Why aerobics are great for strength, fitness & healthy ageing
When you think about aerobics, you might picture energetic music, simple choreography and a fun workout that gets your heart rate up. But aerobics can offer much more than cardiovascular fitness.
Regular aerobic exercise can help support muscle strength, endurance, balance, coordination, heart health, bone health and overall wellbeing.
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When movements incorporate resistance, body weight, repeated squats, lunges or other strength-based exercises, an aerobics workout can also contribute to building and maintaining muscular strength.
Whether you're a beginner, returning to exercise or looking for a fun way to stay active, aerobics can be an accessible addition to your weekly fitness routine.
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What Is Aerobic Exercise?
Aerobic exercise is rhythmic physical activity that uses large muscle groups and raises your heart rate and breathing.
Examples include:
Walking
Dancing
Aerobics classes
Cycling
Swimming
Low-impact aerobic workouts
Many aerobics workouts combine cardiovascular movements with exercises that challenge your muscles, coordination and balance.
This combination makes aerobics a versatile form of exercise that can be adapted for different fitness levels.
Can Aerobics Help Build Strength?
Yes — although the amount of strength you develop depends on the type and intensity of the workout.
Aerobics isn't a direct replacement for progressive resistance training when your primary goal is maximising muscle strength or muscle growth. However, many aerobics exercises involve your muscles working repeatedly against your body weight or other forms of resistance.
Movements such as squats, lunges, step-ups and repeated arm movements can challenge the muscles of your legs, hips, core and upper body.
Over time, regularly performing these movements can help improve muscular endurance and functional strength.
For the best overall results, consider combining aerobic exercise with dedicated strength training during the week.
1. Supports Cardiovascular Fitness
One of the biggest benefits of aerobics is improving cardiovascular fitness.
Regular aerobic activity challenges your heart and lungs and can help improve your body's ability to deliver and use oxygen during physical activity.
Better cardiovascular fitness can make everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs or keeping up with the family feel easier.
2. Helps Maintain Muscle and Physical Function
As we age, maintaining muscle and physical function becomes increasingly important.
Aerobic workouts that incorporate resistance and weight-bearing movements can help keep your body moving regularly and challenge major muscle groups.
For women especially, combining aerobic activity with strength training can form an important part of an active lifestyle throughout midlife and beyond.
3. Supports Strong Bones
Weight-bearing physical activity can place healthy stress on your bones.
Activities such as walking, dancing and some forms of aerobics can therefore contribute to an exercise routine designed to support bone health.
For additional muscle and bone-strengthening benefits, include resistance exercises such as squats, lunges and weight training where appropriate.
4. Improves Balance and Coordination
Aerobics often involves changing direction, stepping, reaching, lifting your arms and following rhythmic movement patterns.
These movements can challenge balance and coordination while helping you become more comfortable moving your body.
As you get older, maintaining balance and physical coordination becomes particularly valuable for everyday independence and mobility.
5. Boosts Your Endurance
Ever feel out of breath after climbing a few flights of stairs?
Regular aerobic exercise can help improve your cardiovascular endurance.
As your fitness improves, you may find you can exercise for longer before becoming tired.
Improved endurance can also make everyday activities feel more manageable.
6. Supports Your Mental Wellbeing
Exercise isn't just beneficial for your physical health.
Physical activity can support mental wellbeing and may help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in some people.
There's also something to be said for choosing exercise that you actually enjoy.
A fun aerobics class with music can provide a positive break from your day while getting your body moving.
7. Can Be Adapted for Different Fitness Levels
One of the great things about aerobics is its versatility.
Beginners can start with lower-impact movements and shorter sessions, while people with greater fitness can increase intensity, duration or complexity.
You can often modify movements by:
Reducing the impact
Slowing the pace
Using smaller movements
Taking regular breaks
Adding resistance
Increasing the intensity gradually
There is no requirement to keep up with everyone else.
Your workout should challenge you at a level that is appropriate for your current fitness and abilities.
8. Helps You Move More Throughout the Week
You don't need to exercise for hours to benefit from physical activity.
A regular aerobics session can be one way to add purposeful movement to your week.
You can also combine your workouts with everyday activity such as walking, gardening, housework, taking the stairs or playing with your children or grandchildren.
The goal is to build a lifestyle where movement is a normal part of your week.
9. Supports Healthy Ageing
Staying physically active throughout adulthood can support many aspects of healthy ageing.
A combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, balance exercises and regular everyday movement can help you maintain fitness and physical function as you get older.
Aerobics can be one enjoyable part of that bigger picture.
10. It's Fun!
This might sound simple, but it matters.
If you enjoy your workout, you're more likely to want to do it again.
Music, rhythm and group classes can make exercise feel less like a chore and more like something you look forward to.
And consistency is important. You don't need the “perfect” workout — you need activities you can realistically keep doing.
Aerobics and Strength Training: What's the Difference?
While aerobics can help improve muscular endurance and may contribute to strength, dedicated strength training is still important.
Strength training involves working your muscles against resistance, such as weights, resistance bands or your own body weight, with the challenge generally progressing over time.
For a well-rounded fitness routine, aim to include a combination of:
Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular fitness and endurance
Strength training for muscle strength and maintenance
Balance exercises for stability and coordination
Everyday movement for overall activity
You don't necessarily have to choose one over the other.
How Often Should You Do Aerobics?
The right amount depends on your current fitness, health, goals and other activities.
Start at a manageable level and gradually build up the amount and intensity of exercise you do.
If you're new to exercise, low-impact aerobics can be a useful starting point because movements can often be modified to suit your abilities.
If you have an existing health condition, injury or concerns about starting exercise, speak with your healthcare professional or an appropriately qualified exercise professional for individual guidance.
Ready to Get Moving?
Aerobics can be much more than a workout that makes you sweat.
It can help you improve cardiovascular fitness, endurance, coordination and muscular endurance while supporting an active, healthy lifestyle.
And when you combine aerobics with strength training, mobility, balance work and regular everyday movement, you can create a well-rounded approach to fitness that supports your body at every stage of life.
So turn up the music, find a pace that feels right for you and get moving — because exercise should be something that makes you feel stronger, healthier and more capable.
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