Are you looking to improve your aerobic fitness? Awesome! From boosting all-round health to improving mood and memory, aerobic exercise is one of the single best ways you can spend your free time.
But with so many different options out there, knowing which form of exercise is right for you can be tough. So, in this article we’re going to help you cut through the noise and set you away on your path to a healthier heart and mind – these are our top 4 ways to build aerobic fitness.
Let’s get started!
What do we mean by aerobic fitness?
Your aerobic capacity totally defines your overall fitness. Put simply, when you breath heavily during an activity, your body is converting oxygen into energy – that’s the definition of aerobic exercise.
4 ways to increase your aerobic capacity
Whether your goal is to compete in brutal endurance races or to climb a flight of stairs without getting out of breath, improving your aerobic capacity can do wonders for your wellbeing. Here’s how you can improve it:
They hurt but they do work! High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a seriously tough workout. It doesn’t only burn calories, which can help your weight loss journey, but it also improves your aerobic fitness over time.
Throw that much at your body at once and it has no choice but to adapt. Do be careful, though – HIIT can put a lot of stress on your muscles, which can lead to injury. It’s best to take things slow. Try to limit the number of HIIT sessions you’re doing say 3 per week at most!
Low-Intensity Steady State Training, or LISS, is pretty much the opposite of HIIT, involving less taxing exercise over a steady period of time. Good examples of LISS training include:
- Walking at a moderate pace up an incline
- Steady cycling
- Rowing
- Swimming
- Hiking
It might take you a little longer to burn as many calories with LISS, but it’s much less taxing on the body, so you can expect to recover much faster than with a hardcore HIIT session.
Typically thought of as a low energy way to unwind, yoga actually gets the blood pumping in a big way.
If you want to improve your aerobic health with a low impact sport, check out a local yoga “flow” class.
This form of yoga will teach you to move with your breath – it’s designed to keep your heart rate high whilst remaining relaxed. On top of staying heart-healthy, yoga is a great way to unwind after a long day or a way to centre yourself before the day ahead.
- Strength and weight training
Your heart’s a muscle too, and it’s more important than ether of those biceps you’re crafting!
Conveniently, boosting your aerobic health is easily done in the weight room. The key is to keep your heart rate high for a sustained period of time.
So, if your workout looks like this:
- 5x heavy bench press
- Sit on your phone for 5 minutes
- Repeat
Try switching it up to this:
- 12x bench press (lower weight)
- 12x tricep dips
- 12x pec flys
Do these, one after the other, with no rest. Trust us, you’ll feel the difference!
