1.11. Muscles and Exercise http://www.ck12.org
1.11 Muscles and Exercise
- Describe how exercise affects the muscular system.
What is aerobic exercise?
When you hear the word "aerobic," an aerobics class may come to mind. But that’s just one type of aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise is any exercise that strengthens your cardiovascular system—playing basketball or swimming, for
example.
Muscles and Exercise
Regular physical exercise is important in preventinglifestyle diseasessuch as cardiovascular disease, some types of
cancer, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Regular exercise also improves the health of the muscular system. Muscles that
are exercised are bigger and stronger than muscles that are not exercised.
Exercise improves both muscular strength and muscular endurance.Muscular strengthis the ability of a muscle to
use force during a contraction.Muscular enduranceis the ability of a muscle to continue to contract over a long
time without getting tired.
Exercises are grouped into three types depending on the effect they have on the body:
- Aerobic exercises, such as cycling, walking, and running, increase muscular endurance and cardiovascular
health. - Anaerobic exercises, such as weight training or sprinting, increase muscle strength.
- Flexibility exercises, such as stretching, improve the range of motion of muscles and joints. Regular stretching
helps people avoid activity-related injuries.