To help keep fit through this semester in college, and even through the holiday season, I signed up for a Beginner Aerobics class at my local community college. Most community colleges and universities (public or private) have a wide variety of exercise courses available to the students, like aerobics, weightlifting and dance classes. Most colleges also include the common sports, like volleyball, tennis, or swimming. It is a great idea to enroll in these courses, not only to get your physical education credits for your degree, but also to keep yourself energized!In my aerobics class, we alternate cardio aerobics with classes dedicated to different modalities of aerobics, like strength-training, balance and flexibility. We also participate in days of "interval training," which alternates stepping with exercises involving hand-weights.
In addition to helping you lose a few pounds or tone up your muscles, aerobic exercise has benefits far greater than a superficial gain. The minute you begin your aerobic exercise, your metabolic rate increases to somewhere between five and twenty times what you expend sitting down. Regular aerobic exercise is also one of the most effective tools for lowering blood pressure and reducing body fat. It also helps alleviate feelings of stress and preventing or lessening the burden of mental depression.
Spending at least three hours doing some form of aerobic exercise will strengthen your heart, making it more efficient thus increasing the ability of your muscles to utilize oxygen. Other benefits of aerobic exercise include decreasing your risk of heart attack, increasing bone strength, and releasing endorphins, which are brain chemicals that can improve your sense of well-being. You might also sleep better than you used to.
