Endurance exercise raises stamina by improving the consumption of oxygen by the body, and especially by improving consumption of oxygen by the muscles. It is commonly known that planned endurance exercise considerably improves stamina. It is also obvious that even people over seventy or eighty years of age can increase body muscle mass and lower body fat mass by means of regular endurance exercise. The substantial majority of people in this age group should be active and look really well.
No matter how old you are, you have to take part in general fitness on a regular basis. All of the endurance exercises we talk about here are extremely useful, and all of them can be used in your program to decrease boredom.
Walking and jogging.
Out of all the endurance exercises, walking is the least exhausting, however you should not lessen its relevance. Walking from one to three miles three times each week, a minimal commitment to health, will make you feel and look much better and add a few years to your life. You can walk even if you require a cane or walker. You just have to adapt the exercise to what you are able to do and for how long you are able to do it. There are several advantages of walking making it practical for the majority of people. It is obviously easier on your joints than jogging. It does not need any special skills or expensive equipment. It doesn’t really matter where you are- you can find a convenient place to practice walking. For many years, my wife and I walked around the Galleria shopping mall in Houston every Sunday morning in the winter, which not only protected us from the rainy, chilly weather but also made it possible for us to look at the hundreds of shop windows in the course of our three-mile hike. Even if you use a cane, walker, or crutches, walking can be a wonderful fitness exercise.
However, you should give yourself a chance to build up to how far and how long you are able to walk or jog. Begin unhurriedly with regard to time and distance, and increase your endurance. This is equal to starting with 10-minute walks on level paths. If you are out of breath after this, begin with 5 minutes only. And remember: the amount of time that you walk must be increased to thirty to forty five minutes as an objective. After reaching thirty to forty five minutes’ duration, choose the pace and walk a bit faster until you can do three miles in forty five minutes. That’s plenty fast and long enough to get the job done. Added features are to choose proper walking places that are uphill and downhill to raise your endurance training.
You may have to address one particular problem - what kind of shoes to wear. The simplest thing to do is to check out the various walking shoes produced by such companies as Reebok or Nike to find the appropriate fit for you, following the advice of the shop assistant. Make sure they are comfortable enough when you purchase them; shoes that are uncomfortable as you purchase them frequently stay that way. If you have cramps in your legs or painful knees after walking, pull back on either the time or pace of walking; you may have to warm up before you start walking, walk more slowly, or stretch your legs by doing squats - bending at the ankles and knees - several times before beginning.
Another way to walk or run which makes it possible for you to measure and control your speed and distance is to make use of the treadmill equipment at a health club. The treadmill contains programs that control not only how many miles you walk per hour, but also what degree of steepness you climb. There are also some machines that offer planned programs that vary speed and steepness and include warm-up and cool-down periods. You have a chance to use this program to your advantage to steadily increase your endurance, which is what I do. If you could see the many men and women in their sixties, seventies, and even eighties with arthritis using the treadmill at the University Club in Houston, you would understand that physical activity is not something that is limited to young people only.
Swimming and other water exercises.
If you are in the unlucky situation of having a considerably restricted joint motion or you suffer too much pain to walk, take much less part in a power exercise program, then here is where you begin your exercise path to a better life with greater endurance and better joint motion. Due to its buoyancy, water exercise help alleviate pain due to the fact that gravity is not persistently pressing on the joints. You feel free for the first time in years, and due to decreased or absent pain, you feel well about moving all your joints. If you are like a fish and grew up swimming laps, have at it; you will be way ahead of the game. If you otherwise require a blueprint demonstrating you how to take advantage of water to develop your fitness, relieve your pain, and build up motion in those joints that are restricted, hire a professional instructor. And remember to do at least twenty minutes of laps three or four times weekly (or even more if you are able to).
A lot of people suffering from arthritis feel a little uneasy in the water, and people who have restricted motion and joint pain on land sometimes worry about drowning. However, the AquaJogger is really helpful, particularly if you use it frequently and consistently.
On your first day, aquajog only several minutes in the deep water, then raise the time each day. With this device, remember that it is not necessary to walk on the bottom. Using the AquaJogger is a very reasonable way to develop your strength and endurance. The flotation device, made of a synthetic foam, doesn’t absorb water and fits around your middle back. It is attached to an elastic belt fitting snugly around the tummy. It is evocative of the old ski belts that were used a long time ago. This device was developed in the 1980s for the purpose of competitive runners and other athletes to accelerate recovery from injuries to arms and legs. The exercises are the same as on land, however they have the advantage of the buoyancy of water to get rid of the painful injury inflicted by gravity on land. You may see that your requirements are the same as the world-class runners with respect to your joints.
