We’ve talked about step aerobics here before, but today I want to talk about the basics of step aerobics and provide you with some introductory information. I like step aerobics, but I won’t lie to you – there’s nothing about step aerobics that doesn’t get your heart racing, the sweat dripping and your muscles tingling.
Step aerobics are great for:
- Fat burning
- Heart conditioning
- Lung conditioning
- Building endurance
- Muscle toning
The great thing about step aerobics is they can be performed with a bench in your living room or in a fitness class at a gym. Plastic benches for step aerobics can be picked up at fitness stores or retail stores such as Wal-mart and Target. The best step benches are those with rounded edges and are stable once they are placed. You should make sure that the bench itself is no higher than four to five inches high. The point of step aerobics is to increase the demand for oxygen and to get your heart rate racing.
If the bench is too high, you can risk injury to your joints and muscle strains. An unsteady bench is similarly dangerous. The great thing about step aerobics is that it’s done to music and it’s a lot of fun as you get moving and incorporate stepping up and down even as you dance and move to the rhythm of the music.
Step aerobic videos will give you plenty of advice on the correct movements and coordination. You need to employ patience and regular workouts to learn the routine. For beginners just getting started, you should plan to do 20 minutes of step aerobics three times a week to maximize your success rate. You should also plan on warming your muscles up and cooling them down.
Do not overdo it or you will hinder rather than help yourself. If I had to list the one thing that puts step aerobics above other aerobic exercises it’s the fact that it can be just pure fun. Half the time when I’m doing step aerobics, I forget that I’m exercising because it’s just a heck of a lot of fun.
What’s the one thing you can name that would put step aerobics ahead of other forms of exercise for you?
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