The Five Best Aerobic Exercises

What are the five best aerobic exercises? This is a very loaded question, because it can become subjective very quickly. And opinions are like noses... everybody has one. The quick answer to this question is that there is just ONE best aerobic exercise. That is the one you will do on a consistent basis.

Think about it. If you hate to jog, because it's boring or it hurts your knees, you probably won't want to do it and won't stick with it even if it was head and shoulders above every other aerobic exercise out there. And if you won't do it, or for some reason can't, then it doesn't do you a lick of good. My main point is that doing any aerobic exercise is better than doing none at all.

The best advice I have for you is to chose your favorite aerobic exercise and make time for it on a consistent basis. Or simply rotate some different exercises that you enjoy so your body gets different kinds of workouts and they don't get stale.

Now, just so you don't think my answer is a cop-out answer to the question, I will supply you with a list of the five best aerobic exercises based purely on the number of calories burned.

The top 5 list based simply on calories burned:

Keep in mind that the heavier you are, the more calories you will burn. This list assumes a 155 pound person performing the exercise for one hour. If you'd like more information on the number of calories you can burn doing any particular activity, I found a decent list here.

One last comment about aerobic exercise. When you do these exercises you are only burning calories during the time spent exercising and for a short time afterwards. Intense weight lifting burns fewer calories while being performed, but has the added benefit of continuing to burn calories for a long time afterwards. Learn more about weight lifting.

Here's my personal top 5 list:

Like I said, everyone has their opinion on the five best aerobic exercises. I'll share my opinion with you, and tell you why I think these are the best ones.

1. Weight Training

I can hear the screaming starting already. "Weight training is anaerobic, not aerobic!" Well, first of all this is a site dedicated to weight training. What did you expect? Second, if you've ever worked out with weights really hard and only stopped for short periods of rest, you would know that you can definitely keep your heartbeat up in the aerobic training range. Especially if you're working large muscle groups like the legs. This may not be purely aerobic like some other forms of exercise, but I'd say you can still get some aerobic benefit if done correctly.

2. Biking

This one is my personal favorite of the pure aerobic exercises. It's easy on the joints, burns plenty of calories, and I get to see a lot of scenery in a short amount of time. Compared to some of the other options it does take a bit more equipment (a bike and a helmet at a minimum), but it's equipment most people already have. Biking trails and paths continue to become more numerous, as well.

3. Walking / Running

I personally don't care to run, because it's hard on the joints and fairly boring. Unlike biking, the ground you can cover in a short amount of time is minimal. Why is it #2 on my list then? Because you won't find a more efficient calorie burner than going on a hard run. The amount of equipment you need is minimal (just good shoes, and even some marathoners run barefoot and would dispute that), and you can do this exercise nearly any time or any place. If you're like me and prefer to save your joints, walking is a great alternative. You won't burn as many calories, but the health benefits of regular brisk walking are unquestioned.

4. Basketball

Basketball makes the list because it's essentially running without the boredom. A good game of basketball can get your heart pumping like little else, and you can even get in a pretty good workout by just shooting hoops by yourself. All you need is a basketball and the appropriate clothing, because you can find a hoop to shoot at in nearly any park. Keep in mind that standing around shooting free throws doesn't really qualify as strenuous aerobic exercise.

5. Skiing

I'm kind of lumping all skiing into one category because I've never actually been cross country skiing. But I have been downhill skiing, and that's a pretty good workout in its own right. Cross country skiing gets both your upper and lower body into the workout, and because of that can burn some serious calories very quickly. The downside is the need for proper equipment and snow clothing, as well as the need for snow.