Aerobic Origins

Interesting article on Dr. Cooper's 1968 book, Aerobics, and the 40 year history and development of aerobic trends.

It notes:

In the book he argues that aerobic exercise is the best way to condition the body -- better than (then-popular) calisthenics, weight lifting or better anaerobic exercise such as sprints and drills. He wrote that aerobic exercise like jogging or swimming, done frequently and with enough duration, "improves the overall condition of the body especially its most important parts, the lungs, the heart, the blood vessels, the body tissue, building a bulwark against many forms of illness and disease."

What troubles me about a quote like this is what will most likely be (and probably has been) the average reader's "take-away"--that aerobic exercise is better for you than weight lifting and anaerobic work like "sprints and drills." However, the key here is "done frequently and with enough duration" + "overall condition of the body" such as "lungs . .heart . . tissue" etc.

In other words, aerobics (or any other of its myriad offspring noted in the article, like yoga ballet or karaoke spinning) really only has the noted effect when maintained for long enough blocks of time and frequently enough. So, that once a week Sizzlin' Salsa Jazz class that you go to in the middle of an otherwise sedentary life at the office ain't gonna cut it health wise, although it may be doing wonders for personal enjoyment and mental well-being, which are certainly important too. And, believe it or not, that once a week Sunday morning marathon training run isn't going to do all that much for you either, that is, other than get you ready to run a marathon!

The reality is that occasional and brief aerobic activity is a bit of an oxymoron when we're talking about the physical benefits, and at the end of the day, if what you're really interested in--even more so than overall health--is scoring that Angelina Jolie body in all of it's slim, muscular perfection, then weight-lifting and anaerobic activity . . like sprinting . . is precisely what you need to do.

Everything is contextual, and tied to goals and purpose. If you want to get lean and mean, and Hollywood starlet sculpted (and you're not already an athlete), go learn how to lift weights and start cranking up the quick, high octane workouts like interval running or cycling. If you want to start progressively improving your general health and well-being and eventually lose a little weight, start hitting the yoga dance classes or the elliptical machine for 40-60 min several times a week.

Of course, more than anything, if you really want to lose weight and improve your overall health, you better take a look at your diet. ;)