Aerobics full version

Essentially, any exercise that involves the major muscle groups of the whole body, is maintained at an intensity that allows you to speak normally but cannot sing coherently, lasts for more than 3 minutes, and is mainly powered by aerobic metabolism is considered effective aerobic exercise.； For the vast majority of ordinary people, its core benefits are long-term stable control of body fat, improvement of cardiopulmonary function, and regulation of emotional stress. There is no need to force the length or volume intensity. The one that suits you is the most cost-effective option.

Last week, I went to a gym near my home with my best friend who wanted to lose weight. The personal trainer came up with a list of "standard requirements": at least 5 times a week, each time must be more than 45 minutes, and the heart rate must be stuck at 60%-80% of the maximum heart rate, otherwise it will be in vain. My best friend was scared off on the spot, and when she went out she said, "I get off work at 8 o'clock every day, how can I have this time?"

In fact, regarding aerobic standards, there has never been a single standard answer in the sports circle. Old-school exercise physiology researchers prefer continuous steady-state aerobics, which is what we often say: "calculate the target heart rate using the Karnofsky formula and start fat energy supply for more than 20 minutes." This logic has been popular for decades. It is suitable for athletes preparing for endurance events who want to exercise quickly. It is indeed suitable for fitness enthusiasts who want to quickly reduce body fat. When I was preparing for a mini marathon two years ago, I trained according to this standard. I ran 5 kilometers three times a week at a steady pace of 6 and a half minutes. After two months, my resting heart rate dropped from 72 to 58, and my endurance increased particularly significantly.

However, in recent years, research in the sports medicine community has long updated this set of standards. The American College of Sports Medicine’s exercise guidelines for the general population released in 2023 clearly mention that even if it is 10 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each time, if you add up to 30 minutes a day, the cardiopulmonary benefits and metabolic improvement effects will be almost the same as doing it for 30 minutes continuously. After I had a knee problem last year, I switched to fragmented aerobics. After sitting for an hour at work, I got up and climbed the stairs for 10 minutes. I got off the subway two stops before get off work and walked home. It only took more than 30 minutes every day. After more than half a year, my body fat has not rebounded, and the chest tightness I often suffered from before has improved a lot.

Many people think that only "serious exercises" such as running, swimming, and elliptical machines can be considered aerobic, but this is not true. I took a test for my mother a while ago. She danced square dance for an hour, and her average heart rate was just between 110 and 130. She could chat with the old sisters around her while dancing, but she couldn't sing the complete "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style", which fully meets the standard of effective aerobics. ； My colleague took care of her baby at home last year and ran for half an hour every day with her 2-year-old son. She lost 4 pounds of body fat and was doing a good job of aerobic exercise.

Oh, by the way, the most controversial question is "Will aerobic exercise cause muscle loss?" In fact, it depends on the situation. If the frequency of aerobics does not exceed 3 times a week, the duration of each session is controlled within 40 minutes, and the daily protein intake is more than 1.6g per kilogram of body weight, there will be basically no muscle loss. If you also do some strength training, there is no need to worry. But if you do high-intensity aerobics for more than 1 hour on an empty stomach for a long time, don’t touch strength at all, and don’t eat enough protein, then losing muscle is really a high probability event. A fitness blogger I knew before ran 10 kilometers on an empty stomach every day for two consecutive weeks to gain fat for a competition, and lost 3 pounds of muscle. It took almost half a year to make up for it.

There is another point that many people tend to overlook. Don’t be uncomfortable trying to “reach the standard”. I used to think that aerobic exercise requires sweating a lot to be effective. In the winter, when the temperature was below zero, I wore short-sleeves for running. As a result, I caught a cold and rested for half a month, which was not worth the gain. If you feel flustered, dizzy, or have knee pain while exercising, don't push yourself, stop and take a break, or switch to a more gentle activity, such as cycling or swimming, which is much kinder to your joints.

In fact, after all is said and done, there is no standard answer for the "complete version". If you like running, run two or three times a week for half an hour each time. ； If you are too lazy to move, it is also useful to go downstairs for a half-hour walk every day after dinner and pet the cats in the community. After all, we don’t do aerobics to become athletes. Being able to persist for a long time and feeling comfortable after doing it is more important than any cold standard.