Here is her line.
"Exercises give you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And happy people don’t kill their husbands."
If you’ve never seen the movie, here is the clip.
Legally Blonde is hilarious and a great watch.
The movie is available for free on 30 Day Amazon Prime Trial and Netflix, so go watch for free if you are interested.
For a happier mind, about 1 hour of aerobic exercise every day is recommended for adults.
So, What Count As Aerobic Exercise?
Literally, aerobicexercise is anything that gets your body moving and sweating. It can be running, biking, rowing, hiking, or even sex for the matter.
If it increases your heart rate to higher beats, then it’s cardio.
And remember as you become fit, you’ll want to add strength training exercises, such as squats, pushups, lunges, planks, to your workout routine to meet the physical activity level recommended for healthy adults.
Here is the physical activity recommended for a healthy adult by 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
- At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity— or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week.
- 2 days a week of strength training exercises
To get you started, I came up with a list of 11 aerobic exercise examples you can do anywhere.
1. Walking
A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step— and this is true when it comes to exercises as well.
Walking is a great way to start exercising and just so happens that it’s something that we already do everyday for a varying amount-Admittedly, for many of us, maybe not an adequate amount.
Most of us get at least 30 minutes of walking a day.
Walking is a low impact activity that can deliver many of the benefits of aerobic exercise. It’s safe and has many health benefits.
Benefits of walking
Walking on a regular basis is beneficial to many aspects of your health.
It can help...
- Reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes
- Management your diabetes
- Reduce your risk of heart attack
- Prevent or reduce high blood pressure
- Manage your weight
- Manage stress and boost your spirits
- Maintain bone density
- Keep your strong, active and fit
How to get started
Like any form of exercise, safety is your first priority.
And as innocent, gentle and seemingly un-harmful activity walking may seem, there are many pitfalls to walking for exercise. Knowing how to prevent injury can save you pain and a hefty bill from a doctor's.
To prevent yourself from getting injured, proper preparation before walk is equally as important as the walk itself.
Chose and wear the appropriate walking shoes and clothing.
Select comfortable footwear that fits properly can help prevent blister (also grab blister free socks), calluses and other injuries.
Walking shoes should be of good quality and fit you well.
For tips on buying good walking shoes, check out "The Best Sneakers for walking from Health.com".
Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing and dress in layers just in case you need to adjust to changing temperatures.
Warm-up
Spend about five to eight minutes walking in place slowly to warm-up the body and get the blood flowing to your muscles. One Study show that properly warming up your muscles reduces the risk of injury.
Stretch your muscles after the warm-up for about 5 to 10 minutes.
After your warm-up and stretch, start at a pace that’s comfortable for you.
When you feel ready, gradually pick up the pace by walking faster for as far as you can.
For example, if can only walk 5 minutes at a time, have 3 sessions of 3-5 minutes walk.
Slowly build up your endurance and stretch your session to 15 minutes at a time for 2-3 times a week.
Continue to extend your sessions and increase the speed/intensity all while up your frequency to 4-5 days a week.
Measure the intensity of your workout
Measuring how hard you are working your body during your walk can be as simple as measuring your exhaustion level and breathlessness.?
Level of Exertion and Quality of Breathing
If you haven’t worked out in a while or are just getting back into it, you may feel out of breath and experience difficulty carrying on a conversation.
It's normal, and can be seen as a sign that you are walking too fast and need to slow down.
According to Joel Dowdell, celebrity trainer and founder of Peak Performance NYC, intensity that allows a conversation is considered easy activity or active recovery where your heart rate is most likely at 50 - 69%.
However, if you push yourself to the point where you are gasping and struggling for air, you are likely working at your maximum anaerobic capacity with your hear rate being somewhere between 90 - 100%.
It's a valid way to measure your intensity and exertion level.
Pedometer and Fitness Trackers
If you are looking to get a bit more productivity of out your walk and its performance tracking, then consider using a pedometer or advanced fitness tracker.
You can also keep track of your steps or miles by wearing a pedometer or other fitness trackers that uses satellite technology and allows you to download data to a computer.
I like to use a Polar Heart Rate Monitor, when I walk to keep track of my cardiovascular fitness. This will also help you maintain the right intensity levels, so you don’t over do it by going to fast.
I know this may seem like a lot of investment just for walking. But here is why this is important.
According to the American Heart Association, you want to be working out in a heart rate zone that is 50-84% of your hypothetical maximum heart rate.
Here is the age breakdowns below:
Age Target HR Zone 50-85% Average Maximum Heart Rate, 100%
20 years 100-170 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
30 years 95-162 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93-157 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90-153 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88-149 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85-145 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83-140 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80-136 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78-132 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75-128 beats per minute 150 beats per minute
It’s important to note that genetic variability and medication can alter your max heart rate. For example blood pressure medication can lower your maximum heart rate.
The percent of maximum heart rate training method is not absolute, but a good proxy for exertion. If you spend an hour on the treadmill at 50% intensity, are you really working hard?
Monitoring and knowing your heart rate gives you a better idea of your actual exertion.
Plus, you can track your walk and its energy expenditure much more accurately with use of an advanced tracker.
2. Biking or cycling
Cycling is another type of aerobic exercise that is great for your health and body.
For that, you can use either a stationary (see our list of 5 best affordable stationary bikes) or regular bike.
In other words, whether you get your cycling indoor at a studio like SoulCycle or outdoor like a true outdoorsy would, it wouldn't matter much in a sense of getting cardio.