Aerobic exercise has many benefits for both our physical and mental health. Cardio or aerobic exercise is a powerful way to improve the health of our heart and lungs while reducing a variety of health risks. Taking on cardio exercise can also boost our mental health – remaining a common way many people combat stress or anxiety.
In 2020-21 it was estimated that 571,000 Australians over 18 were living with coronary heart disease¹. And one in six people in Australia are reported to live with a form of cardiovascular disease². So, it’s more important than ever that people embrace aerobic exercise benefits in their life.
At F45 we have a variety of aerobic exercise workouts to improve your cardio system, no matter where you are on your exercise journey. Ahead, learn:
- What is aerobic exercise?
- Example of aerobic exercise
- Aerobic exercise benefits
- How to prevent injury when performing aerobic exercise
What is aerobic exercise?
Aerobic exercise can be any rhythmic and repetitive movement and is more commonly known as cardio exercise or “cardio” – a popular way to encourage fitness and weight loss.
Aerobic means “with oxygen” as aerobic movements require us to breathe. Regular and controlled breathing during exercise ensures we’re taking in enough oxygen, which is then sent to our muscles by our heart and lungs. Improving our cardio system makes the relationship between our lungs, heart, and muscles more powerful and efficient.
This is opposed to anaerobic (without oxygen) exercise, where we temporarily hold our breath. Anaerobic exercises usually involve explosive movements such as sprinting or performing a particularly heavy free weight squat.
Examples of aerobic exercise
Cardio exercises are easily adaptable and can be low or high intensity to suit all fitness levels. Here are some examples of cardio exercises to help you reach your fitness goals.
- Walking
- Jogging
- Cycling
- Playing sports
- Swimming
- High repetition (low weight) strength training
- HIIT or high-intensity interval training
You can use a variety of aerobic exercises to your advantage. Low-impact exercises like walking, stationary cycling or swimming are great for weight loss while being easy on your joints. While HIIT or intense strength training are ideal for dynamic workouts that build your functional strength and lean muscle mass.
Aerobic exercise benefits
Everyone takes part in aerobic exercise in some way, whether you’re walking fast to get to a meeting or playing with your dog at the park. When performing cardio for a sustained period, you challenge your body more and receive a variety of health benefits. F45 has focused full body cardio workouts designed to maximise fat burn, improve your capacity, and tone your body. Below, learn about a range of aerobic exercise benefits you can enjoy with F45.
1. Increased endurance levels and strength
When performing cardio, our muscles need oxygen to continue to function. During intense workouts our heart and lungs work hard to transport oxygen around the body. As our body recovers from aerobic exercise, our cardiovascular system adapts, meaning our lungs become more powerful and efficient. After 8 weeks of consistent aerobic exercise, people can increase the rate at which their heart rate recovers by 51% and can decrease their resting heart rate by 11%³. Improving our endurance promotes the connection between sleep quality and exercise, as better sleep is associated with a lower heart rate4.
2. Better balance
Aerobic exercise helps elevate your mobility, posture and balance5. Exercise is for everyone and many F45 workouts help people over 60 maintain and build muscle mass.
Mixing aerobic exercise benefits with the advantages of strength or resistance training creates more dynamic and enjoyable workouts that improve our cardio system and functional strength. As we improve our aerobic fitness, we can use more of our muscles, improving our balance and flexibility5.
3. Weight management
Whether you want to lose weight or maintain weight, aerobic fitness can be an effective tool. The empowering community at F45 energises people, helping them burn more calories and smash their weight loss goals.
Weight loss helps to reduce factors that can result in chronic disease6 or cardiovascular problems. To achieve weight loss, it’s recommended to perform exercise for longer than 150 minutes per week7. Supporting your aerobic routine with balanced and healthy nutrition can help maximise results.
F45 trainer April Kong Min Qi says, “The benefits of aerobic exercises for weight management include increasing calorie burn and metabolism. Aerobic exercise also helps improve mental health by releasing endorphins: reducing stress and boosting overall wellbeing.”
4. Improved heart & lung health
Aerobic exercise benefits our physical and mental health. Improving the strength and efficiency of our heart and lungs helps reduce a variety of health risks. Ahead, we’ll list some of the ways cardio workouts can enhance your wellbeing.
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Lowers the risk of heart disease
- Helps manage type 2 diabetes 8
- Boosts metabolism 9
5. Enhanced mental wellbeing
Your mental wellbeing is just as important as your physical health. Aerobic exercise can also improve your self-esteem10 and reduce feelings of anxiety or stress11, and help you sleep better. A great way to enjoy the benefits of cardio workouts is with the supportive community at F45. Group fitness is known to be more enjoyable, plus people exert more when together12.
April adds, “Regular aerobic activity strengthens the heart, improves blood circulation, and contributes to cardiovascular health; while activities like F45 Cardio sessions promote heart health and overall wellbeing.”
How to prevent injury when performing aerobic exercise
There are multiple ways to keep yourself safe during a cardio workout. F45 trainers help you avoid injury by making sure you’re physically and mentally prepared to exercise, correcting your technique during a workout and providing recovery recommendations. Here’s some of the steps you can take to avoid aerobics injuries:
Focus on form: To begin with, concentrate on performing exercises correctly. When movements are executed well, your body is kept safe and gains more benefit from it.
Check your surroundings: Are there any loose weights or exercise balls next to you? Remove anything around that you could trip over or accidentally bump into while working out.
Listen to your body: If you’re feeling especially sore or stiff, it may be best to recover for an extra day rather than working out. Overuse injuries are super common yet avoidable.
Rest and recovery: Our bodies need ample time to recover, usually 1-2 days after an intense workout. If you still want to get some exercise, enhance your rest day with F45’s active recovery session.
We hope you feel confident to begin your aerobic exercise journey. Next, learn how to modify exercise for knee pain.
1 https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-diseases/hsvd-facts/contents/summary-of-coronary-heart-disease-and-stroke/coronary-heart-disease
2 https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/evidence-and-statistics/key-stats-cardiovascular-disease
3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6651740/
4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7680518/
5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8764279/
6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3630467/
7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556592/
8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5846677
9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7767423/
10 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6441819
11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/
12 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6756792/
