Aerobic Fitness

The endurance or the ability to sustain work for prolonged periods is collectively known as aerobic fitness. Aerobic fitness in general can be experienced in the ability to walk, run, climb uphill, swim etc.

The elements of aerobic fitness can be found in almost all the forms of sports, work, recreational and military activities.

It can be stated in general that any activity which doesn’t last for more then 12 minutes is not considered to be really aerobic, in the fitness sense.

Biologically, the term aerobic simply means that oxygen is required. For that reason, the associated activities relate to our respiratory and cardiovascular system. Thus any activity which raises our heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time will necessarily improve our aerobic fitness.

The level of aerobic fitness recommended is mainly dependent upon the age and sex of an individual. It can be increased considerably by training. Aerobic fitness decreases with age. 

Importance of aerobic fitness

In a recent survey done in US it is reveled that around 800,000 people die every year from coronary artery disease - which is considered the number one killer in the United States.

High cholesterol levels, smoking, being overweight, and having high blood pressure or diabetes, are some of the risk factors.

Exercise, on the other hand, goes a long way to mitigating the effects of those risk factors. 

Aerobic fitness has these benefits:

• Considerable lowering of high blood pressure.
• Increase in the high density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood, which helps lowering cholesterol.
• A proportionate lowering of the plasma triglyceride levels (fatty substances).
• Effective assistance regarding weight control, mainly by reducing body fat.
• Improving heart function, by promoting beneficial changes in the structure and function of the coronary arteries which are responsible for providing oxygen to the heart muscle.
• Alleviating muscle pain to a large extent, and improving walking capability in people suffering from peripheral arterial disease.