What is Aerobic Activity

To answer the question "what is aerobic activity?" let's take a tour of the lows and highs of aerobic exercise. Think of aerobic activity as a exercise that helps your heart as well as the rest of your muscles.

Aerobics Definition

The Energy Recovery Zone - 60% to 70% of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

This is the heart rate zone where you develop your fitness base. 70% of MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) feels "pretty easy" for a long time.

This is where I usually spend the first 20 or sometimes 30 minutes of running, depending on the temperature and terrain. This is the most efficient fat-burning zone: At 60% to 70% of maximum heart rate your muscles have a chance to obtain energy from fat while retaining their glycogen (quick energy) sources.

The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80% of MHR

The Aerobic Zone is where your capacity to do aerobic work expands. This is where you body learns new tricks transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from your working muscles.

I find that after 20 to 30 minutes of running I'm in the Aerobic zone. I'm feeling comfortable, fully warmed up and ready to do more intense aerobic exercise, cross training or running.

The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90% of MHR

This is where fat as a source of energy fades out of the picture and muscle based glycogen stores kick in.

If we're in the anaerobic zone for any length of time it's the "pain zone" as in "no pain, no gain". Muscular energy received from fat storage is next to nothing, and once muscular glycogen is depleted the pain sets in.

The anaerobic zone forces muscles to obtain their energy from glycogen stores. Lactic acid is a by product produced by burning glycogen. As lactic acid increases you'll feel like you're in real "hurtin' country"!

The Red Line Zone - 90% to 100% of MHR

Most athletes don't spend too long in this zone for obvious reasons. Training in this zone is more typical of athletes in sports where maximum effort is required for short periods of time.

A few years ago I had lunch with an amateur track cyclist. Outwardly he appeared perfectly normal. As we were eating our subs he explained that he liked the cycling sprint events. His idea of a perfect sprint was where he was seeing tiny dot of light just as he crossed the finish line. "Tiny dot of light?" I inquired, concentrating on my turkey sub...

"Oh, yes" he enthused, "You're losing consciousness, you see!"

Ask this guy "what is aerobic activity" and he'll happily refer you to the Red Line zone!

Well, in fact most aerobic exercisers don't typically spend much time in this zone. This zone helps develops fast twitch muscle fiber: great for sprint events, but perhaps not so critical for distance runners!These exercise zones are the heart of "what is aerobic activity". Heart rate and aerobic activity can't be separated, and you can see that exercises like walking while very "gentle" is considered to be an aerobic activity. And at the far other end of the scale my mad track cyclist friend is also part of the aerobic activity spectrum.

Definition of Aerobic

You may never need to spend any time in the Red Line Zone, and very little time in the Anaerobic Zone depending on your exercise and fitness goals.

Running is one of the best aerobic activities, and the benefits of running are well known.

Here's a short list of aerobic activities that may give you some great ideas to increase your fitness level...

Walking Aerobic Workouts Swimming Indoor Rowing Running/Jogging Spinning Cycling Cross Country Skiing