What is "aerobic" anyway?

Here are the basics of aerobic exercise the condensed-abridged version:

1. It uses big muscle groups (butt and legs)
2. You're breathing deeply but not out of breath
3. Your heart rate is in the range of 65-80% of maximum
4. The exercise is sustained for a minimum of 20 minutes

That's it. But, how do you know where you're at on the breathing and heart rate thing?

There are charts at gyms that tell you good heart rates. Ignore these. Why? Because up to 40% of people DO NOT FIT the chart. Only trust these for a real ballpark figure.

First, I'll give you the technically accurate way, and then I'll give the super easy way.

Technically Accurate (aka the Karvonen method)
1. Find your RESTING heart rate (RHR) by taking your pulse for 60 seconds before getting out of bed in the morning (best time) or after lying down and really relaxing for 15-20 minutes or so. Even better, do this like three times over 3 days to get an average.

2.  220 - your age is your MAXIMUM heart rate (MHR) calculate that.

3.  Subtract your RHR from your MHR to get X.   (MHR-RHR=X)

4. Multiply X by .65 and then ADD BACK your RHR. This gives you your LOW END of your aerobic range.

5. Multiply X by .8 and then ADD BACK your RHR. This gives you your HIGH END of your aerobic range.

EXAMPLE: My resting heart rate is about 55. I'm 29, so to get my max heart rate I subtract 29 from 220.

220-29= 191 = My MHR

191-55 = 136 = My "X"

136 * .65 = 88.4 + 55 = 143.4 = My LOW END
136 * .8 = 108.8 + 55 = 163.8 = My HIGH END

So, when I exercise, my heart rate should be between 143 and 164 beats per minute.

When you're exercising, take your pulse for 6 seconds and multiply by 10 to get your heart rate. OR you can be like me and buy a little watch for 25-30 bucks at Wal-Mart that does it at the touch of a button.
There's got to be a simpler way though right? There is.

EASY WAY: (aka the "talk test")

Your breathing will tell you where you need to be. So, when you're exercising here's an easy way to tell where you're at.

Remember the song "Row Row Row Your Boat"? Sing it to yourself while exercising. If you can't get past the second or third "ROW" without taking a breath, then you are exercising too hard. If you can get to "merrily merrily..." without taking a breath, then you are not exercising hard enough. Simple huh?

Those are the basics. Now quit reading and get out there!!  :)