Obesity is an epidemic in America and all around the world. Global rates of obesity are constantly on the rise, which in turn, increases one's risk of numerous diseases, especially heart-related ones. Aerobics, which are vigorous exercises designed to strengthen the heart and lungs, are an extremely beneficial way to reduce heart-related diseases, obesity, and other health-related issues. Hi, I am Alex. I am finishing my senior year of high school, and post-graduation am attending the University of Vermont. I enjoy running, lifting weights, playing soccer, being outdoors, and spending time with friends. Fitness has always played a major role in my life. However, it did not have as prominent of a role as it does now.
Throughout most of my early years, I was overweight and gained weight very easily. Despite this, during 8th grade, and as I transitioned into high school, I fell in love with aerobics. In eighth grade I did cross country. I hated it at first, but over time my competitive nature took hold of me and I began to perform well, ultimately finishing 9th in the meet of champions. Throughout high school I played soccer for all four years and ran varsity track for a season (sophomore year), ending with an 800 meter (½ mile) personal record of two minutes two seconds. When I am not competing in sports or at meets I do enjoy running on my own. Running on my own gives me an opportunity to stay fit and healthy, as well as calm and relax, and or challenge myself depending on what type of run I am doing. By picking up aerobics I was able to gradually change my body composition into something that was much healthier and made me feel much happier than I was before.
Many people, myself included, struggle with motivation. With me, I have formed such a habit that it feels weird to skip a run. Despite lacking motivation, I notice that post-run I feel better than I would if I had skipped the workout. Additionally, I am a very driven person. I aspire to be the very best possible version of myself each and every day, and while I don’t expect perfection, I try to get as close to it as possible. As mentioned before, I am very competitive. When I am struggling during a run I think of a quote my old soccer coach would say to us during games. “Who wants it more?” Even though I may be running by myself, this quote helps me push through. I think of everyone else who is putting in the work and think to myself that I want it more than them. Quotes can be a very powerful resource when trying to find motivation. So if you are struggling to get up and go workout or are struggling during a workout, I highly recommend finding a quote that helps you push yourself. Even professional athletes and celebrities struggle with motivation. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, WWE superstar and actor, has a similar approach to me. During a motivational speech, The Rock stated, “I won’t let anyone outwork me ever.” It is crucial to find your competitive side and let that drive you. In addition to that, The Rock recommends remembering the hard times. For him, that was having his spot taken on the football team, not participating in the combine, not playing in NFL, being cut from CFL, not having money. Despite failing several times, he let these failures be turned into motivation. A different approach that Arnold Schwarzenegger (bodybuilder, actor, and politician) had was to prove people wrong. For Schwarzenegger, that was proving his family wrong that he could make it in the United States and become a bodybuilding star. Or proving the movie industry wrong by becoming a star in movies like The Terminator, or proving people wrong by becoming the governor of California. He used the doubt of others to push him forward and was motivated by the idea of proving everyone wrong. Ray Lewis, former linebacker for the American football team, the Baltimore Ravens, used pain as a way to motivate himself. He grew up with an abusive stepfather. One day Ray Lewis bought a pack of cards and every day he would go through the pack and assign an exercise for each card. He would go until he couldn’t go anymore. He was driven by his pain and the idea that once he was big he would never let that man hit his mother again. By doing this, he was also able to build a physique that helped him make it in football, which in turn, allowed him to support his mother financially on top of protecting her from her abusive husband. According to Alex Hutchinson, author of Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?, listening to music or TV can also help motivate you during your exercise. Studies show that music is much more beneficial, with faster music helping you run faster. However, faster music isn’t required, it's all up to preference. But studies did show a positive correlation between faster music and faster aerobic times. TV can help, but it may result in you going slower or slacking off during a workout. All in all, there are several ways for one to find the motivation to go work out and push during a workout. You have to find which method gets you fired up the most. Whether it is your competitive nature, proving people wrong, or remembering the pain, motivation can be found through many different ways.
