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A typical aerobic exercise session has four distinct phases - a warm-up incorporating a stretching routine, a cardiovascular or aerobic workout, a series of strengthening exercises and a cool down. Each phase is easily identifiable when you consider the type of exercises used and its purpose.
The first phase, the warm-up, begins with whole body activities such as marching to raise your temperature and prepare your body for work. Then, stretching should include a range of exercises that stretch all your major muscle groups in a controlled manner, thereby enhancing your flexibility and reducing the risk of injury. Touching your toes, for example, stretches your hamstring group.
The aerobic phase will last for a minimum of 20 minutes. Both high impact exercises such as running, hopping and jumping, and low impact exercises such as walking, marching or working your arms while your feet stay planted, are used to create and sustain a high level of effort that this phase requires. This phase trains your cardiovascular endurance.
The strengthening phase consists of exercises such as press-ups and sit-ups, while the cool-down phase relies on stretching exercises to help bring the heart rate back down to normal levels.
The benefits of aerobics
If during the aerobic phase you are working at the highest pace you are able to sustain aerobically (typically a heart rate of around 20 bpm below maximum) then you can be sure that cardiovascular endurance training is occurring. This will, of course, be of benefit to your endurance cycling since it's the equivalent of doing a 20-minute AT or Level 3 session on your bike.
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