Aerobic Fitness

Purpose:

What makes exercise "aerobic"? According to the American College of Sports Medicine, aerobic exercise is "any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature." The idea is to make the heart and lungs work harder than they do when you're at rest, so you need to move fast enough and long enough to increase your heart rate, make yourself breathe fast, and sweat.

The American Heart Association recommends that adults accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day at least five days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity at least three days a week. One way to measure the energy expended during exercise is in METs (metabolic equivalents). For example, sitting quietly in a chair expends one MET of energy, while walking at 3 miles per hour on a flat surface expends 3.3 METs. The table below shows the METs for some common aerobic activities.¹

MET equivalents of common physical activities classified as light, moderate or vigorous intensity.
Light < 3.0 METs	Moderate 3.0 - 6.0 METs	Vigorous > 6.0 METs
Walking	Walking	Walking, jogging & running
Walking slowly around home, store or office = 2.0*	Walking 3.0 mph = 3.3*	Walking at very very brisk pace (4.5 mph) = 6.3*
	Walking at very brisk pace (4 mph) = 5.0*	Walking/hiking at moderate pace and grade with no or light pack (<10 lb) = 7.0
		Hiking at steep grades and pack 10–42 lb = 7.5–9.0   Jogging at 5 mph = 8.0*   Jogging at 6 mph = 10.0*   Running at 7 mph = 11.5*
Household & occupation
Sitting — using computer work at desk using light hand tools = 1.5	Cleaning — heavy: washing windows, car, clean garage = 3.0	Shoveling sand, coal, etc. = 7.0
Standing performing light work such as making bed, washing dishes, ironing, preparing food or store clerk = 2.0–2.5	Sweeping floors or carpet, vacuuming, mopping = 3.0–3.5	Carrying heavy loads such as bricks = 7.5
	Carpentry — general = 3.6 Carrying & stacking wood = 5.5 Mowing lawn — walk power mower = 5.5	Heavy farming such as bailing hay = 8.0 Shoveling, digging ditches = 8.5
Leisure time & sports
Arts & crafts, playing cards = 1.5	Badminton — recreational = 4.5	Basketball game = 8.0
Billiards = 2.5	Basketball — shooting around = 4.5	Bicycling — on flat: moderate effort (12–14 mph) = 8.0; fast (14–16 mph) = 10
Boating — power = 2.5	Bicycling — on flat: light effort (10–12 mph) = 6.0	Skiing cross country — slow (2.5 mph = 7.0; fast (5.0–7.9 mph) = 9.0
Croquet = 2.5	Dancing — ballroom slow = 3.0;   ballroom fast = 4.5	Soccer — casual = 7.0; competitive = 10.0
Darts = 2.5	Fishing from river bank & walking = 4.0	Swimming — moderate/hard = 8–11†
Fishing — sitting = 2.5	Golf — walking pulling clubs = 4.3	Tennis singles = 8.0
Playing most musical instruments = 2.0–2.5	Sailing boat, wind surfing = 3.0	Volleyball — competitive at gym or beach = 8.0
	Swimming leisurely = 6.0† Table tennis = 4.0 Tennis doubles = 5.0 Volleyball — noncompetitive = 3.0–4.0
Ainsworth, et al. 2000 (1). * On flat, hard surface. † MET values can vary substantially from person to person during swimming as a result of different strokes and skill levels.

There are many reasons that aerobic exercise is important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Regular physical activity substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease, the nation's leading cause of death, and decreases the risk for stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. It also helps to control weight; contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints; reduces falls among older adults; helps to relieve the pain of arthritis; reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression; and is associated with fewer hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications."²

Finding the Zone

For moderate-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 50 to 70% of his or her maximum heart rate for age. Many exercise methods and activities can be aerobic if you get your heart rate into your target zone for 20 minutes or longer.

Calculate your Target Heart-Rate Zone!

Then, try some of the activities in the table above to learn which activities put you in the proper zone!

Sources:
¹  Ainsworth, B., et al. (2000). Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 32:498–504.
²  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical Activity for Everyone: The importance of physical activity. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/importance/index.htm.

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