Before getting into the benefits, it is important to establish what your workout routine should look like. My routine is running twice a week, doing 3-4 miles each session. On top of that, I play soccer and go for walks. My fitness routine does include lifting weights, which is why I only run twice a week instead of incorporating all aerobics. Examples of aerobics include walking, running, biking, swimming, rowing, cross country skiing, soccer, etc. Anything that makes it harder for you to breathe and is continuous counts as aerobics. When starting, it is crucial to ease yourself into it, and even more important to listen to your body. What activity you do depends on your fitness level and what your fitness goals are. I think something to keep in mind is to not compare yourself to others. Compare you to yourself and try to beat what you did the last time. Gradually try to progress and do better and better each time. It is also important to take rest days, you don’t want to get overuse injuries. Those who are just beginning to exercise are more prone to getting injured, so please listen to your body and don’t overdo anything. Mixing up your routine can also be extremely beneficial. Whether it is mixing up what type of aerobics you do, where you do them, or how long or hard you go. By doing this, you can reduce mental fatigue and boredom during aerobics. Another component of aerobics that I recommend is setting goals and challenging yourself. According to Alex Hutchinson, author of Which Comes First Cardio or Weights?, having specific goals such as time or mileage can help you become a better athlete. When you are working toward and striving for your goals you will be more motivated and push yourself. By challenging and pushing yourself you will also be able to reap the full health benefits from aerobics. In addition to that, Hutchinson also found that athletes who focused on things related to workouts/competitions performed better than those who let their minds wander. So if you get serious about your aerobics, try changing up your mindset and seeing if your results improve. Last is something that I personally struggle with. Make sure that you warm-up and cool down. I hate taking the time to warm up and stretch and even cool down, but by doing what is necessary, you greatly reduce the risk of injury during and after your workout. To sum up, some simple recommendations to help you throughout your aerobic process is to ease yourself into it, variety is key, warm-up and cool down, and challenge yourself.
As you continue to progress you may notice that you look and feel different. There are a multitude of mental and physical health benefits that are associated with aerobics. The first and most obvious is weight loss. At high intensities, aerobics can be super useful for weight loss. In addition, your overall stamina can increase greatly, your heart and cardiovascular systems become stronger, your immune system is boosted slightly, your blood pressure and blood sugar is decreased as well. By doing aerobics, your metabolism is actually sped up which can increase hunger but also promotes weight loss. Aerobics can also aid in sleep. Some studies suggest moderate-intensity aerobic exercise may improve sleep quality, and decrease the severity of sleep-disordered breathing conditions like obstructive sleep apnea. On top of that, with better sleep, you have more energy and can perform better in workouts. This results in a loop where you are more tired due to exercising which results in better sleep which results in more energy for a workout. Also according to a short-term aerobic study, there was a positive correlation with brain function and cognition after riding a stationary bike or walking on the treadmill three times a week for an hour-long session over the course of 12 weeks. Aerobics also releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals. I know it happens to me, but running takes my mind off of stress and worries and allows me to enjoy the now and be in the moment. As a result of your body composition changes due to exercise, you may begin to feel more confident. Studies have shown that doing 30 minutes or more of exercise a day for three to five days a week may significantly improve depression or anxiety symptoms. Smaller amounts of physical activity, as little as 10 to 15 minutes at a time, may also make a difference. One study, completed by researchers at the Benjamin Franklin Medical Center in Berlin, Germany, studied the effects of aerobic exercise on 12 patients with major episodes of depression that lasted from 12 to 96 weeks. Of those patients, 10 failed to improve when given antidepressants for four weeks. Researchers then had their patients walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day for 10 days. They found that the exercise caused a drop in depression. Six of the 12 patients demonstrated "substantial" improvements, the researchers reported. At the very least, going out or maybe even to the gym or aerobic classes can help you meet and make a new friend. There are so many benefits that even the slightest amount of aerobic exercise can be extremely beneficial.
Despite having so many benefits there are some cons to aerobics. Some people may experience joint pain, especially runners, due to contact on hard surfaces. However, there is an easy solution. You can run on softer surfaces such as the track, gravel, grass, do the elliptical, stationary bike, or go swimming. Another complaint is that the equipment is expensive. While this is true, you can run outside for free, or go to gyms like planet fitness where memberships are only $10 a month. Other complaints are that it can be repetitive and boring. I completely disagree with this, and there are many ways around this problem. You can challenge yourself by increasing the intensity of your workouts. By doing this, you focus more on the challenge of completing the workout rather than letting your mind wander and feeling bored. In addition, you can listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. If you really want to, you can try out different locations to reduce mental fatigue and boredom. While there are some concerns, there are simple fixes that anyone can do to reduce and alleviate these problems.
All in all, aerobics can be an extremely advantageous source of exercise. It may be hard to get started, but once you do, the benefits will be apparent. Some final key ideas to keep in mind are: challenge yourself but don’t be stupid, listen to your body, switch it up every now and again, and enjoy the process. I hope this written piece was helpful in outlining some key concepts and physical and mental health benefits. I also wish you the best of luck on your fitness journey, and I hope that you fall in love with aerobics as I did.