The history of aerobics
If you are considering taken up aerobics or even if you are just interested in aerobics you might want to know more about the actual subject. Many people who adopt a certain form of exercise find it useful to know and understand the history behind that form of exercise. The reason that they find it important to know about the history about the form of exercise is because it allows them to know what the form of exercise is supposed to be about and it will help them to get the maximum benefit from that exercise. And since aerobics is considered a form of exercise it is important to know about its history so that you can achieve the best results.
Aerobics as a term and as an exercise method was actually discovered and developed by doctor named Kenneth H. Cooper. Dr. Cooper was an exercise physiologist of the U.S. Air Force but he was also a exercise enthusiast. How he came about developing aerobics is because he was deeply curious about why some people who had superior muscle strength still suffered poor performance at certain tasks such as long-distance running, swimming and bicycling. Because of his curiosity he began to measure systematic human performance using a bicycle ergo meter and at the same time he began to measure sustained performance in terms of the ability to use oxygen.
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The term aerobic which actually means "with oxygen" and also refers to the use of oxygen in a muscle's energy generating process was the main concept used for creating a new exercise program called aerobic exercise. Basically aerobic exercise refers to exercise that is moderately intense. In order for an aerobic exercise to be effective it should involve somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes of warming up, followed by at least 20 minutes of exercise, and it should end with 5 to 10 minutes of cooling down.
With aerobics the main goal is to get your heart rate up to your target level. Everybody's target level is different and there are numerous ways to determine what your target heart rate level should be, but basically your target heart rate level is a percentage of your maximum heart rate, which is usually determined based on your age and fitness level. But aerobics uses the percentage of your maximum heart rate in the following ways: the warm up period should involve an intensity of 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, the exercise period should involve an intensity of 70-80% of your maximum heart rate and the cooling down period should involve an intensity of 50-60% of your maximum heart rate.
But one thing about aerobics that many people might not be aware of is that the terms aerobics and aerobic exercises are actually two different things. Aerobic exercises can be many different type of exercises, all they have to do is meet the definition of being performed at a moderate level of intensity for an extended period of time. What this basically means is that jumping jacks, power walking, sit ups, etc are considered an aerobic exercise. But aerobics is a certain form of aerobic exercise. This form of of exercise is usually performed in a class setting, although you can do it at home, but it is characterized by being a form of exercise that involves rapid stepping patterns that are performed to music with cues provided by an instructor.
Although Dr. Cooper first published his book on Aerobics in 1968 it wasn't until 1970 that aerobics became popular in the United States, in fact it was after 1970 when his original book was republished under a different title that aerobics became popular. And then during the 1980's aerobics went through a brief but intense period of popularity because many celebrities started producing videos and television shows that promoted aerobics, two of the most famous celebrities were Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda.
