How to Do Aerobic Conditioning Exercise

Aerobic conditioning exercises, also known as endurance or cardiovascular exercise refers to activities that increase your breathing and heart rate for an extended period of time.

Instructions

1. The aerobic conditioning part of your program includes activities that require continuous, often rhythmic, muscle contraction of the legs and possibly the arms.
   You can do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity to achieve your exercise goal.

2. Find an activity or group of activities that you enjoy and make them part of your regular exercise routine.Examples of common aerobic conditioning exercises includes the following:
   Walking (outdoor, treadmill, mall, school)
   Elliptical trainer
   Cross-country skiing (on snow, ski machine)
   Combination arm/leg ergometer (sometimes called an arm/leg cycle or recumbent stepper)
   Other sports (basketball, soccer, tennis, squash, rowing, ice skating)

3. To gain maximum benefits, the aerobic esercise portion of your exercise program should last at least 20 to 30 minutes. If you have not been exercising for several weeks or longer, start with 10 to 15 minutes and added one to five minutes each session, as tolerated, until you can exercise for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
   To improve fitness more quickly, or if weight loss is a major goal, aim for 45 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week.

4. Attaining the right aerobic exercise intensity during your work out will increase health and fitness benefits.
   Exercise intensity should be in the moderate range for most people. Use the following tools to help you access your exercise intensity so that you can exercise safely.
   Perceived exertion scale: This scale allows you to give you a rating to your total perceived effort during exercise. It is a useful tool to help you pace yourself. It refers to the total amount of physical effort experienced.
   Test: during exercise you should be able to talk with a companion. If you are too short of breath to do this, you are pushing too hard and should slow your pace of exercise.
   Heart rate or pulse: This measure of exertion is useful if you have had a recent exercise test and you have been given a target heart rate range (pulse rate) as a guide for exercise intensity.