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700 - AEROBIC WORKOUT BENEFITS FOR THE BASEBALL PLAYER
Getting oxygen to the body's tissues is the basis
of fitness. Having a healthy heart and healthy lungs enable oxygen to be delivered to the
muscles easily. This is also the basis to measure fitness. You are out of shape if your
body's demand for energy surpasses the ability to supply it. The purpose of an aerobic
workout is to increase your maximum oxygen intake
.
Baseball players like other athletes require the basis of a good
aerobic program to perform basic tasks involved in the sport. The physiological objective
of an aerobics program is to increase strength and flexibility that is required when
throwing, fielding, running and hitting.
The human body is amazing when you think about how it functions.
We are consciously aware of the foods we eat and when the body has to dispose of the waste
products. The process of breaking down the food and supplying our bodies with energy
derived from the foods we eat is a very complicated process. Of all the energy our body
derives from the food it takes in, 60 percent is used to perform all of the bodies daily
functions. 20 percent more is used to perform daily tasks and the final 20 percent is left
for aerobic activities that we perform daily.
In order for any athlete to perform well, they must be physically
fit to insure they will have the 20 percent to draw on. If this is not the case, their
body will absorb it for other functions.
Your muscles burn fuel in different stages. First it will burn
the chemical substance in the muscles made exclusively from carbohydrates and fats. This
process is actually an anaerobic form because it does not need oxygen for its metabolism.
When this chemical (adenosine triphosphate) is depleted your muscles draw energy from
glycogen. This form of energy is stored in limited amounts in the muscles and liver. When
the muscles are depleted of glycogen it draws on energy metabolized by stored fats and
carbohydrates, this is an anaerobic reaction.
All activity requires energy that the body produces by burning
food in the presence of oxygen.
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