There are a few very basic water exercises that you should try: running and walking, upper body exercises, cross-country skiing, and leg raises. The body position for running and walking is the same as for land - upright with a slight forward lean. You move your arms and legs the same as on land. The upper body exercises contain cupping your hands with the palms facing forward and backward when you move your arms in various directions. In practicing the cross-country skiing exercise, the legs and arms are extended and straight with a scissoring motion of your legs from the hips and another scissoring motion from the shoulders for the arms. In the leg raises, you lie on your back. Place your body at a 45-degree angle, using your arms for balance while bringing your legs to your chest. The AquaJogger instructional brochure provides several training tips that are both useful and reasonable. Here are some of them:
* Begin all sessions with a warm-up that consists of easy, soft, flowing motions for about ten minutes or more.
* The major session may contain continuous aerobic activities in which you maintain an exertion level that makes it possible for you to keep your breathing under control, or a series of exercises with short breaks for rest in between, or precise exercises that are followed by breaks for relax. All the time, you must work within your established medical limits with the goal of working up to at least twenty minutes of quality training.
* The major session should be followed by a cool-down of seven to ten minutes of simple, fluid movements in the water followed by some static (fixed, at rest) stretches, stressing those muscle groups employed in the course of the session.
* Pay scrupulous attention to your body position and keep your body in a appropriate workout alignment.
* When you become comfortable with the exercises, start working more forcefully against the water’s resistance.
* Raise intensity by using as much of the water’s surface as possible and by using bigger motions. Do this steadily with particular attention to any strain on joints resulting from the increased resistance.
* If you have any doubts, always be conservative. Stay behind the point of pain and just "nudge" the level of intensity every day. An unexpected increase can cause injury.
* Always talk to your healthcare provider about establishing your personal guidelines and restrictions.
Bear the following possibilities in mind as well: The AquaJogger can be occupied and the huge area worn on the front with the buckle in the back. This can be effective while you are swimming on your stomach or snorkeling. You may also modify the focus of the flotation by turning the AquaJogger upside down with the foam hump pointed down rather than up the back. This position is frequently used by children or rather short people who have small back areas.
Supplementary water exercises saving wear and tear on your joints include: water aerobics classes and lap swimming. As it was said in the beginning, if you have considerable problems with your joints, the simplest and best way to start your exercise program is in the water.
Riding a Bicycle.
Stationary bicycling or riding a real bike provides an attractive alternative to jogging, walking, or swimming. If your joint problems are not significant and you are rationally flexible in motion, riding a bike on the street is obviously more enjoyable due to the fact that you have a chance to take pleasure in the fresh air and scenery. The most important fact about this is that you watch the same rules as in walking and water exercise, that is, you ought to warm up at the beginning and cool down at the end. If you are in older age, worries about falling and breaking a hip or arm may make riding a bike less attractive to you.
Riding the proper bicycle is essential. The pedals must make it possible for each leg to be straight, with the ball of your foot resting on the pedal at the bottom position. The seat needs to be very comfortable. Your arms ought to be comfortably bent at the elbow while you are holding the handlebar grips. Your back should be relaxed and also comfortable. There are a lot of other things about bicycling that you will have to be aware of in the contemporary world. Bicycles have recently become so individualized that you will benefit by visiting a bicycle store and getting familiar with gears, dropped handlebars, all-terrain or mountain bikes, and extraordinary seats for the squeamish. If you see that riding a bike on the streets and paths is convenient for you, remember that the rules for endurance exercise are the same.
Stationary bicycles are much more user-friendly and appear either upright or horizontal. They are rather cheap that home use is impossible. You have a chance to read, watch the news or soaps on TV, or rent a movie when bicycling. They constitute an attractive alternative to a fitness club. Don’t forget to measure for the appropriate height of the seat so that your legs are straight when you are at the bottom of the pedaling cycle. Furthermore, don’t forget that you need to warm up before and cool down at the end. Twenty to thirty minutes will be enough.
Stair climbing. Nobody from the group of your acquaintances who is not in training for the decathlon or an NFL football team does stair climbing in the bleachers. Actually, stair climbing may be the vital exercise both for endurance and power of the legs. A fitness club is the place where stair climbing comes into its own by means of using mechanical stair-climbing equipment. A few various types of machines are geared to climb as many stairs as fast as you wish, for as long as you want, and in various sequences. This is mostly an aerobic exercise but it contributes significantly to strength of muscles. Begin slowly and build up from five to twenty minutes. As you have arrived at a twenty-minute time, add resistance to the climb. Do not add time and resistance on the same day. Later, we will tell more about how you should do this. It is enough to say that you need an exercise trainer to plan stair climbing for you, at least in the beginning.
