In pursuit of the ideal body, people have tried a huge number of different methods, from developmental yoga, fitness, diets, body drying and ending with aerobics. Every era has its favorites, and this rule also applies to sports. It is believed that aerobics has long been out of fashion, and it experienced its peak of popularity back in the 80s. In fact, this is not so, and today there are quite a lot of people who want to practice this technique.
This sport not only helps you burn fat and adds dynamics to your daily life, but also stimulates the absorption of nutrients, calcium production and improved breathing. In fact, this is a complex effect on most organs.
What will you get by doing aerobics?
Thus, aerobics in a broad sense is any vigorous activity . In our time, it has received public recognition. This is not surprising, because it has an obvious beneficial effect on the body as a whole.
- Regular exercise strengthens the heart, increases lung capacity and total blood volume, which further improves oxygen exchange in tissues and helps increase endurance.
- Effective against emotional and physical stress, when losing weight and maintaining it in a normal state, in order to increase performance, strengthen bones, lower cholesterol levels, the reduction of which effectively reduces the risks of developing atherosclerotic disease.
Main conclusions
Aerobics is perfect for both beginners and more experienced athletes. It helps to lose weight, strengthen body muscles, heart, develop endurance and flexibility. For those who find regular workouts boring, you can try dance aerobics, which also has several directions.
It's better to start with simple exercises. It is worth monitoring your own sensations, pulse, and if discomfort or pain occurs, take a break. If you have health problems, it is mandatory to consult a specialist before starting classes.
How to quickly lose weight from aerobics
Is it possible to lose excess weight through aerobic exercise in the shortest possible time? There is no definite answer to this question, since all people are different. The final result will depend on the initial volumes, nutrition and number of hours of training.
You can continue to eat unhealthy foods while exercising. In this case, it is possible to maintain your figure. But if losing weight and reducing parameters is in your interests, you will have to resort to a healthy and proper diet or even a diet.
Unfortunately, today not everyone can afford to devote a lot of time to aerobics, so when drawing up a program, you should take into account your work schedule and the intensity of everyday life. The more often you can devote time to working on yourself, the better and tangible results you can achieve.
Already in the first month you will notice changes that will certainly please you. And after six months of constant work on yourself, a slimmer and thinner figure will be a pleasant bonus to your overall improved well-being.
It should be remembered that the start of fat burning processes occurs only after half an hour of activity, so the ideal duration of a workout can be considered an hour or an hour and a half.
Exercises for starting level
For home training, the following set of exercises, consisting of two stages, is suitable. So, during the warm-up the following movements are performed:
- walking in place, 3-5 minutes;
- alternately stepping onto a bench or walking up the stairs. Also about two minutes;
- jumping in place or skipping rope. 2-3 minutes will be enough;
- stretching muscles and joints, swinging legs and arms.
These movements will help warm up the body and prepare it for the main load. Next, perform the following exercises:
- jumping, about a couple of minutes;
- squats for a minute;
- turns to the sides, 20 times each;
- jumping rope, 50 times;
- walking in place. In this case, your legs need to be raised high, as when marching. Duration - about a minute;
- burpee, that is, push-ups, then jumping up. 15 times;
- walking, about a minute;
- squats for a minute;
- jumping in place, about a minute;
- stepping onto the bench, about a minute;
- classic push-ups, 15-20 times;
You can finish your workout with any type of cardio, for example, running for 5-10 minutes.
Attention! Exercises can be performed to music, but in such a way that it helps maintain a certain rhythm. That is, it is best to choose an average intensity and adapt to it while performing exercises. Subsequently, after gaining some skills, the training can be complicated by adding new elements and choosing a more rhythmic musical accompaniment.
Pros and cons of working out at home
The number of people who want to do gymnastics at home is constantly growing, but before we start serious activity, let’s consider all the pros and cons of playing sports at home.
Advantages
- Saving money . There is no need to purchase a fitness club membership. Videos of the exercises can be viewed online for free. There is also no need to pay for travel to the fitness club itself.
- Variety . The variety of fitness lessons on the Internet will allow you to choose the ones that are most suitable for you.
- Saving time . You don't waste time traveling to the gym and don't make adjustments to your established daily routine.
- Psychological calm . If you are a shy person and are afraid of sidelong glances about your abilities and appearance, then the home environment will be your salvation.
- Convenience and freedom of choice . You won't have to worry about what you're wearing and you'll be able to choose your own time.
