enhance their daily life activities but makes their ageing process easier by coping with chronic pain and diseases. Unsurprisingly, experts recommend that all age groups integrate aerobic activities into their lives. 

This vast range of incorporation of aerobic exercises clearly showcases how beneficial and reliable they are for all fitness levels. To start your fitness journey and learn more about aerobics, search for fitness classes near me and choose the best fitness centre.

Aerobic Exercises

If we talk about aerobic exercise, it mainly revolves around the breathing process and how your heart reacts while doing it. Mainly, aerobic exercise emphasises keeping your respiratory and cardiovascular systems healthy and fully functional. 

Usually, people can’t differentiate between aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Well, there are a few exercises that might overlap in both; otherwise, the objectives, primary goals, and techniques totally differ.

15 Key Aerobic Exercises for All Fitness Levels

The following are the 15 key aerobic exercises for all fitness levels. You can easily find both cardio-based aerobic exercises and workout-based aerobic exercises. 

5 strength based Aerobic exercises

The following are the best strength-based aerobic exercises that mainly target the specific muscles of the body.

Squat 

It’s a well-known aerobic exercise that typically targets the lower body.

How to do a squat?

Moving on to squats, for simple squat exercises, all you have to do is stand straight. The next step is to position yourself as seated in the air. 

Importance of squat

It is highly essential for your butts, thighs and legs. 

For beginners:

1. Wall squat.
2. Basic bodyweight squat.

For advanced:

1. One leg squat.
2. Deep squat.
3. Goblet squat.
4. Barbell squat. 
5. Overhead squat with a medicine ball. 
6. Hack squat. 

Lunges

Lunges are, again, the exercise that typically targets the lower body. 

How to do a lunge?

You bring one foot forward with a long stride, bend both knees to go in a lunge position, and then stand back again with your feet aligned. Repeat this for the required reps, and don’t forget to switch the leg. 

Importance of lunges

 It not only strengthens the legs but helps to make your glutes and hips stronger. Moreover, it stretches the hamstring.

For beginners

1. Basic lunges.
2. Walking lunges.

For advanced

1. Walking lunges with a torso twist.
2. Lunges with weight.

Pushups

Pushups are very simple yet effective aerobic exercise that typically focuses on the upper body. 

How to do push-ups?

Lay down on the floor with your stomach flat downwards. Next, put both palms on the sides of your chest while bending your arms at 45 degrees. Put all the pressure and body weight on your hand and your toes, pushing your whole body upwards. 

Importance of push-ups

It directly targets your core and the upper half of your body, including the pectoral, chest, and triceps, which support the upper arms. 

For beginners

1. Standard pushup.
2. Kneeling push-ups.
3. Wall pushups.

For advanced

1. Incline pushup.
2. Seated push-ups.

Tricep dips 

Chair dips are widely known as tricep dips; the name clearly shows that they particularly target the triceps muscles, which are considered the most effective exercise. 

How to do a tricep dip?

Sit on the chair with your hands on your sides, your foot on the floor, and your legs open apart. Grip the chair in front and lower your body so your hips don’t touch the ground. Then, push yourself up to start again. 

Importance of  tricep dip

It again targets the upper arms by toning them down and giving them maximum strength. This exercise also targets the shoulders, rib muscles, and pecs.

For beginners

1. Simple tricep dips. (For ease, you can place the chair between the bars to grab maximum grip.)

For advanced

1. Bend dips.
2. Parallel tricep bar dips. (Try the dips on the bars by putting all your body weight on the arms. 

 Russian twist

The Russian twist is important for building core and shoulder strength. 

How do you do a Russian twist?

You have to sit down on the floor with your knees bent, join your hands right in front of your chest, and make a V shape. Make sure all your tummy muscles are tight, and start moving your torso from right to left. 

Importance of Russian twist

If you are looking forward to building core and shoulder strength, there’s no exercise better than a Russian twist. It ensures the stability of the body. 

For beginners

1. Standard Russian twist.
2. Decline twist.

For advanced

1. Leg cross twist.
2. Punch twists.
3. Weighted twist.

Is it necessary to attend the gym for aerobic exercises?

