11 Aerobic Exercises to Elevate Your Heart Rate
Over time, aerobic training promotes healthy living, tones major muscle groups, and can help improve your heart health. Learn about some of the best aerobic exercises for elevating your heart rate and staying fit.
What Is Aerobic Exercise?
Aerobic exercises, also known as cardiovascular exercises, are any moderate-intensity physical activity that elevates your heart rate. Aerobic activities elevate your heart rate to draw oxygenated blood to muscles throughout the body. In contrast to high-intensity anaerobic exercises, such as sprinting or powerlifting, aerobic workouts help you reach and sustain your target heart rate to help you burn calories and build strength.
To get the most out of aerobic conditioning, aim for a target heart rate that’s sixty percent of your maximum heart rate. You can roughly estimate your target heart rate by subtracting your age from 220, then multiplying the result by 0.6.
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercises: What’s the Difference?
Aerobic exercises are moderate-intensity exercises. Examples of aerobic exercises include aerobic dance, bicycling, walking, jogging, and swimming. High-intensity exercises, such as sprinting and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), are anaerobic; they pump blood through the cardiovascular system too quickly to oxygenate the blood. High-intensity exercises are effective for cardiovascular conditioning and strength training, while the benefits of aerobic exercises can include better overall health and longevity.
4 Benefits of Doing Aerobic Exercises
Once you establish an exercise routine that fits into your lifestyle, you might experience a number of health benefits.
Heart health: This includes reduced blood pressure, a lower risk of heart disease, and overall improved heart health.
Longevity: Some scientists assert that regular aerobic exercise can prolong your life. By making your heart and lungs stronger, you improve your overall fitness levels and cardiovascular health. This means your heart has a lower measure of beats per minute (BPM) than it would if you otherwise led a sedentary lifestyle, which suggests your body has an improved ability to handle different stressors.
Mental health: There are emotional and mental benefits to doing regular cardio. Working out improves blood flow throughout your body, including in your brain, which can improve your cognitive functions. Working out also releases endorphins, naturally occurring chemicals in your body that can make you feel good.
Bone health: Routine physical fitness can help improve your bone density, preventing fractures and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
11 Aerobic Exercises to Elevate Your Heart Rate
If you want to create your own aerobic fitness program, you can use a combination of the exercises below. Remember to clear any type of exercise with your doctor first and employ proper warm-up and cool-down techniques.
Biking: In addition to being a good cardio workout, biking exercises muscles in your legs, glutes, and hips. You can do it anywhere your bike can go or on a stationary bike in your home.
Burpees: Burpees are a full-body exercise that raise your heart rate effectively. Start in a standing position, then squat down and place your hands flat on the ground. Hop your legs back so you’re in a push-up stance. Do a push-up, then hop back into a squat. Stand up and repeat.
Brisk walking: Low-intensity exercises, such as brisk walking, can effectively work large muscle groups in your body including your glutes and other muscles in your legs. You must move fast enough (covering about three miles per hour) for walking to qualify as moderate exercise.
Circuit training: The premise of circuit training is to combine strength training and cardio into one routine. Talk to a personal trainer at your local gym to build one of these routines.
Climbing: With the proper safety gear, you can practice rock climbing in the wild or in a gym. There are even climbing machines that work similarly to a treadmill.
Elliptical training: An elliptical trainer is a popular piece of gym equipment that requires you to move your legs back and forth as though you’re skiing or skating. Exercise on an elliptical machine is low-impact, and many users can watch TV or read a book while using this equipment.
Jumping jacks: To perform a jumping jack, stand with your feet together and your hands at your sides. Jump up while simultaneously spreading your legs shoulder-width apart and reaching your arms up until they touch above your head. Jump again to bring your feet back together and your arms back down to your sides.
Jumping rope: The only thing you need to jump rope is the rope itself. Hold one end of the rope in each hand and rotate it in an arc over your head—forward or backward, since either direction is acceptable. Jump over the rope as it sweeps close to the ground and repeat, as the rope circles underneath you and over your head in a circular movement. You can practice jumping rope with the rope moving in one particular direction, then try perfecting your technique with the rope moving in the opposite direction.
Lunges: To work out your glutes while elevating your heart rate, you can perform forward or backward lunges. To execute a backward lunge, place your hands on your hips and stand with your feet as wide as your hips. Keeping your shoulders and hips square, step backward with your right leg so that both of your knees bend in 90-degree angles and your right knee lightly grazes the ground. Return to your original standing position and then repeat by stepping backward with your left leg.
Push-ups: A basic push-up involves moving from the ground into an extended-arm plank position and then back down again. Push-ups work your arms, shoulders, core (abdomen), and other muscles.
Rowing: Many gyms feature rowing machines, but models are available for private home use, too. Rowing is a good exercise if you are looking for a low-impact activity since it requires no jumping or other explosive movements.
How to Work Out Safely and Avoid Injury
If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs. Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement. When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.
To see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program. Your results will ultimately be based on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. Rest for 24 to 48 hours before training the same muscle groups to allow sufficient recovery.
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