What is aerobic exercise?

Aerobic exercise is any activity -- walking, running, swimming -- that requires sustained movement of the large muscles of your body, such as the thighs, butt, back, and chest, for at least 10 minutes. These activities challenge your heart and lungs and keep them healthy. With regular participation, you will be able to sustain longer periods of activity without getting tired.

To stay motivated to exercise:

• Make it fun. Include activities that you enjoy.
• Mix it up. Vary your activities. For example, two walking sessions combined with two swimming sessions may keep you from becoming bored with exercise.
• Make it a family affair. Invite family or friends to exercise with you and to add some fun to your routine. You can help keep each other on track.

Activities that use large muscle groups in the legs or arms and are done at a steady pace for 10 minutes or longer are called aerobic activities. Brisk walking, hiking, cycling, swimming, jogging, rowing, cross country skiing, and aerobic dance are some examples of aerobic exercise.

Any exercise that raises your heart rate is good exercise. If you are looking for something in specific then trying choosing from the list below:

• Walking
• Jogging
• Running
• Sprinting
• Biking
• Swimming
• Playing a sport
• Jumping Rope
• Jumping Jacks
• Step Aerobics
• Kickboxing

Again, much of this will depend on your goals but all will surely be great aerobic exercises!

Aerobic exercise refers to the process the body creates energy or ATP in order to participate in the activity at hand.

Just at there is aerobic exercise, there is anaerobic exercise.  The difference is anaerobic exercise is much more intense and the metabolic pathway the body uses in order to create ATP is different.