Choose Aerobic Exercise with care

The wrong type of exercise can do more damage than good

There was a time when we just went out and did our aerobic exercise - and did not worry about anything. That was before people started getting problems with their knees and things.

To keep fit and healthy, it is best to do some aerobic exercise three or four times a week. The originators of aerobics found in tests on servicemen - among the fitter people in the country - that if you exercise every other day, you give your muscles time to rebuild themselves before you start exercising again.

Exercise every other day

Many people suggest daily aerobics, and once you have built your muscles this is fine if you want to be a successful athlete. But for the rest of us, who want to live a long time with good muscles every other day is best.

But what sort of aerobic exercise? Well, I don't recommend jogging any more because it is very hard on the knee joints, which are extremely complex and delicate joints.

For example, my daughter, who has completed several triathlons and other events, recently entered a 7.5 mile (12kilometre) run. As soon as she increased her training beyond 5 miles, she started to get problems with one of her knees. She realised that she would not be able to do the full run without damaging her knee joint, so she decided not to do the run - very sensible.

Swimming or cycling

Overall I recommend swimming or cycling for aerobic exercise. Swimming is well-known as good exercise because it exercises virtually every muscle. It is also good aerobic exercise, but not the sort people think of usually.

However, if like me you are not a good swimmer but want to try swimming, then do get some lessons. A few lessons can make a big difference to your technique and therefore make you enjoy your swimming more.

Finally, there is cycling. We almost all know how to cycle, so there is little learning to be done. You should make sure that the saddle is high enough for your leg to straighten at the bottom of the rotation of the pedal, though.

As for technique, here are a couple of tips:
1. Make sure that when you pedal your legs just go straight up and down, and don't move out at all on the stroke - that wastes energy.
2. Do keep in a gear that keeps your legs moving quite quickly. Struggling up hills in a high gear, with the pedals turning very slowly is not good, and can overload your joints, especially if you get up out of the saddle.
3. Look where you are going, and keep your fingers near the brake levers - that' s for safety. People, dogs, cats, cars and motorcycles can suddenly appear in front of you.

Of course, many sports also provide aerobic exercise, so pick a form of exercise you enjoy - that way you will stick with it, and that is the most important thing about any form of exercise.