Benefits of aerobic training

robb7

I'm reading a fitness book and it lays out the benefits of aerobic training.

1. A higher VO2max. The amount of oxygen the body is able to use during exercise increases significantly. This allows the person to exercise longer and more intensely before becoming fatigued.
2. An increase in the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. As a result of training, the red blood cell count goes up. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which transports oxygen in the blood.
3. A decrease in RHR and increase in cardiac muscle strength. During resting conditions, the hear ejects between 5 and 6 liters of blood per minute. This amount of blood, called cardiac output, meets the body's demands in the resting state. Like any other muscle, the heart responds to training by increasing in strength and size. As the heart gets stronger, the muscle can produce a more forceful contraction which helps the heart to eject more blood with each beat. This stroke volume yields a lower heart rate. The lower heart rate also allows the heart to rest longer between beats. A reduction of 20 bmp saves the heart about 10,483,200 beats per year. The average heart beats between 70 and 80 bpm.
4. A lower heart rate at given workloads. When compared with untrained people, a trained person has a lower heart rate response to a given task because of the greater efficiency of the CR system.
5. An increase in the number and size of the mitochondria. All energy necessary for cell function is produced in the mitochondria. As their size and numbers increase, so does their potential to produce energy for 'work'.
6. an increase in the number of functional capillaries. Capillaries allow for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the cells. As more vessels open up, more gas exchange can take place, delaying the onset of fatigue during prolonged exercise. This increase also speeds the rate at which waste products of cell metabolism can be removed.
7. Ability to recover rapidly. Trained individuals have a faster recovery time after exercising.
8. Lower blood pressure and blood lipids. A regular aerobic exercise program leads to lower blood pressure.
9. An increase in fat-burning enzymes. These enzymes are significant because fat is lost primary by burning it in muscle. As the concentration of the enzymes increase so does the ability to burn fat (triglycerides) as opposed to carbs during sub-maximal workloads.

So in short ... exercise. Do something daily. If nothing more than parking your car far away from the front doors of work, then so be it.
Thoughts?

burg1801

That's been my mantra for getting back into this seriously. As long as I do something every day, I'm bound to lose something.

Helloitsdan

Good post!

Heres my 2 cents for you to think on.

The human body adapts to the stress its put under.
Train it to be a strongman and lift heavy things youll bulk up with the right food intake.
Train it to run 5k sets every other day youll lean down to a runners body.

Pick you path!

I chose to gain muscle and forgo cardio.
When I do cardio I keep it under 45mins to lessen the catabolic effects of cortisol in my system.
It was hard for me to gain muscle when I ran every other day.

If your primary objective is fat loss...run your *kitten* off!
If your primary objective is gaining muscle....pick things up and put them down!

Good post OP!

mhotch

BUMP