It’s not necessary to visit the gym to do aerobic exercises. No such equipment is required to perform these exercises, making it even simpler to opt for home workouts. However, multiple aerobic exercises require little equipment, like a rowing machine or elliptical. For such activities, you can sign up for a gym.

How often should I do aerobic exercises?

According to science, you exercise to keep your body healthy, around one hundred and fifty minutes every week. This is the minimum requirement to keep your heart healthy and ensure you are free from diabetes and cholesterol. However, it is suggested that the time span on each weekday be broken by 30 minutes. This workout is highly effective and can easily be accomplished anytime. Nonetheless, to easily accomplish the goal, all you have to do is learn the following tips. 

 Make a timetable. 

It is important to plan the fitness routine by managing working out days and other weekdays. Thoroughly divide 150 minutes over the whole week.

Find suitable activities. 

The essentiality of the sessions usually depends on the activities and exercises integrated into the sessions. Designing a workout session with exercises targeting each goal you want to achieve is highly important, yet they are focused. 

Make a pattern for your session

Ensure that your workout sessions follow a clear and concise pattern. For example, if you exercise for 1 minute and take a break for 30 seconds, you must continue like this for the rest of the session. Otherwise, your performance pattern must remain the same if you choose to swim or run. 

Encourage your friends and loved ones

Research conducted by the International Association for Relationship Research on Better Together: The Impact of Exercising with a Romantic Partner shows that people who exercise with their beloved partner will likely be more successful at achieving their fitness goals. Inviting your friends and family to exercise with you is beneficial as it increases awareness and builds a comfortable community.

People usually don’t prefer taking breaks between aerobic fitness sessions. Breaks are unnecessary if you are doing a regular workout session. However, if the training level is intense, it is essential to take proper breaks. You must consult your trainer in case of extensive fatigue or any muscle injury. 

Risk affiliated with aerobic exercises

Whenever you do any physical activity, there is always a chance of getting injured. Even if you simply opt for running, there is still a chance of injury. The research conducted by the Bath University Research Centre shows that running caused 0.70% of injuries, and other fitness classes like yoga or aerobic classes led to 0.10% of the injuries. 

Some of the most common injuries are listed below. 

1. Sprains and strains are pretty common among physically active and fit people. 
2. Bone fracture is quite severe but only occurs in unforeseen circumstances. 
3. Joint pain normally results from improper exercise or excessive pressure on joints. It is important to always seek advice from a professional.
4. Skipping cool-downs and warm-ups usually results in muscle cramps. Moreover, it’s better to avoid overdoing the exercise. 
5. Again, Pain or soreness is common if you are doing a high-intensity exercise. However, this one depends on multiple factors, including the current health, age, gender, and many more demographics that play a big part.

How to avoid any injuries

Here are a few preventive measures that you must take to avoid injuries.

1. Consult your doctor and discuss your plan.
2. Ensure you are all aware of safety manuals. 
3. Use the equipment according to the instructions and use proper technique. 
4. Never miss the cool-down and warm-up sessions. 

Benefits of Aerobic exercises

1. It helps to boost mood.
2. Aerobic exercises are known to be very beneficial for heart health. 
3. Maintaining a good body weight as aerobic cardio exercises tend to burn a lot of calories.
4. Boost endurance and build good stamina. 
5. A good aerobic exercise session in a day can benefit you with good deep sleep. 
6. Promotes good immunity and body strength. 
7. It highly improves the functioning of your lungs and boosts the respiratory system. 
8. Usually, cardio aerobic exercises are recommended for patients diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes.
9. Aerobic exercises prevent age-related bone loss and improve bone structure. 
10. Aerobic exercises modified with clinical guidelines can lead to a reduction in chronic pain as well.
11. 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week can improve the results for patients with high cholesterol levels.
12. Improves mental health. However, some research shows that it is great for postpartum depression. 

End Note

Aerobic exercise helps maintain body posture and provides a variety of health benefits. It is usually combined with multiple other workouts to ensure long-term results. Aerobic exercises work for all types of bodies and ages. 

A vast range of aerobic exercises is recommended according to the fitness goal’s suitability. This is one of the major reasons it is known to be suitable for all fitness levels.