What are aerobic exercises

The typical aerobic movements in our daily cognition are mostly medium-low-intensity whole-body movements with a smooth rhythm and can be carried out continuously, such as jogging, swimming, cycling, brisk walking, aerobics, long-distance hiking, and rowing machine training are the most common choices.

But to be honest, there is no "naturally aerobic" movement. When I first started working out, I was obsessed with running. I always felt that I could only gain fat by running for 40 minutes continuously. Later, my knees hurt from running and I went to see a sports rehabilitation practitioner. Only then did I learn that the core of determining whether it is aerobic is the energy supply mode during exercise, which is not absolutely bound to the movement itself. The core of aerobics is to fully metabolize glycogen and fat for energy with oxygen, so as long as your heart rate during exercise is maintained in the range of 60%-80% of the maximum heart rate (commonly estimated as 220 minus age), it is probably a bit out of breath when moving, but you can still speak short sentences and chat with the people around you normally, and if you can maintain this state for more than 20 minutes, no matter what movements you do, it belongs to the aerobic category.

There was a lot of debate on the Internet before about whether jumping rope is considered aerobic. I have tried two modes myself: jumping slowly for 20 minutes, and humming along with the song in the headphones during the whole process, which is completely qualified aerobic; but if you practice fast jumping for 1 minute and a 30-second rest interval, you will be out of breath after two sets of jumps. At this time, you are leaning towards anaerobic and mixed oxygen. There is no need to label the movements and just meet your own training needs.

It doesn’t matter if you really can’t spare a whole chunk of time to go to the gym or playground to exercise. When I get off work now, as long as I’m not in a hurry, I get off the subway two stops early and walk home quickly. My heart rate is just stuck in the aerobic zone for more than 20 minutes. Calculating, the effect is not much different from spending half an hour on the walking machine. There are also many adults who dance fitness dances in the square for an hour every day, or climb a gently sloping mountain with their families on weekends, or even wipe the windows at home for half an hour and mop the floor of the entire house. As long as the intensity is high enough, it is a very life-oriented aerobic activity. Don’t think that only buying equipment and applying for a card can be considered a serious exercise.

If you have an old knee injury or have a large body weight, don’t force yourself to run. When I am recovering my knees, I go to the swimming pool to practice water walking twice a week. I walk in chest-deep water for half an hour. My heart rate is stable at around 130. There is no pressure on the joints at all. The fat burning efficiency is much higher than walking fast on land. It is much more comfortable than running.