Sorry we are a little late with this week’s newsletter, just enjoying the Christmas Holiday. When we finished last week, we said we would cover the basics of choosing the proper aerobics conditioning program. Aerobic exercise is the type of exercise that requires oxygen as it’s energy source. The types of activities that require oxygen are running, riding a bike, using th ellyptical, or using the stairstepper. Aerobic exercise requires oxygen as it’s source of energy. When oxygen depletes as the source of energy, the next source of energy is fat. Aerobic activity over a long period of time becomes a fat burning activity. Unfortunately, performing an aerobic activity until it becomes a fat burning activity can become uncomfortable. Many people have difficulty tolerating the discomfort that comes with running or other aerobic activities. The long term benefits of aerobic activities include improved efficiency of the heart, decreased heart rate, and improved mood. Again, the downside of running is the fat burning effects are short lived.

    When choosing an aerobic activity that is good for you, there are some things that must be considered. Running is high impact. The use of aerobic activity to burn fat requires time. There is some discomfort involved when working hard enough to burn fat and not everybody is cut out to tolerate this discomfort. The upside of aerobic activity is an associated euphoria when working into and beyond fatigue. This euphoria is known as the runner’s high.

    If you want to add aerobic activity to your program you need to be physically able to perform the activities. Running is high impact. Ellypticals and Stairsteppers are lower impact. High impact is rougher on the joints than low impact. Aerobic activity is beneficial to an exercise routine. Consider adding it to your routine, please use good judgement when considering adding it to your routine. Aerobic activity is a good choice when thinking about adding ways to lose weight to your exercise routine.

    We hope all of the information we have given you regarding exercise and how to choose the proper execise routine that is beneficial to you has been helpful. Please use the information given to you when making your New Years Resolutions and choosing your exercise program for 2012. We will not be publishing a newsletter on 1/1/12. Have a good New Year. See you next year. We will not be holding our adult class on 1/2/12. We will be holding speed and agility on 12/31/11 at Grass Lake School. If you have any questions, please call Steve or Larry at 847-395-6100.