Targeted Aerobics: Upper and Lower Body

We live in an era where staying healthy is incorporated into our daily routine. Aerobics is vital to maintain fitness, positive moods and overall health. Depending on your needs, some people want to consider strengthening parts of their body. To create muscles in certain areas of the body to be stronger. This is called targeted aerobics or aerobic conditioning. With this article you will learn some of the basics to upper and lower body targeted aerobics.

Upper Body

It is common to want to strengthen our upper body muscles. Some people feel their arm muscles need to be formed to create an overall strong body profile. Plus, having strong arms and upper body will help your movements throughout the day.

Repetitions are the secret to targeting your upper body. Your body should move in the way your muscles work. Every time you move your muscles you are making them stronger. One method of a good repetition is the repeating movement of lifting your arms over your head and placing them down again. Another effective method to create muscles is by fastening small weights to your wrists.

The most common way to building your upper body is doing push-ups. However, there are other ways that does not require a lot of strength at first. Flexing your arms side to side is a nice way to warm up. During runs or walks, focus on repetitions that maneuver your arms and shoulders. Use the method mentioned above. Jumping jacks or jump rope is another good way to work your upper body muscles. Keep these repetitions short, about 15 minutes per workout.

Lower Body

The lower body that most people would want to work on are the legs and rear. These parts are important to give you the ability to walk and run. It is also critical to keep our lower body strength to help prevent back or other area related inquiries. Working your lower body can provide a good cardio workout, the key factor to this is keeping your heart rate up.

Lower body workouts does not need to be complicated. Working your legs and rear make a great combination. Walking uphill, stairs, or a treadmill are good sources. Squats, lunges, and variations of them are simple methods that are great for these areas.

A squat can be adjusted to your needs by using your shoulders as a guide. Stand straight and place your feet no more than your shoulder's width. Move your feet closer if needed. Squats are like the movement of sitting down. However, with squats you are not lowering yourself below the knees. It is important to keep your toes pointing straight with your arms stretched straight out.

To do a lunge, stand with your feet at shoulder's width. Place one leg forward, with your heel first. Slowly bend both knees and lower your body until your back heel is about 5 centimeters above the floor. Keep your body straight and don't move your knee beyond your toes. Come back to an upright stance by using a "scissors" movement to bring your leg back to the starting point. Switch positions left and right, then repeat.

A lot of people consider working both upper and lower body exercises for complete fitness. By doing both, your body will burn fat better and strength your overall body. As with any exercise routine, do check with your doctor first. Your doctor can future advise you what workouts are best and track results.