The days are getting shorter and the nights longer— making self-care even more important as many of us are gearing up for our annual fight with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
That’s where aerobics comes in, according to FOX 17 Women’s Health Expert, Dr. Diana Bitner.
Aerobic movement not only pulls us out of our immediate spirals, the endorphins we get from it also helps prevent them, too.
So—what counts and how can we make sure we’re doing it right?
Here’s a breakdown:
“Aerobic Zone – working at 70%-80% of your maximum heart rate. Calories burned will be higher, and about 45% of them are fat.”—Cleveland Clinic
You can do literally anything and call it aerobic movement— dancing in the kitchen counts. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The important thing is doing enough movement to get your heart rate up.
AEROBIC ZONES
Zone 1 | Easy/Recovery | Quick walking, low-level kitchen dancing | Great for preventing injury, improving metabolism |
Zone 2 | Steady/Moderate | Jogging, biking, moderate kitchen dancing | Improves fat burning & endurance. |
Zone 3 | Tempo | Running, embarrassing the teens-level kitchen dancing | Improves strength |
Zone 4 | Threshold | Training to compete in a 5K, kitchen dancing with a kid on your hip | Improves performance |
Zone 5 | Maximum Effort | Training to compete in a marathon, reenacting that scene from Flashdance | Builds power |
For our purposes, Dr. Bitner recommends getting into Zone 2 for 80% of whatever time you’re devoting to aerobic movement.
FOX 17 Women’s Tip of the Week
Get moving to fight seasonal depression and make sure you’re in Zone 2 to maximize the health benefits!
