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- From: pae@blackcat.stortek.com (Phil Earnhardt)
- Subject: What's an aerobic exercise? What isn't?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov16.203156.21520@stortek.com>
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- Nntp-Posting-Host: blackcat.stortek.com
- Organization: StorageTek, Louisville, CO
- References: <1992Nov14.180240.18210@cbnewse.cb.att.com> <BxtJFK.9zn@mail.boi.hp.com>
- Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:31:56 GMT
- Lines: 37
-
- gilbert.m.stewart (gmark@cbnewse.cb.att.com) writes:
- >The fact is that almost all exercises are aerobic and anaerobic to some
- >non-zero degree. I think that the point was probably that bicycling is not
- >as aerobic as many other exercises, like running. I'm sure you could juggle
- >for ten hours and get some aerobic exercise out of it.
- >
- >It's kind of funny how attached we get to exercises to the degree that
- >we're insulted when someone is perceived to be breaking bad on them.
- >That's probably a good sign.
-
- There are two ways of looking at aerobic exercise. One way is what you said:
- that all exercises have an aerobic and anerobic component. The other way is to
- draw a line: by performing a certain type of exercise at a certain range of
- intensity for a certain amount of time, that exercise *is* aerobic. Granted,
- this is an arbitrary decision, but it's a reasonable distinction to make. Why?
- Because people are interested in exercising in an efficient fashion. They want
- to lose/manage their weight/fat in a reasonable amount of time per day.
- Drawing a line in the sand between aerobic and non-aerobic exercises is useful
- to those people in their determining an efficient exercise regimen.
-
- Given this distinction between aerobic and non-aerobic exercises, there are
- certain exercises which are included and certain exercises which are not.
- Exercises that are included are: walking, running, x-c skiing, skating (on
- water and non-water surfaces), stair climbing, etc. There are a whole bunch of
- exercises which are not included: weight lifting, juggling, racket sports,
- etc.
-
- Furthermore, the aerobic exercises listed above will only be aerobic if they
- are preformed non-stop for an appropriate duration. The minimum minimum you'll
- hear is 12 minutes; 20 minutes is often quoted as a minimum. Also, they must
- be performed at an appropriate intensity, usually measured by the pulse rate,
- of between 65% and 85% of the maximum heart rate.
-
- All of this is discussed in varied texts. The book _The New Fit or Fat_ is a
- good book for getting a foundation in the theory and practice of aerobic
- exercise. _Exercise Physiology_, third edition, by McArdle et. al, is a
- college textbook on the broad subject of exercise.
-