Cardio Workouts for Weight Loss. Aerobic exercise can help you to lose weight, as well as increase your overall health. Aerobic exercise provides the dual benefits of working large muscle groups, while simultaneously elevating the heart rate for an extended amount of time. These exercises are particularly helpful in keeping your heart in good shape. Healthy exercise will burn fat without the bulky muscle gain of weight-based exercise programs. Experts recommend that aerobic exercise is most effective if practiced between 3 to 6 days a week for between 30 and 60 minutes at a time. Before starting an aerobic workout plan, consult your doctor for an idea of a healthy program implementation.

Options for Aerobic Exercise The best thing is that there is an option for everyone. Any activity in which you maintain a consistent heightened heart rate is considered aerobic exercise. Some of the most popular types include:

Running Jogging Power Walking Swimming Dancing Biking Tennis

Additionally, classes are available in many communities or through a home-based DVD program. The main criteria for classifying an exercise as aerobic is whether or not the heart rate is elevated for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. Even if you're a beginner who needs to start slow, the more exercise you participate in, the more you will be able to do over time.

Safe Exercise As with any exercise program, safety is an important factor to consider as you begin. To avoid muscle pulls and joint injuries, be sure to warm up adequately before you start any type of intense conditioning. Just as important is a cool down period after you exercise. Walk off or stretch slowly before resuming normal activity. Having the proper shoes is also a major safety issue. Finally, be sure to monitor your heart rate while exercising. To check your heart rate, put two fingers on your wrist and count the number of times you feel a pulse over ten seconds. If you multiply this number by six, you will determine the number of times your heart is beating per minute. At rest, a normal heart rate will fall between 60 and 80 beats per minute. A strong heart rate during exercise will measure between 120 and 160 beats per minute. Be careful not to let your heart rate go too high.