Flaws
- Lack of personal trainer . Exercising at home without the supervision of a trainer is fraught with errors in execution and number of repetitions. Improper execution technique can lead to injuries and sprains.
- Inconsistency of the home environment . Often there is not enough space at home to spread out and there are restrictions on sound volume.
- Lack of motivation . Regular gymnastics requires motivation. A paid subscription often prevents you from missing a paid day, because no one wants to throw away their money.
- Lack of appropriate equipment . You can easily purchase dumbbells and a mat at a very reasonable price, but buying exercise equipment is somewhat problematic.
Contraindications
There are not many contraindications to aerobics, but they do exist.
This type of activity is contraindicated for you if:
- You suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system. If you select the wrong exercises, any physical activity will only cause harm and aggravate the situation.
- You have high blood pressure. Physical activity can aggravate the situation and lead to its increase.
- You have had a heart attack or stroke. For such diseases, all types of physical activity are contraindicated.
- You suffer from varicose veins . But with this disease, not all types of aerobics are prohibited, but only step and jumping exercises.
Before you start aerobics, consult a doctor: you may not know about some diseases, and this can have harmful consequences in the future.
How to eat properly before and after training
- A quarter of an hour before warming up, you can eat natural yogurt or a protein shake with fruit. Next, you can do intensive gymnastics for half an hour or an hour, or devote an hour to an hour and a half to moderately intense training with full stretching and an aerobic phase.
- After completing the aerobic phase, after 20-30 minutes, you need to eat a rich protein-carbohydrate meal. This period marks the opening of the metabolic window, characterized by the active consumption of proteins and carbohydrates in order to restore muscle tissue. This process leads to muscle growth, which, if not restored, will only be destroyed.
- At the end of the lesson, it would be optimal to have a snack with a protein shake and cottage cheese, since this is the most quickly digestible protein. A meat snack, on the contrary, will spend a lot of effort and energy on the absorption of protein, while nutrients are required here and now. However, during this period the body requires a large amount of proteins and carbohydrates and in a critical condition will be ready to quickly digest everything, as a result of which fat will not be deposited, but will restore muscle tissue.
It is not recommended to drink caffeine-containing drinks after time spent in the gym, since the substance, by interfering with glycogen metabolism, inhibits recovery processes.
If you have to study in the evenings, the issue of nutrition becomes very relevant. Most people, guided by proper nutrition, consider it necessary to reduce the amount they eat at the end of the day, but if you regularly work out in the gym, then such rules are unacceptable for the body.
After training, it is important to replenish energy reserves in muscle tissue, because they also need nutrients to carry out recovery processes.
After an evening meal, it is important not to go straight to bed. Wait a while and you won’t be able to gain excess, because the metabolism has already been accelerated, and the consumed nutrients are used for recovery processes.
Step aerobics at home and in the gym
Step aerobics has long been prescribed in almost all gyms - intense jumps around the platform have proven their effectiveness in building an ideal body. This type of aerobics can even be called strength training, because more advanced complexes include exercises with weights, and after the jumping part there is always a strength block and at the end - stretching.
Classes in the gym are preferable, firstly, because you will need equipment - a platform, dumbbells or weights, and secondly, the guidance of a trainer and group exercises motivate you not to stop, and step is a rather difficult type of aerobics, so the temptation to feel sorry for yourself will arise more than once . However, it is quite possible to organize a full-fledged training process at home, especially if you have self-discipline. Equipment can be easily purchased at a sports store or even replaced with improvised means.
If you plan to practice at home, choose a platform 40 cm wide and about a meter long - some exercises are inconvenient to do near benches that are too long. You need to select the height according to your physical condition; you should not start right away with high ones. In sports stores you can purchase models with adjustable height - very convenient for a beginner stepper.
When doing step aerobics, you should follow a few simple rules:
- Half an hour before training, drink 250 ml of water, during training drink a little and in small portions.
- When climbing onto the platform, move solely through your legs, without involving your back (it should be straight).
- Movements should be smooth, without jerking.
- Place your entire foot on the platform – your entire foot.
- The same movements can be done for no more than one minute, and then switch to the other leg (arm) or the next exercise.
All step aerobics exercises are performed facing the platform (although some proprietary programs have other options, but they are for “advanced users”). The knees of both legs are slightly bent to avoid injury. The body must be kept straight, the core and abdominal muscles tense, the shoulders down, the chin raised.
All step aerobics complexes are based on several basic steps: Top-up, Basic step, Step-touch, V-Step, etc. What they are and how to perform them is described and shown in the following video:
