The difference between aerobic exercise and strength exercise

The core essential difference between aerobic exercise and strength exercise is the difference in the energy supply system. The former is mainly based on aerobic oxidative energy supply, while the latter is mainly based on anaerobic energy supply pathways such as phosphagen and glycolysis. This extends to differences in sports performance, training effects, and adaptability to groups. They are essentially the result of different energy supply logics.

To put it bluntly, if you can chat normally with people during exercise and can speak complete sentences even if you are a little out of breath, such as jogging for 30 minutes, swimming 1,000 meters, or slowly climbing a mountain for half an hour, your body mainly relies on the oxidative decomposition of sugar, fat, and protein for energy. The endurance is long but the power is low, which is a typical aerobic exercise. If you hold back your words during practice, such as when you deadlift 120 kilograms for a few seconds to reach the limit, or after doing 12 weight-bearing hip bridges, squatting on the ground with grinning teeth for a long time and unable to slow down, the energy supply at this time will not have time to wait for oxygen to participate, and it will all rely on the rapid decomposition of ATP and muscle glycogen stored in the body for energy. It is powerful but cannot last long. This is the core energy supply mode of strength sports. I also met a girl last week who said that she had been practicing strength training for half a year and her buttocks were not visible. When I asked her, I found out that her so-called strength training was to hold a 2-pound dumbbell and follow the video aerobics. She could shout slogans with the coach throughout the process. That is essentially aerobic. If you can not lose muscle, it is good. Want to gain muscle?

The energy supply logic is different, and the effects of training are naturally far different. Many people run 5 kilometers a day when they want to lose weight. It is true that they lose weight quickly in the first two months. It is common to lose more than ten kilograms. However, if you don’t supplement protein and do not use strength, you will most likely hit a plateau later, and you will even rebound after eating a few more bites. About one-third of the weight lost purely through aerobic exercise is muscle. Without muscle, your basal metabolism will decrease. To put it bluntly, you consume less calories while lying down than before. In the past, you could lose weight by eating 1,500 calories, but now you may not lose weight even if you eat 1,200 calories. I used to have a 180-pound male member who lost 25 pounds after running for three months. After climbing the third floor, he became more breathless than before. During the physical examination, his bone density dropped. It was because he had lost too much muscle. On the other hand, the core of strength training is to build muscle. If your muscle mass increases by 3 kilograms, you can consume an extra 200 calories every day while lying down, which is almost equal to the calories of half a cup of bubble milk tea. On the one hand, it is not easy to gain weight, and the whole body shape will also be tight. The same is 100 kilograms. A girl with muscles has a slimmer waist and a more upturned butt, and looks better in clothes. Of course, there are different opinions. Now many studies have also proved that as long as you eat enough protein of more than 1.6g per kilogram of body weight, low-intensity steady-state aerobics will hardly lose muscle. There is no need to regard aerobics as the natural enemy of muscle gain. The two are not antagonistic in the first place.

There is no need to be so strict about the boundary between the two. Many popular training models nowadays are originally from both ends. This is also a point of frequent quarrel in the fitness circle. For example, does HIIT count as aerobic or strength? Many people in the bodybuilding circle think it is aerobic, because the interval period also relies on aerobic energy for recovery, and aerobic accounts for a large proportion of the overall calorie consumption. ； In the powerlifting circle, HIIT is considered to be anaerobic metabolism training. After all, the intensity of the sprint phase relies entirely on anaerobic energy supply, and the stimulation of muscles is no worse than light weight strength training. In fact, to put it bluntly, it depends on the intensity of your training. If you are paddling and doing HIIT, and you can chat with the people next to you during the high-impact section, it is no different from brisk walking, it is just low-intensity aerobic exercise. ； If you really hit the spot and your eyes turn black after doing the 20-second burpee, it must be that anaerobic energy supply dominates, and it is considered a strength-type metabolic training. There is also crossfit, which is very popular now. It is essentially a mixed energy training. It includes both the pure strength section of heavy lifting and the aerobic section of long-distance rowing. It cannot be simply classified into a certain category.

There is no standard answer as to how to choose, it all depends on your needs and physical condition. For middle-aged and elderly people with bad knees, it is definitely unrealistic to ask them to squat 100 kilograms at the beginning. Start with low-impact aerobic exercises such as brisk walking and swimming, raise the heart and lungs, and reduce the weight by more than ten kilograms. Then slowly add low-load strength training such as wall squats and seated leg presses, which is very stable. If a young girl wants to have a perky butt but not thick legs, jogging every day will definitely be useless. She must do targeted strength training such as hip thrust and Romanian deadlift, and control the feeling of force. Don’t be fooled by the statement on the Internet that “strength training will turn you into a King Kong Barbie.” The testosterone level of girls is only one-twentieth of boys. Unless you eat hard and train with super heavy weights for three to five years, you will never be able to reach that level. There is also controversy over whether to add aerobic during the fat loss period. The traditional bodybuilding school advocates that a large amount of steady-state aerobic should be added during the fat loss period to lose fat quickly. ； Nowadays, many new-generation powerlifting coaches advocate doing as little aerobic as possible, and relying on diet control and strength training to burn fat and maintain muscle strength. There are a lot of successful cases of both, and there is no absolute right or wrong. If you want to quickly wear a mini skirt before summer, it is okay to add some aerobic. If you want to maintain the training weight and slowly reduce body fat, it is perfectly fine to do less aerobic.

In fact, for us ordinary fitness people, there is no need to worry about which one is better, and there is no need to draw such a tight line between the two. I'm so tired from work today that I can't think straight, so don't push yourself to lift weights. Go to the park for half an hour to sweat a little, and enjoy the evening breeze. It's very comfortable. ； If you have more energy on weekends, go to the gym to practice strength training for an hour. It will also give you a great sense of accomplishment if you hit a new weight. The purpose of fitness is to make yourself comfortable. There is no need to argue with terminology. Moving is better than lying down.