Aerobic exercise burns fat or anaerobic exercise burns fat

There is no absolute distinction between advantages and disadvantages - in the short term, the instant fat burning efficiency is higher with aerobic. In the long term, the sustainability of fat loss and anti-rebound effect are more prominent, and the effect of anaerobic is more prominent. Which one you choose in the end depends entirely on your fat loss goals, the time you can invest, and your exercise foundation.

To be honest, I have seen too many people hold their mobile phones and search for two hours about "what can I do to burn fat". After the search, it was already dark, and they lay in bed and ordered a fried chicken takeout. All the theories were in vain. Let me tell you two real examples from my life: Last month, a friend was in a hurry to lose weight for a wedding photo shoot. He ran 5 kilometers every day and ate only salad for dinner. He lost 12 pounds in 20 days and successfully wore a custom-made wedding dress. However, after the wedding, he rested for half a month, did not run and did not eat anything. He gained 9 pounds and could not even wear his previous jeans. There is also a young girl who just started working. At first she went to the gym with her colleagues and only lifted irons. After three weeks of training, she did not lose a pound on the scale. She felt aggrieved on the spot. As a result, she went home and tried on a skirt from last year. She was two sizes loose and her waist was 4 centimeters smaller.

Don’t think this is an exception. Essentially, the fat-burning logic of the two types of exercise is completely different. Let’s talk about aerobics first, which is the low-to-medium-intensity, long-term sustained exercise you usually do such as jogging, aerobics, riding an elliptical machine, and brisk walking. When the heart rate remains in the 60%-70% range of (220-your age), the energy supply ratio of fat can reach 60%. About %, you can actually burn fat when you move. Running for 40 minutes can consume more than 300 calories, of which nearly 200 calories are fat. The speed of falling off the scale is visible to the naked eye, and it is also friendly to novices. You don’t need to learn any complicated movements, you can just put on shoes and move.

But what many people don’t know is that relying solely on aerobic fat loss actually has hidden “traps”. When you run, you do burn fat, but after you stop, your consumption immediately returns to your daily level. If you only do aerobics for a long time, your body will decompose muscles for energy at the same time. If the muscles lose basal metabolism, your metabolism will go down. Originally, you can consume 1500 kcal every day, but after losing 2 pounds of muscle, you may only consume 1400 kcal. Later, you will have to run longer and longer and eat less and less to maintain the weight. If you relax a little, you will rebound. This is the core reason why many people say "the more you run, the fatter you get".

Let's talk about the misunderstanding of "no oxygen and no fat burning" that many people misunderstand. This is really a huge injustice. Strength training such as lifting irons, weight-bearing squats, and deadlifts is high-intensity and short-duration. The body mainly relies on glycogen for energy, and the fat ratio is indeed low, but its core role lies behind - which is what the fitness circle often calls "excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)." To put it bluntly, in the 24 to 72 hours after you finish training, your body needs to repair the muscle fibers that were torn during training and provide energy for the new muscles. Even if you are slumped on the sofa watching TV series or lying down to sleep, you are consuming extra calories, and the main energy supply substance consumed in this extra part is fat. For every 1 kilogram of muscle you gain, you can burn 10-15 more calories every day without doing anything. If you gain 2 kilograms of muscle after training for 3 months, plus the afterburn consumption after each training, you can burn an additional 200 kcal a day on average, which is almost equal to the calories of half a cup of bubble milk tea. Isn’t this better than forcing yourself to run 5 kilometers every day?

There is actually a fierce quarrel between the two factions in the fitness circle now. The pure aerobics party says, "I run 3 kilometers every day and lose 10 pounds in a month, which is much more effective than lifting weights in half a year." The anaerobic party said, "My weight has not changed after two months of training, but my waist circumference has decreased by 5 centimeters, and now I am not fat even after eating hot pot." This is also true. If you want to maintain a good figure for half a year, a year or even longer without being tied to exercise every day, then anaerobic is definitely a higher priority choice.

When I first started losing weight, I also went through the pit of pure aerobics. In the first month, I ran 5 kilometers every day, ate less, and lost 8 pounds. However, after eating a little more hot pot, I gained 4 pounds. I was so tired that I just wanted to collapse after get off work. Later, it was changed to strength training three times a week, each time for 40 minutes, plus two 20-minute walks home from get off work. In the second month, I only lost 4 pounds, but my waist circumference was 3 centimeters smaller, and my pants were worn directly from L to M. And now that more than half a year has passed, I don’t have to deliberately control my diet. I eat hot pot milk tea 1-2 times a week, and the weight has not gained back. To be honest, it is much more comfortable than running every day before.

There is really no need to worry about which one to choose. There is never a standard answer when it comes to exercise. If you are just getting started, don’t force yourself to roll up the iron and run 10 kilometers. Start by walking downstairs for 20 minutes every day and dancing to short videos for 15 minutes. If you can persist for two weeks, you can gradually add strength training. You can even do shoulder exercises at home with two mineral water bottles filled with water and do a few sets of squats. After all, the fat-burning exercise that is most suitable for you is the one that you can stick to for a long time, right?