Aerobic exercises are a type of cardiovascular exercises that get your heart rate up and make you breathe harder thereby helping supply oxygen to every part of the body through proper circulation of blood.

Examples of aerobic exercises include brisk walking, running or jogging, swimming, playing a particular sport such as tennis, football or basketball. Even chores such as raking or mowing the lawn can be counted as an aerobic exercise.

Aerobic exercises has many health benefits. For starters it improves the health of the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart, making it to pump blood more efficiently. This eventually helps in decreasing the bad cholesterol thus reducing the plaque deposit in the arteries.

There are guidelines for performing aerobic exercises. It is suggested that adults should at least do an hour of exercise. If you wish to increase the hours, then reduce the intensity. A moderate intensity exercise such as brisk walking requires approximately 150 minutes or two and a half hour to get effective results. Experts suggest that these 150 minutes to be broken into sets (of thirty minutes probably) to maintain the intensity throughout the exercise. If you pick up a vigorous type of exercise, then seventy five minutes of exercise is sufficient.

The main risk of aerobic activity comes from the fact that exercising too hard and too fast can result in muscle damage or sprain which can be painful. Performing aerobic exercises in wrong form for longer run can result in permanent damage. Hence, when starting out, maintain a slow pace and pick up the gradually.

People with joint problems and the ones with weak heart should refrain from heavy exercises and stick with low-impact forms. Even better, consult your physician before planning to start aerobic session.

Here are a few choices for beginners that can help them burn those extra calories efficiently

Walking “ It is a great way to begin any aerobic session. It’s can be an enjoyable experience if done outdoors and preferably not on treadmills. A walk of 4 miles per hour can burn around 300 calories.

Step aerobics “ A popular workout regime in the late 80’s and early 90’s it is a fun way to shed sweat and burn calories. All you need is a stepper and a pair of jogging shoes and you are good to go. It can burn around 375 calories in an hour. High intensity session can burn up to 600 calories.

Elliptical trainers “ Another great choice for beginners, they are a good and an efficient form of machines that you can find in gyms or bring one home. These machines work on your both upper or lower body. You can vary the workout by going forward or backward. It helps burning 400 to 600 calories depending on the intensity of workout.